What is the benefit of a second amplifier .

I agree with Mechans. 2 channel and HT should be totally separate systems.

Rrog - if you have 2 independent systems, do you advocate having 2 sets of front speakers, next to each other? That is what Mechans is suggesting. That seems unnecessary in most cases, although Shakedown seems to like it. Most people do not have room for 2 sets of large speakers next to each other. I wonder Shakedown, do you have a wife :)

The advantage of a home theater bypass situation on the 2 channel pre-amp is that it allows one set of speakers for L&R in both 2 channel and 7.1. If you have a nice set of L&R mains, why not use them for both? Rather than use cheaper HT mains right next to the big boys, why not invest the money is a very good center to compliment the big mains?

My Cary/Levinson/Cremona setup gives me great 2 channel and I use a Yamaha receiver and ATI amp for the 7.1 setup (minus the mains), but with a good center hooked to the ATI. (The 200.7 has been moved to a second 7.1 setup.) The L&R from the Yamaha go through the Cary home theater bypass. I really do think this hybrid setup gives you the most flexibility while allowing you to tweak the 2 channel or 7.1 system as needed.

Unlike Shakedown, I am not interested in changing cables when changing between systems. My wife is very tolerate and loves the music, but I do not think I could sell her on having a second set of mains. We did build a dedicated theater with 7.1, but not everyone can do that. We still use the hybrid system for 7.1 a lot also, especially for TV. Its critical to have that NFL crowd noise blaring from the surrounds :)

Anyway, the bottom line is that I think the OP can do better than the 200.7 for high quality 2 channel.

LOL...yes I do have a wife and she totally approves of my set up...its not her gig but she does enjoy it when anything is playing...Our room is a converted sunroom that is 30 x 35 feet with the farther part of the room is her computer central while the other half is the entertainment area. While I am not a big fan of moving cables, I have simplified that process for my ease and it does work for me (not too lazy yet). Prior to my purchase of the Coda CSi integrated amp, I was using the Modwright pre-amp and its HT Bypass to the B&K amp and totally loved it with the B&W speakers...I just wanted to up the game a bit on the 2 channel and find something that would fill this tremendous room. Luckily the best of worlds...happy wife and hubby too...

I actually advocate a sparate listening space for 2 channel.
2 mains next to eachother are thought to produce artifact by sound pressure cause the "quiescent" pairs' drivers to vibrate.

Mechans - 2 separate rooms is great. Unfortunately, for most, that is not an option. If you have one room for both, what do you think of a hybrid system?