@weazy365 I’ve lived through the journey you are embarking on. I set up a HT space in a finished basement, 120 inch screen / native 4k projector, 5.2.2 atmos set up. Initially, Home Theater was the priority, wasn’t even thinking about 2 channel use. I was happy with the set up, happy with how 2 channel sounded until I started to then focus more on 2 Channel, once I went down the 2 channel rabbit hole… first came an amp for the fronts, then came a dedicated streamer, DAC. Then came new Front Speakers, then came a separate pre for 2 channel and then… various front speakers, amps, digital front end set ups. Currently I’ve got an Anthem MRX-1140, 4 k version. What I found along the way, AVR’s can really limit your 2 channel performance, some are better than others as a pre for 2 channel but non I’ve had perform anywhere close to a Pre that is designed with 2 channel as the priority. An AVR that has the ability to pass through analogue signals directly though for 2 channel do a better job, some AVRMs will shut down the rest of the receiver, that helps performance. Unfortunately, Anthem AVR’s in the MRX series process all incoming signals, even analogue for 2 channel. It can be really limiting in maximizing your 2 channel performance. If you really like the sound now, I’d add the center channel and call it a day. If you add an amp, you’ll likely then add a pre, you then will start to look at your speakers…. And want to upgrade those. Another lesson I learned is you’ll be far less critical of sound when you are using your set up for watching movies, once you start focusing on 2 channel, you’ll be far more critical of the sound, the impact of each component on the sound. It can be a fun and rewarding journey and you absolutely can have a great 2 channel and HT set up that share the same space, gear, but delving into 2 channel gets way more expensive.
