I have been running a Marantz SR5005 as a pre-amp with a 15 year old model 770 with a 7.2 system and everything is going strong. I do bypass the Marantz for my Sony Projector by running the hdmi cable directly from the bluray player to the projector. My player has a second hdmi output for audio that goes to the Marantz.

As I have no plans to go beyond 7.2 what is gained by replacing the Marantz with a 976 pre-amp and is it a good pairing with the Model 770 amp?

JohnF