The setup: I'm going to run 2 (or 3) Theater 4pis (I assembled two so far) up front in large speaker mode, and I just ordered 6 Studio 1 kits for the surrounds and I have a decent sub already (VMPS Larger) for the .1 channel and the surround lf. For electronics I've ordered a NeuNeo dvd player and have a Rotel 1095 (5x250) amp and a separate amp for the sub.

Question 1: The room is rather large so my plan was to pair up two Studio 1 speakers on each side of the room and two at the back. Is there anything special I should do when wiring studio 1's in parallel? I'm guessing driving 4ohms through the Rotel won't be a problem. Or is this a really bad idea?

Question 2: I need to decide what theater pre/amp, to use with the Pi Speakers and my Rotel amp, anyone have suggestions? I've been using and like the sound of my Sony DA4ES through the Rotel but I now need a 2nd receiver or a true pre/pro because I still have my regular TV room back in town with a bunch of hungry NHTs. I like the sound of the Anthem but the cost is too prohibitive. Priority = Theater > sports hdtv > music > games. I hear good things about these new fangled digital receivers.

I'm running a Carver CT-17 home tuner/preamp on one of my systems. It's about 10 years old but supports 5 channel Dolby Pro Logic Surround and has inputs for two A/V channels, aux, tuner, phono, CD, and two tape channels. It's a very capable unit. The only thing I don't like about it is the goofy way the tape channels are setup. It's the strangest thing you ever saw.

If I was looking to buy a home theater preamp today, I'd try to find something like this that also supported Dolby Digital and DTS. Here are some possibilities: