Harmon Kardon Receiver vs Onkyo AVR TX SR602

Hello,

I have the Ascend Acoustics CBM 170 SE. I have been powering them with an Onkyo AVR TX602 7.1 receiver.

I am in the process of buying a very nice Technics 1710 Turntable but my Onkyo has no Phono Preamp.

I was considering a $39.00 ART Phono Preamp which gets a lot of good reviews for a sub-$100.00 unit. However, I've read that Ascends are a great match with HK electronics.

Since I lack a Phono Preamp, my options are;

1) Just add the ART Phono Preamp and to my current Onkyo ARV TX-SR602.

or

2) Buy a Harmon Kardon HK 3270 with the built in Phone Preamp.

Would it be a good move to buy the HK stereo receiver and use it primary for music and just keep the Onkyo for movies? Do Stereo receivers sound better than AVR's for music?


Thanks!