As with all things 2/ch good placement comes first, I've tested XT32 in stereo with my Boston acoustic E100's and KK DXD12012 crossed at 60hz and also 80hz and everything was indeed in proportion and the bass was tight, fast, powerful and stealthy this was a big surprise as I never expected Audyssey to be worth its salt for 2/ch, but this configuration improved imaging as well a nice feature with the Marantz 8801 is an Audyssey setting that allows you to bypass the FR/FL and Audyssey all else (the sub only for 2.1 playback)but was better defined with the Audyssey house curve engaged!
Good Processor
I know this has been discussed before and have read most of the posts. However, I haven't seen one that addressed this question. For good stereo what is a better option? Going with an older high end pro like a meridian 861 version 2.8/4 or Halcro 100 OR buying a newer unit such as the Integra 80.2/3. If I purchased the Integra it would be easy to setup with little in cables given the HD audio formats. With the older units I would be processing HT in my Oppo and using the 5.1 output into the processor.