[bart]

Originally Posted by Vintage Pete

Bart....yes, I've been considering what the options might be. But you know, it's hard to part ways with McIntosh, and the McIntosh components in this room are very sweet.

One of the problems with, say, a McIntosh MX120/MC205 combo is that while they could be squeezed into the rack height and width-wise, they are quite deep, and I'm pretty constrained here.

I'm still exploring the options, there is no hurry. But yes, I find the idea of converting this room into surround mode very tantalyzing.

You wouldn't have to part with your wonderful McIntosh gear Pete.
Your stereo would remain the same (does it have a bypass function?).
You insert a receiver, for example a Marantz, to form a hybrid system.
The receiver does the surround processing, sends its front left and right channel signal to your stereo, and the amplified center and rear current to a center channel speaker and 2 rears.
The center speaker quality should be close to that of your current stereo speakers.
The rears could be quite small, enough to provide the surround effects.

An example of a slim receiver, with good reviews: