IMO, that's more about the specs than whether it is a Pre/pro or AVR. A good quality AVR likely will do just as well as a pre/pro in that department, but yes, I don't want the amps in there doing nothing either. Though I basically hadn't used the amps in my former Marantz 8300 for like 7-8 years and when I moved it to the second system I was able to use it as is.