The purpose of the presence speakers is to add ambience when using Yamaha’s DSP modes. In other words, they’re a big part of what makes the “Church in Freiburg” setting sound like a large, “echoey” cathedral and “Cellar Club” sound like a small, intimate jazz club. So yes, the presence speakers will only work when a DSP mode is selected. Any "Straight Mode" setting will bypass all DSP processing and hence the presence speakers.
Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt