Thanks. That worked.
Very impressive numbers but once you get down to that low a noise level, it becomes irrevalent as its just not possible to hear that small a difference.
For the average guy, I think an AVR is a way to go for a good pre/pro althought I hate seeing the amp section of an AVR go unused.
There are times however where an AVR won't cut it as a pre/pro. If you have long runs between pre/pro and an amplifier, particularily in a nosiy environment, pre/pros eqwuipped with balanced outputs give you improved noise immunity.
Specs don't tell the whole story. It really is application specific.
Taking another look, the Yamaha RX-Z11 costs as much as most of the pre-amps listed. Bad example.