AV Processor Question

The best value is to get the cheapest AVR with Pre-Outs that has the latest lossless decoding and HDMI protocol (1.3 vs 1.4)that you need. Don''t worry about paying for amplification that will go unused. As you already found out, a dedicated pre-pro already costs more than an AVR with the same features. Many of us do this as it seems to make the most sense.

The separate power amp will last a long time, and could be coupled to many differnt AVR's as the processing/connectivity technology changes along with your needs. But a good amp is a good amp and these never change. I have now had two different AVR's hooked up to my Parasound multi channel power amp and never worried once about not utilizing the AVR's built in amps. To be honest - I wouldn't want to use them. The Parasound is so much better.

Good luck!

I too have a 5 channel Parasound amp that I was running with a BK ref20 until recently. After seeing how much dedicated pre/pros are, I ended up getting an Anthem MRX300 to use as a pre/pro. It's been working great.
I'd buy a receiver based on the features you want. You can always use some of the amp channels for extra surrounds or a second zone.
I figure at $1k, it's so much less expensive than the pre/pros that I can just upgrade it in a few years if there are significant changes in technology.

Internetmin's answer was perfect. I'd add that if you're willing to do without audio over HDMI and room correction, a used Emotiva MMC-1 can be had for about $275-300 these days. I used one for several years without complaint. They were certainly more reliable than the UMC-1...although with fewer features.

The MMC-1 switches video over HDMI, but audio will need to run via coax, toslink, or analog RCA into the MMC-1.

Best of luck.

I've wondered about separate pre/pro v AVR pricing. Is the higher priced pre/pro really superior to a manufacturer's AVR or is the AVR market just more competitive?

db

I think it's a bit of both. The AVRs, especially mainstream brands like Denon and Onkyo have economy of scale on their side. Dedicated pre/pros may use better quality parts, have more features and/or configuration flexibility, but it's subject to the law of diminishing returns.
There's a big gap in price between a good $1000-2000 AVR and a $6k+ pre/pro. Marantz has a reasonably priced pre/pro, but it doesn't even have the most up to date version of Audyssey.