I'd like to get some opinions on preamps that will be used for LFRs. I'm in the process of saving for a set of LFR1100s and have recently acquired a new dedicated amp that will be used to power them (Parasound 5250v2). My current AVR is getting replaced, and I've narrowed down the replacement to a few choices, however I'm still considering a separate preamp after reading this: Voltage Gain. The room size is 2700 ft³ and I like it loud.

Looking at the Denon X4000, Marantz SR7008, Pioneer Elite SC-72 and possibly a few others, though price/feature wise the Denon is looking the best right now. Would the pre-outs in these AVRs be sufficient to use with a good dedicated amp powering the LFRs at demanding levels? Short of emailing the companies I cannot find this type of information. I suspect there will be no problem but would like to hear from some experts please.

The part of that "Voltage Gain" article that concerns you appears to propose a highly unlikely combination of an amplifier with below average input sensitivity and a pre-amplifier with a low maximum output capability. I looked at the Parasound's specs and saw that it had the THX standard 28.28 volts output for 1 volt input(i.e., 100 watts into 8 ohms)and a 1.6 volt input for full output.

Any receiver of the quality that you're considering(I'd also think that the X4000 looks best of those named)should certainly output enough voltage to fully drive an amplifier with a recognized standard sensitivity. No X4000 test results appear to be available, but when Audioholics tested the fairly similar Denon 4310, the max pre-amp output they measured was 4 volts.

Interesting. So a low quality amp in combination with a low quality preamp could have poor results, but unlikely with just one being of low quality, even more so with both being considered of high quality with the amp having a recognized standard sensitivity. Thanks for the input.