Thanks John,

Yes I realized this afternoon after posting that I must have read the manual wrong, it made no sense when I thought about it because that would have to mean that the pre out was equal to the post internal power amplifier output to the speakers.

I appreciate both of your explanations and am still trying to grasp the fundamentals, I may regurgitate my understanding again at some point to make sure I get the implications for my setup.

"If you try to turn toward it, you go against it."