I have an ICBM between a Yamaha RX-V2095 and a Parasound HCA-2205AT power amp. I have not tried a dedicated pre/pro, but adding the amp made a significant difference in my system. I'm using NHT 1.5's in an all-NHT setup, and they love the power.

The Yamaha has numerous "soundfields", which I believe really are usable. There are some over-the-top ones, like a cathedrael sound, but others are very nice. I regularly use the 70mm adventure setting for DVD's, which autodetects to DD Adventure or DTS Adventure. That ssetting tames some of the harsh highs in some mixes of CD's, and creates a very nice "big" soundfield. I also use the Pro Logic Enhanced setting for TV. It greatly expands the soundfield of Pro Logic, without an artificial effect. I occasionally use the Variety/sports setting for football games - It has an uncanny aability to isolate dialogue to the center, and put crowd noise all around. There are cinema setting for video concerts, etc, which play nicely with music DVD's.

I would advise you to get a Yamaha receiver as far up the line as you can afford, even looking for closeout models of earlier models, like the 2095. You won't get all the bells and whistles of the newer formats and channels, but the pre/pro performance should be better than a lower end current model. Then, when the time comes for a real pre/pro, you have a high end recever ready for a bedroom or rec room system.

Hope this helps.