RB-980BX or VSX-1018AH-K to amp front speakers?

Hi there. I've been using a Rotel RB-980BX power amp (connected to a Denon PRA-1500) to power my stereo speakers for a while now. I'm currently using Onix Reference 1.8s.

I'm finally making the jump to multi-channel surround and have decided on the new Pioneer VSX-1018AH-K receiver as it has all the latest features I could ever want, plenty of power, and is under $500.

I've been planning on using the Front pre-outs to feed my Rotel which would amp the L/R speakers but here's my question: how much benefit, if any, would there be in doing so? The Rotel is 125wpc and the Pioneer is 130wpc so that's close enough to disregard power and focus solely on fidelity. Does anyone have any idea how the amp section of the Pio would compare with the Rotel? Another thing is that I'd be amping the center channel and surround channels from the Pio and want the best sonic match possible. Selling the Rotel would also help me afford the other upgrades.

The system is mostly used for movies and games, but I still love listening to 2-ch music on these speakers so that is still important.

Thanks for any help!