Great point on running your pre-amp in its comfort zone was made by @kld10 and it gets to what I read elsewhere recently.
I recently read somewhere on this site about running an amplifier within its ideal power range. Not running 12watts into Maggie's at low volume, you're still pushing it some and out of its comfort zone. Not running 600 watts into horn speakers, using the opposite end of the power band with its own issues.
It would seem advantageous to me. Individual components might vary in their zones, but it's the general idea we're bringing up. (If I have to go up or down, I'll always have more power, never less though.)