When I say assume same price, I really meant same level of quality in theory. Let's say a mid line avr and a mid line pre. Good info. I thought maybe since you were using in direct mode, it would be truly direct. But, the avr still has power supply, internal wiring, volume control etc. I learned from another audiophile that if you purchased lets say a mid line avr from a big brand like Marantz, don't expect a drastic sound improvement by switching to their mid line pre. He stated basically, the basic preamp internals would probably be identical to the AVR.
Using AVR Direct Mode for external amps
I know using an AVR as a pre with external power amps (pre outs) is not sonically the most ideal. However, what if the AVR has a Direct or Pure mode? Would the sonic difference be less than with a stand alone Pre? Assume both AVR and PRE are in same price category.