I’ve had various combinations of pre/power amplification over the years and I’ve never personally settled on which had the more dominant effect on the overall sound of the system. I’ve sort of got myself in the place that the pre has a larger effect and power is power, but am I wrong?
I get why you would think that, but I feel it’s very device dependent. A pre-amp has more going on, therefore more chance to alter the signal (besides what’s intended like volume). But its not a rule.