Importance of Amplifier versus Preamp?

What Almarg said. Labels on components alone like "good" or "great" mean nothing. its only as good as the weakest link in the chain and each chain is different. Lots of ways to make really good chains. Start with getting a handle on teh speaker/room interaction including an amp well suited to drive the speakers. Then choose a pre-amp (if needed, not always anymore depending on what source gear will be used).

All these things alone will have a major effect on the sound. YOu have to get the whole puzzle right which means teh right pieces that match. At minimum, you need speakers, amp and one or more sources. Pre-amp these days is optionl. A passive pre-amp is another option that can work very well if done right. It all depends. Sorry, but if you really care about how things sound rather than just listening and being satisifed, this is what you are dealing with. Good news is if you like this stuff it may be a fun journey. Otherwise, not so much.

I think that Zd542 got it right. If I had a given amount of money, I would invest most of the money into a good active preamp, you can then fudge a little on buying an amp.

Then there is the crowd that think that buying both components of the same manufacturer will take the risk out of matching. This is true to some degree but then it is possible the mfg could excel in making better sounding amps then preamps or vice a versa. There is no substitute for years of knowledge/experience in matching and knowing what components sound good together.

I really wouldn't put much emphasis on whether the amp or pre-amp is more important. This is the grand voyage in the world of audio. You really are never done. You can take the advice of many and put more money into the pre-amp, only to find that the sound sucks because the amp isn't up to par or the amp to speaker interaction is bad. The way I have found that works for me is to keep within the price points of components and the recommendations of the manufacturers.

If you are looking at a particular pre-amp, the manufacturer will typically recommend some amps that work well with the pre-amp. Look at the prices of those amps, go audition other amps that are within that range, taking into account the speaker interactions and go for it.

For example, what amp does Audio Research recommend with their REF5SE pre-amp? I'm sure it is an AR amp, but, what is the price point? I have heard demonstrations of the REF75, REF150 and REF250 amps with the REF5SE pre-amp. But, I'm pretty sure the REF750 amp is recommended with the REF10 and 40th anniversary pre-amp.

Just a small example. I just know that it really comes down to what you like in terms of sound from each component. You may start out with components that are not really matched well in terms of costs and quality, but eventually, you will end up at the right level, because the sound just won't be right. One component just won't get you "there".

This is a dynamic hobby. I haven't seen one example (I'm sure they exist) whereby someone purchased all the equipment of the bat and each one worked for that person, without the need to upgrade to something else.

If you like mp3 quality recordings and don't care about excess compression, sound dimensionality, depth, etc., then any amp/preamp combination will do, because you won't hear the nuances anyway. But, if you do know, then you will hear problems and upgrade.

My advice is the select a price range you can afford for components, say, the pre-amp and amps are roughly the same price and start auditioning (hopefully in your home).

You may not need a stupidly expensive amp for your pre-amp because the speakers you have are extremely efficient, don't need massive power and interact well with your amp, so you can go with a very low power, lesser expensive (not all low power amps are less expensive. I know!!!) amp.

No matter what anyone says, YOU!!! have to pick a price point that you can afford first, taking into account the type of music you like, the quality of the music you like, etc.

take your time and enjoy the trip.

Great integrated amplifier....problem solved. ;^)

Cheers,
John

Your amp can't sound any better than what the preamp gives it. Consider the preamp as the heart of the system you eventually want and put the money there.