Slow upgrade from integrated - pre or power first?

Thanks for all the great responses so far. I am leaning toward acquiring the pre-amp first.

Rar1 - The MF A3.2 *does* have a pre-amp in, in the form of the Auxiliary 2 (Home Theatre Direct) inputs. To quote from the manual "When selected they are routed inside the A3.2 directly to the power amplifier circuit, which is not controlled by the volume adjustment." As far as I can tell from manuals on MF's web site, early versions of the A3.2 did not have this feature.

Tim

Tim:

If the AUX 2 works in that way ... great ... wish I had had that option! That must have been a 2004 addition. If that is the case, then I would say go with the preamp first.

Regards, Rich

Warren, the YBA Passion Integre has pre-outs, which means you can use it as a preamp with a separate amplifier, but it does not have inputs which allow it to be used as an amplifier with a separate preamp.

Well lucky me. Spoke to Dan Wright and called the YBA techie department. The Yba does have a video input, which can be used as a preamp in, because there is a facility on the hand control to defeat the internal preamp. This was created for video processors and the like. It may be a match made in heaven. Dan said that he will be adjust the gain on his pre to match up just right with the Passion. This is cool. Grant, do you think it would be better to wait on the Wright Preamp until I have Alex's baby (APLDenon 3910)since his has a pre,which may obviate the need for the Wright pre. It seems that many who have the APL, prefer, however, to use their own preamp. What do you think?

Warren, that's great news. Kudos for doing your homework.

As you know, I prefer using a preamp with my APL Denon 3910. You can always play it safe by holding off on the preamp purchase. Frankly, I think you should get your amplifier choice settled before you take on the preamp.