Amp vs. preamp

I subscribe to the "garbage in, garbage out" school of thought with respect to upgrading. Start at the front and then work your way down the chain: source, preamp, amp, speakers in that order. Good downstream equipment cannot add what is lost upstream. The best that it can do is offset an upstream deficiency. It's better if there is no deficiency to offset, or as small a one as possible.

Now if you happen to come across a good piece of gear at a good price, I would also suggest that you be practical and take advantage of the opportunity even though the upgrade may not be in the right "order". This presumes, however, that the upstream components will be upgraded shortly thereafter. Otherwise, you're spending money on downstream components whose potential will not be realized without correspondingly good upstream components. A bit of a waste of money.

By the way, you have said some dangerous things.

"I can not stop upgrading".

Also: "I am relatively new to this hobby and have heard many things".

I am a bit worried that you don't know why you're upgrading other than that it seems to be the thing to do. You haven't really identified what you're unhappy about.

Step back and take a deep breath. Your pocketbook will thank you. If you just go out and upgrade without a clear plan, you are likely to buy something which doesn't do what you hope it will do, or you will not hear it do what other people say it will do. This will turn you off to the high end very quickly.

Take you time and learn a bit. Ask yourself what you're unhappy with before upgrading. Research some threads and get a feel for the character of equipment you're interested in through the experiences of others, And most importantly, listen to things yourself at your local stores. Then you can begin upgrading with a clear idea of what you want to do and what equipment might be the best match.

there is no definitive answer. however, the preamp is closer to the source, so in that sense,getting a "good" signal to the amp is very important.

Your suggestions help a lot. I just happen to have some disposable income right now and would like to put together the best system i can within reason. Markphd, thanks for your response as this puts some perspective/direction into my head.

you may not need to upgrade at all.....sometimes even the finest gear won't give one satisfaction. indulge in other things for awhile then come back to it.rotel is great gear, and changing components is a game of inches. all that great gear you see for sale is either there because of disatisfaction or a need for money. take a few weeks or months and decide whats important to you.

Lots of good suggestions here. I would throw in that the preamp/amp is a combination and should be considered together. Now you have a Rotel pre/amp combo that is probably very equivalent and compatible. If you upgrade one and not the other, you may see little gain. Even if you can't buy both at once, an upgrade path is good to have. Also, to me, the difficulty in buying used gear is typically that lack of ability to audition with your own gear. If you are happy with your Revels, perhaps you could get a feel for the type of pre/amp that works well with them to yours ears: neutral, warm, SS, tubes, etc. Then you could post "Neutral SS amp recomendations for $X". Personally, I like to start with speakers and move upstream. Others make valid points - garbage in, garbage out - but to me, the speakers have the largest impact to the overall style of your sound.