A mistake spending too much on amplification?

Thanks for all of the responses. I guess I should clarify what I was saying above: it isn't that there aren't differences in each system or component I swap out, it is I can't really make a quantifiable "upgrade" based on amplification at this point. Sure, I heard more neutrality and a bit more detail with the Herron upgrade. But did it sound really better? I could be happy with either. Same as the Sixpacs vs. DNA-125: each sounded great in their own right, but spending twice the money (used) on the Sixpacs didn't significantly "upgrade" the sound, it just changed the flavor a bit. I guess this is part of the trouble with building a system for a newbie: I don't know what sounds good until I have heard it. What I am trying to accomplish: a cleaner, more resolved sound, with a nice soundstage and "I am there" feel.

With that said, I went listening at area store to some setups, just to get a feel for how other systems sounded to mine. First setup I listened to: a Classe CP-700 pre, Paradigm Studio 100 v.3 speakers, powered by a Rotel! amp (I have no idea why). It sounded horrible-a grainy, SS sound. They hooked it up to a Bryston 7B-SST, and it was better (more control over the woofer) but my system sounds much more liquid, more detailed, and lifelike (their system was bright and not as musical-I didn't like it). I then listened to a nice set of $10K ML's (with the powered sub) powered by a Jolida integrated and mid-fi Denon digital source: this system was more detailed, but still tinny and less than pleasing. Not much of a soundstage (the Jolida seemed like a suspect choice for powering $10K speakers). When I got home and listened to my system, I thought "wow, this sounds pretty darn good!".

Not having other systems to listen to, it is hard to determine what a really nice sounding system feels like. With that said, the original intent of my question was to determine whether it makes more sense to pair $5K speakers with $2.5K amplification than the other way around. Thanks for all of the help.

Interesting responses-thanks! I guess I have a bout of "upgrade-itis" and want to try something better, just to see what happens. I purchased some Signal Silver Resolution cables/IC's and it really brought the differences out between my Sixpacs and the DNA-125 (old cables were the Signal Analog 2's, which are nice and smooth, but not as detailed). Still, it is not night and day between these amps, and my wife said they both sound the same. I also had a chance to plug in an HCA-2 from PS Audio, and it was a bit more forward and didn't seem to go as low or sound as liquid, but was still good in it's own right.

I heard a KW500 at the dealer recently, and even though it is a big, powerful unit that retails at $7K (and was running off of a $1500 PC), I wasn't blown away by its sound on an Arial Acoustics 6 (which is a $3600 speaker). It had some of the same attributes as my system, but I wouldn't trade it for what I have. After hearing nice speakers run though cheaper amplification and mid-priced speakers run through high-end amplification the last few weeks, I am inclined to agree with those who think the speaker is where to start, assuming the source is accurate, and assuming one doesn't have an inefficient speaker in a very large room playing at high volumes.

Thanks for the responses. I have learned alot.