Hi! I remember my hifi dealer in Paris (Presence Audio Conseil in Ile-St-Louis, splendid location and shop) happy to see me SO CRAZY HAPPY after I bought from them a second-hand Cello Encore Amplifier. It was a replacement for a Moscode 300 hybrid amp to drive - at that time - a pair of Audiostatic 300. I loved the Moscode and the lights and all. But when the small double mono 50W transistor amplifier came home, I rediscovered every LP and CD I put in.
Coming back to my dealer’s place a few weeks later, I asked (just to have an advice, I couldn’t afford it) if there would be the same difference if I changed my YBA3 pre to a Cell Encore pre.
Then, Gerard (it’s the name of that guy I knew for years since the shop started, back in the 70s), Gerard looked at me and said: "There will be much more differences, a huge improvement on the amp."
Since that day in the 90s, I always considered that a pre could be determining your system balance and transparency. Much have been said about this in the previous posts, and I agree with most of them. Even if my Wadia 16 needs no pre, thanks to its integrated digital volume management , I prefer the sound of it through my "small" Jeff Rowland Consonance pre (as you noticed, I’m still looking for an affordable Encore Pre).
So, I’ll probably buy the best pre I can get for the money, and put the same amount in the amp. And choose the pre first. If I could (I did the opposite, naturally). But If money was no question, that’s what I’d do.