Expectations in upgrading the power amp or preamp

For me, upgrading the power amp brought an enhanced sense of air, ease and effortlessness. Tonally, maybe it added some top end air and maybe some bass control. A good power amp is like a strong, quiet bodyguard: it's there if you need it but otherwise unnoticeable.

Upgrading the preamp was more dramatic. Distortions disappeared: shrillness or glare on violins, flutes and upper register piano vanished; the bass tightened; clarity increased. Overall, upgrading the preamp cleaned up the whole shebang.

The best improvement in sound staging came with upgrading the source components. I had a CD player that tonally seemed to get it all right, even at high volumes. But it was only after discovering the depth an external DAC provided that I realized how vertically flat the player's presentation was.

Budget wise, finding what you want on the used market is largely hit or miss. That makes it difficult to precisely plan an upgrade campaign. Choose products that suit your sensibilities, pay attention and if you're lucky they'll fall into your lap, one by one. Early on, hotrods and units offering twice the performance at half the price had an appeal to me. But nowadays it's all about quality and degrees of fineness.

Rockvirgo says it well.
Firstly I bought amps that would mate well with my speakers.
Then I bought the best preamp I could afford to ensure proper drive of the amps, and be as transparent as possible, as I was NOT looking for coloration nor euphony.
I ended up with Pass Labs Aleph P and 2 monos....

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Regarding your conclusions above:

1. In my own system detail, resolution, tonal sweetness, bloom and sound stage were improved by a preamp upgrade. Note I didn't say tonal character or voice as I believe this to be the province of the speaker.

2. The big things contributed by the amplifier upgrade were headroom/dynamics and bass authority. The improvements provided by my new preamp would not have been heard through lesser amplifiers or speakers.

3. The source controls the quality of information fed down the chain. Frequency extension, noise level, level of digital glare, harmonic content are the characteristics that come to mind. I did not find sound stage vastly improved by my CDP upgrade, but then I was using a pretty nice DAC to begin with.

Regarding $$$ allocation:

If the amp is good enough and drives your speakers well, $$$ spent on preamp will pay off.

Use a rule of thumb to determine what to audition, but use your ears to decide what to buy.

Best of luck to you.

Ultimately, it all depends on what you purchase and the synergy between the components when you get them home.

I would concentrate first and foremost on the amplifier. Because, IMO, by far, the amplifier is the most underestimated and overlooked component in the chain.

I am of the camp that if you get the amp right, you are 90% of the way home. And of course I make this statement assuming you are being somewhat pratical with all of your other component purchases as well.

IMO, an excellent amplifier can made a mediocre or less pair of speakers sound almost excellent. But a mediocre or less amplifier will never permit an excellent pair of speakers to sound any better than mediocre.

I suppose that, to me, the amplifier is THE common denominator for the majority of the sonic qualities of the system.

-IMO

First of all many thanks for your contribution. I try to be of help from my side.
I prefer vinyl as I am still trying to find my way on digital.
Talking about my ideal chain.
I have a PT Export with a Sme 309, a Denon DL 103 and a Coph nia Phono stage.
All this goes thru Goldmund Mimesis 7.5 preamplifier and a Goldmund VSR power am.
It is the smallest one they have that use the Job circuit. It has huge bandwith approach like a sort of mini Spectral.
When I bought the 7.5 I was short of money and accepted the good offer for the VSR power amp.
For whom does not know these products the cost relation was something like 5000 USD the Mimesis 7.5 and 1500 USD for the power amp.
The Loudspeakers are 7 years old Monitor audio studio 12 that I plann to replace with a Merlin TSM.

I hope this info can help you to better advising me.
Comments, please ???
Tks