Ia a good amp more important than a good DAC?

I would rather have a great amp. You can get such good sound out of the lesser expensive DACs than you can out of a less expensive amp. Personally that is what I think after having experimented both ways. Ideally you would have good stuff for both, but it seems like now you can get super sounding digital for less money than super sounding amplification. Others might disagree, but that is what I've found having gone both ways. I could no matter what I tried get my bedroom system to sound great until I ponied up for a top notch integrated. I don't think either you have to spend big bucks on either to get fantastic sound. Ultimately I think pairing the right amp to the right speakers is the most critical decision one can make in a system.

Freediver hits the nail on the head here. Yes you do need a good source and a good amp. But it seems to me that you can get a better source that is closer to the sound of a very expensive source for 1/10th the price than you can get an amp. If anyone here knows of a 500 amp that sounds close to as good as a 5000 one I'd love to know about it. I know of DACs that do fall into this category. I've personally just never heard the huge disparity between DACs that I have between amps, price wise that is.