If you had 10k for pre and power amp but you had

I think there is another dimension to this argument.
I have found that, within most equipment lines, there is a price point optimum - above it, the differences are smaller, below it the magic is compromised. I can always tell when I get there during auditions. I suddenly stop listening to the sound and start listening to the music. I often have to snap myself back and remember what I am there to do.

The disadvantage of the approach you are taking is that you may settle below the optimum point for preamp while buying incremental improvement in the amp

Yes the money split was more to illustrate I honestly do not hear major differences in amps , say for example a $2000.00 Rotel vs a $7/8000.00 Mac. However yes Im thinking solid state, sounds like the tube folks have a different perspective. The post was more for Saturday night discussion/entertainment . Thanks.

I hear large differences between preamps -- SS or tube. But when it comes to SS amps, I too cannot tell the difference between $1000 amps and $5000 amps. Don't know about tube amps, as I have not tried any. If you are going to go with a tubed pre and a SS amp, I would spend most of my money on the tubed pre.

i would buy the tube research mono 100s on this sight, for sale, and then worry about a preamp. i think as i said many times , the amps are even more important than speakers. enzo ferrari said ; i build engines and attatch wheels to it.

There are a few exceptional companies out there that make very good products for the price, but for the most part, you get what you pay for in electronics. If you spent a certain amount of money on the amp, I would mate it with something that was close in price. To get the best for the price does require extra effort and research, but it will be worth it. You may end up overpaying (pre-amp)for something that will make very little, if any, difference in your system because of the lesser price of your amp. If you spent a huge amount of money on the pre-amp, but a lot less on your amp, you will probably wonder what a better amp would sound like with the pre-amp and so on and so on and may be continually wanting to update.