Importance of Amplifier versus Preamp?

It is often said that your amplifier is the engine of your system, and the preamp is the heart. Both are important and should work synergistically. I previously ran a Boulder 1060 amp with a heavily modded Ayon CD-5s as linestage and that combo worked very well. With that said, the Boulder had a bigger influence over the sound. Same deal with my previous Classe power amp. So i'd have to give more weight to the power amp, then pre. With pre/power combo's I generally prefer a ss power amp with a tubed linestage which gives you the option to roll the stock tubes with better matched NOS tubes (unless we're talking about Vitus, Soulution or Goldmund).

Another option to consider is a good integrated amp. There are some really nice integrateds out there which can be had at a bargain 2nd hand such as Hegel, Luxman, Modwright, Simaudio Moon Evo and Musical Fidelity, as well as tubed integrateds such as Vac & Leben.

Al, would you prefer members simply tell the OP to buy x, y, z preamp or
power amp? No one outside the OP can possibly know what will work best
in his system, or what will give the best bang for his buck. Nothing short of
a home audition of a component is going to prove anything one way or the
other. All any member here can do is share there own view which should
atleast help steer the OP in the right direction. Then again, he might simply
find the many contributions of academic and theoretical interest only as you
postulated..

Schubert, I have to agree with your general recommendation of an integrated solution. I started out with a Nakamichi Amplifier One which I loved. I owned that amp for 18 years before buying a Class Cap-2100 which was also fun. I now own a Vitus SIA-025 which is the best integrated amp i've owned & competes with high end seperates. I like the fact I was able to put the savings from 2 less high end cables & a set of iso feet into the rest of my system.

Hi Phd, thanks for your congrats. The SIA-025 is a lovely sounding Class A amp. It's a sizeable investment, though compared to many high end separates it's still a good value proposition imho & one of the most musical sounding ss amps i've heard (especially paired with a VA Signature Series cdp). Btw, I think the US price has gone up to $30k.

The SIA-025 uses a simplied relay-based volume control and balanced input buffer drawn from the SL-102 pre, whilst the output stage is drawn from the SM-010 mono's. So yes has an active preamp section.

The SIA-025 is surely one of the best integrated amps, though there are many other great ss and tube integrateds including the Burmester 909 Mk5, Soulution 530, Ypsilon Phaethon, Kondo Ongaku & on the more budget side, Vac Sigma 160iSE. I haven't heard of the Onix, but will read up on it when I have a moment!

02-11-15: Jmcgrogan2
I also have gone to an integrated amp, apparently on the super budget side, a VAC Sigma 160i. I'm very happy, and have sold off my separates. It makes life a lot simpler, and I now know I'd have to at least triple the expense to top it.

Yes, integrated amps can be beaten, but one has to be ready to pay a LOT more money.

Jm, the Vac 160i could only be considered a "budget" alternative against something like a $73k Burmester or Kondo amp, or maybe $30k Vitus. In fact, your commments suggest it should be on par wit the Vitus...at under half its price!