Integrated Feeding Integrated

The receiver that I am using as a pre has preouts (variable volume and EQable) and record out (fixed which bypasses all volume/tone controls). I find the setup sounds the best when I use the record out signal and control the volume on the second integrated. I guess I will continue to do that for now.

Running the second integrated wide open may not be a good idea. Also, there may be other ways to interface the two amps. Would you care to list your equipment and how it is connected?

I think that, when it is possible to disconnect the amp from an integrated, you remove any attenuation, the preamp circuit normally supplies. Thus I believe that you run the second "power amp" wide open. I have heard this suggested in other similar posts. After all aren't volume controls truly attenuators of the full signal?
That said, running any amp at full power would intuitively seem like it would indeed be stressful to the amp for example just making more heat as one parameter.
Like the others have said it is probably wise to avoid using both integrated if you can't disconnect the preamp of the second amp.

I see - thanks for clarifying that I'll be running through two attenuators as well as 2 pre circuits.

I'm doing this because quite simply, I'm playing around. My main integrated has everything under the sun (dacs, mm, mc, rca, xlr, am/fm/hd) and I love using it for it's simplicity. However, some of my speakers sound better on other integrateds that I have previously paired them with. So, to keep my system simple (simple to me) I run 2 integrateds in the path. I know it's not ideal.

However, my question is, will running the second integrated wide open (attenuating it as little as possible) be harmful in any way? Does having an amp on max volume stress it in any way or is this just like a normal power amp (minus the eq/degredation of having the volume potentiometer) in the path?

Most integrated amps out there do not have very good sounding attenuators, and going through both with your signal will only degrade sound quality more. I would suggest you do it another way.

Assuming that there are no external jumpers on the integrated you will be using as an amp, you're basically plugging one active preamp into another. It can be done. I've tried it a couple of times and saw no benefit do doing it this way, except if you are trying to integrate a 2 channel system with a theatre. If integrated 1 has a better pre section than integrated 2, the lesser preamp in int 2 will still be in the signal path. The best you can hope for is some type of EQ effect that may hide something you don't like about the pre in int 2.

If both must have volume control the ideal should be to have the first one having the volume set to 0 db if the volume reads that way as it should effectively pass the signal without attenuating it. I may eventually hook my receiver into my integrated for more options and would end up doing this.

What are the two integrated amps, and what is the purpose of using both of them?

Are you doing this by removing the jumpers (pre out/main in) in each INT?

If so, the second INT will only be a power amp and "it's" volume control will be bypassed. I would set it at 0 though.