I'd say preamp to amp, simply because EVERYTHING travels through this line. Get this one wrong, and it'll foul up the entire chain.
They're all important to the end sound, though.
Interconnects priority
Greetings!
I am mulling over my interconnects and one question I have is, which interconnect is the most important, if any, in the chain.
My setup is a Rega P8 with a Hana SL LOMC cart, into a Moon 310 LP / 320S phono stage, onto a PrimaLuna EVO 400 preamp and finally into a McIntosh MC312 power amp.
I am contemplating which interconnect (using XLR in my case) is the most critical to the sound/signal path, the one from the phono stage to the preamp or from the preamp to the power amp?
Or, looking it from another practical budget perspective, if I have a total of of $1,000 to spend is it clear that I should spend $500 on each XLR pair, or should I “overweight” my spend on one set because it’s the more “important” interconnect from a sound quality perspective.
(Of course assuming the interconnects are of equal length so that’s not a factor.)
Would love to hear this knowledgeable group’s thoughts on this - thanks!