For me, a preamplifier is vital. Not only does it serve as my "switch" for different sources (analog vs. digital sources) but it provides a small amount of gain and, aside from the speakers, does the most to define the sound of the system. The wrong pre can make your system sound flat or thin or too chunky.
While I agree at more cable is the enemy I think that in every situation trade offs must be made. For me, Monoblocks amplifiers allow me to have very short runs of speaker cable, only about 3 feet. I'm willing to have longer interconnects as my experience has shown longer interconnect where the signal is low gain, does less damage to the sound than long speaker cables where the signal is highly amplified. The interconnects between my other comments are very short.
I'd also encourage you to think about the fact that while sure, the wire connecting one component to another light be longer than one on the inside of an integrated or more complex component, it's almost always better shielded and of higher quality wire.
Food for thought.