I've owned and/or demo'ed 6 or 7 SS amps and 7 or 8 SS and tube preamps in the last 4 years.
My experience is that for the most part, preamps with a decent or better reputation are for more similar than they are different. Aside from a couple that were simply way too subdued regarding detail and resolution.
My experience is also that for the most part, amplifiers of a decent or better reputation are much less similar in characteristics. In addition, there appear to be far greater compromises with amps. For example, one amp may have an almost sweet presentation with excellent transient speed, yet severely lacking in the lower bass regions where the bass was ill-defined and compressed (it was a Sim Audio product). Or another amp that had pretty good bass definition (still far from the best) but was out to lunch in the upper frequencies.
To find an amp that does it all is rare, but they do exist.
Therefore, I'd focus on the amp first and foremost. Over the preamp and every other component, speaker, cable, or room.
If you intend to stay in your current budget, I'd highly recommend researching a used McCormack DNA 0.5 or the DNA 0.5 revision A amplifiers and perhaps a used Pass Labs X 2.5 preamp.
To the best of my knowledge, there are very few amps that can even begin to approach the sonics of this little amp.
But there are also a few very good integrated amps. For example, supposedly the Audio Refinement Complete is quite inexpensive and very first rate.
-IMO
My experience is that for the most part, preamps with a decent or better reputation are for more similar than they are different. Aside from a couple that were simply way too subdued regarding detail and resolution.
My experience is also that for the most part, amplifiers of a decent or better reputation are much less similar in characteristics. In addition, there appear to be far greater compromises with amps. For example, one amp may have an almost sweet presentation with excellent transient speed, yet severely lacking in the lower bass regions where the bass was ill-defined and compressed (it was a Sim Audio product). Or another amp that had pretty good bass definition (still far from the best) but was out to lunch in the upper frequencies.
To find an amp that does it all is rare, but they do exist.
Therefore, I'd focus on the amp first and foremost. Over the preamp and every other component, speaker, cable, or room.
If you intend to stay in your current budget, I'd highly recommend researching a used McCormack DNA 0.5 or the DNA 0.5 revision A amplifiers and perhaps a used Pass Labs X 2.5 preamp.
To the best of my knowledge, there are very few amps that can even begin to approach the sonics of this little amp.
But there are also a few very good integrated amps. For example, supposedly the Audio Refinement Complete is quite inexpensive and very first rate.
-IMO