In my opinion, regardless of whether it's an integrated, or separates, it all starts with the power supply. Assuming it's overbuilt and done well, separates have their own discrete power supplies, with mono amps or true dual mono designs being the best. At the end of the day, how good a piece of gear sounds is directly related to its power supply. Same goes for digital. However, IF this same philosophy is applied to the design of an integrated amp, including those with onboard DACs, very good sound quality should be expected. If you go back to the early days of the high end when Levinson was really Mark Levinson, one reason those amps and preamps sounded so good (and many still do) is because their respective power supplies were way overbuilt. That has not changed. Just saying.....
user poll on seperates vs integrated
Hey guys, I wanted to try and crowd-source some (likely very opinionated, unscientific) knowledge. I've read about the benefits of separates (have only ever used integrated myself), and I'm wondering how those benefits compare to the benefits of higher end parts/assembly, when controlled for cost.
To put it more plainly, would you likely get better overall results from a $5000 preamp and $5000 amp, or from a $10,000 integrated, given the likely quality/components used in equipment in those price ranges.
If you're experienced both separates, and integrated amps that cost the equivalent of those separate parts added together, can you speak to which you preferred?
Thanks for weighing in.