Only as good as your weakest link, hard to answer. Lets say you had nice equipment and speaker cables were the weak link, I think the system could still sound fine, you may not even be aware the speaker cables are the weak link. And so some things are more important than others, and yet they're all important. I'm trying!
Having to choose only between amp and preamp, I would have to choose amp. I say that because amps have to interface with loudspeakers, proper synergy is of utmost importance. Amps also just seem to give the most 'flavor' to a system, think about all the different tube configurations possible.
Having to choose only between amp and preamp, I would have to choose amp. I say that because amps have to interface with loudspeakers, proper synergy is of utmost importance. Amps also just seem to give the most 'flavor' to a system, think about all the different tube configurations possible.