Limited budget-spend more money on amp or preamp?

The easy (old) answer is spend your money on a great pre-amp and a good amp.

Now, there are so many other options. All given above by other posters. With the advent of low-cost passive pre-amps, you can spend most of your money on a great amp. Unless you listen to vinyl.

Alternatively, there are many good (near great, for the money) integrated amps for sale on the 'gone right now. Consonance, Conrad-Johnson, Cary (they must start with a "C"). Oh, and Musical Fidelity too.

Plus, now, with the hybrid amps you can get the great tube sound (I'm on a tube kick now) and still get enough "oomph" from a solid state amp to drive your speakers well. Plus, the solid state amp section makes these units more affordable than an all tube integrated (which is where I think I am heading...).

The good news is there are several options (used) in the $1200 to $1500 range that will sound between good and amazing.

Good luck!

A used tube pre-amp and a used SS power amp. Having a tube pre will make more improvement than one can imagine. Good luck.

okay, thanks for all of the replies. Sounds like I can't go wrong with either separates or an integrated. I just need a passive preamp, as I don't have a phono.

My vote is for the integrated. You can't just mate up any pre and power amp, there needs to be synergy between the two. This can take a while to find and may not come within your buget. Integrateds take the guesswork out, hold their value better, and are easier to ship when the time comes to upgrade. Most will also allow them to function as a pre or an amp if you decide to upgrade one component at a time.