Are the performance of separates worth the price?

It's like everything in life. While one may work perfectly fine, two are better. On the other hand, in audio, it may not be true. It depends on WHAT ONE or WHAT TWO you are considering purchasing. Obviously one Mark Levinson will be better than two Rotels. What will you be hooking them up to? $300.00 bookshelf speakers or $12000.00 floor standers? What is your aim? Ultimate fidelity in the ultimate system or less? I think you should buy what you can afford and then a little bit more. The only mistakes I have made in this hobby occurred when I got cheap and did not get what I wanted.

Please give us some more info. on the specific components involved. You really need to compare model by model w/in a given Mfg's line-up. And knowing the rest of your system would be very helpful also. Also your budget, your tolerance for complexity, possible WAF, etc. (IMO, your question is so theoretical it's very hard to answer).

I saw from your previous threads you were considering purchase of the BAT integrated. Is that still the case?

With separates you have flexibility. With an integrated, if you want to change anything, in many cases you have to sell it & start over. I've never heard really expensive integrateds like the BAT, or the Rowland, but if it were me, in that price range, I'd go for separates.

But, if you are new to the hobby perhaps, or if there were another factor like someone else using the system who didn't understand turning on or off many components, an integrated could make lots of sense, esp. to save $$. (I'm not inferring that an integrated is only for newbies--I've owned them & I know there are some that I'd drool over in certain applications). Just my 2 cents! Good luck.

If someone answers your question in the abstract, you'll probably get a different answer than one that is specific to your budget and listening objectives.

As several have already suggested, we need more info from you to be able to provide a good answer. There are some really excellent integrateds on the market today, but the better ones are not cheap -- the best ones start at around $3000, and run up to around $6000 (for example, the Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista, which is one of the best and most powerful integrateds, retails for $6k).

First and foremost, what is your budget? If you have a modest budget -- say, $1500-2000 -- you may well get better performance from an integrated (such as the Creek 5350SE) than from a preamp and power amp with the same combined price tag.

Second, how much power do you think you will need? This is an indirect way of also asking: how big is your listening room; how efficient are your speakers; and what are your listening tastes (listening to symphonic music, or rock at high volumes, places very different demands on the amp than listening to chamber music).

Third, what kind of speakers will you be using? Some speakers perform just fine with amps that provide moderate current, while others really need a high-current amp to "sing".

Last, what are your future plans for your system? If you intend to continue upgrading in the relatively near future, you might be better advised to save some more money and make the jump directly to separate components (not the same as making the jump to hyperspace...).

If you can respond to these questions, I think our "gurus" can give you a better answer.

Dido!...
I just love these posts(no offense)!..."what's better, a tube amp or SS amp?"..."what's better, bookshelve speakers or floorstanders?"..."What's the best speaker for acoustic guitar?"..."What's the best car for driving to work!?"
This stuff cracks me up!