Importance of Amplifier versus Preamp?

Al, would you prefer members simply tell the OP to buy x, y, z preamp or
power amp? No one outside the OP can possibly know what will work best
in his system, or what will give the best bang for his buck. Nothing short of
a home audition of a component is going to prove anything one way or the
other. All any member here can do is share there own view which should
atleast help steer the OP in the right direction. Then again, he might simply
find the many contributions of academic and theoretical interest only as you
postulated..

That's true, as well. But for the purposes of this discussion as to how important the preamp is, we're assuming the amp in question is getting the basics right. I can't speak for anyone else, but I made that qualification in my first post. It was actually the first thing I said.

Ok, thanks for your reply. That's true, you made that clear from the get go. I was just relaying my thoughts and experiences. :D

"If you are seeking optimum performance it is not wise to over or under emphasize any component."

+1 with Doug here. I'm of the "everything affects everything" school.

I don't disagree with your overall point Al, but I think this thread may be of more use to the OP than you may think. If the OP wants to get into high end audio, he might as well see what it is first hand. We all disagree on issues, sometimes greatly. The reason for this is that we all have different tastes, there's a huge variety in equipment, huge differences in price, component matching is critical, and most importantly, the real possibility of spending a lot of money and failing. Audio is very hands on, and its not easy. Most new people don't realize, generally speaking, that as the price goes up, the more difficult it is to put a system together. That's very counter-intuitive to what the average person with little experience may think. Even if we are not directly answering the OP's question, hopefully he can read between the lines on some of this, and consider some issues that he may not have otherwise. How many times have we read posts where people with little experience go out and buy something expensive, and end up struggling with it because it wasn't a good choice? To the OP's credit, he has been responding, so if he's not clear on something, or has other questions, it looks like he won't have a problem raising an issue.

Thanks, ZD. I see your points, and I agree. And my intention was not to demean any of the responses that have been provided.

My point, which I don't think is inconsistent with yours, is that there can be occasions when it is more helpful to answer a question that presumably should have been asked, rather than to focus too narrowly on the question that was asked. And focusing too narrowly on a question as presented may in fact steer the questioner in the wrong direction.

For example, in this case the preponderance of those answers that have directly focused on the original question, "what is most important: a great amplifier with a good preamplifier, or a good amp, with a great preamplifier," would pretty clearly steer the OP to direct most or all of his anticipated $1500 investment toward a new preamp. Yet quite conceivably the weak link in his system may be the speakers, as he now appears to be suspecting (in fact he has just started a new thread about a vintage speaker), or perhaps even the CD player.

I'll say also, adding to your point about the value of the thread, that I was remiss in not mentioning that more than a few respondents have in fact made some potentially valuable suggestions from a perspective that was specifically relevant to the OP's situation, yet did not focus too narrowly on the originally stated question. Including Atmasphere, Mesch, Swampwalker, Newbee, Jmcgrogan2, Minorl, Electroslacker, Mapman, and myself, among others.

So it has been a worthwhile thread in multiple respects.

Best regards,
-- Al