Sound quality impact - preamp vs power amp?

I think you're sorta asking the wrong question, so I will spin it differently.  For sound quality impact it's best to find an amp that has the best synergy with your speakers - so I'd focus squarely on the amp over the preamp but not just any outstanding amp but the one that allows music to flow the best from YOUR speakers.  This may not have anything to do with spending the most you can afford....it's about finding synergy.  My speakers sound best from a tube SET topology with a bit of wattage headroom.  I could have spent 3X on a higher end push-pull amp and it wouldn't sound anywhere close as good as what I have.

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preamp . 

what good does it do to get a good amp if you are going to put a crappy preamp ahead of it ?

@riley804   

preamp .

what good does it do to get a good amp if you are going to put a crappy preamp ahead of it ?

And you can easily make the counterargument that a great preamp doesn't help if your amp is a total mismatch with your speakers.  If we go with the assumption that amp-speaker matching has already been optimized then I'd agree that the preamp will be a bigger gain.

@three_easy_payments

“And you can easily make the counterargument that a great preamp doesn’t help if your amp is a total mismatch with your speakers”

if the amp is a mismatch, then you already had issues. you can’t make chicken soup out of chicken crap, so best start with a good preamp and upgrade things down the line when funds are there.