Best Preamp and Amp combination, interesting finding!!!

Rbstehno, I did say I was making a "general" observation. I couldn't be less interested in who or what's right or wrong here but it sounds like you just proved my point. Did you say you replaced a $6,000 "nice" integrated with $12,000+ of separates? And you did this when you upgraded to "larger bigger" speakers? Did I get that right? I'm assuming you know that components need to be properly matched in order to sound their best,  right? If you went from 8 ohm nominal load to 4 ohm nominal load speakers, it would make sense that you'd likely need an amplification source with a better current supply to drive "larger bigger" speakers. Care to elaborate more specifically on your component juggling?

Bryston Bargain - I recently acquired a Bryston SP-1 for about $450 for the specific purpose of using as a two channel pre-amp. The two channel section is based on the BP-25 witch was their top of their line for decades. This one sounds awesome. Every once in a while one of these comes up for sale pretty cheap. If you need a two channel pre , might want to look for these .  

You can not get back what is lost further up the chain so therefore the cartridge or the cd player/streamer/dac is the most important followed by the phono preamp/pre amp and then the amplifier but when you find a really good amplifier that will play any speaker that is when the magic really happens.

I always thought that the amp has a greater impact to sound quality, but my experiment proved otherwise.

Your experiment proves nothing. The more expensive preamp, less expensive amp combination happened to be the better option given the components you used. That will not always be the case.

 You simply cannot make a blanket statement like that based on two pre- power-amp combinations.

Hi viethluu,

So I agree with you regarding the preamp influence..

I have been involved by high end audio equipment since the beginning of the eigthies...

At that time the worldwide market niche and audiophiles education have established listening audioexperience reports within high end reviews..

We were talking about the value of the sources as priorities...

Pioneer like audioresearch , mark levinson or conrad jonhson have achieved numerous of preamp and their upgrade to improve subjective listening performance.

I remember of night comparison between Marklevinson Ml1, audioreseach  sp 6,sp 6a, sp6c  sp8 and sp 10 vs conrad jonhson premier two premier three ...and so on.

Basically there are complementatity or not...

Audioresearch design oriented with clarity, details and focus  and C0nradjohson appecied for aeration ,sounstage and natural treeble...these philosophie for each company has been maintened since the beginning..

The experience show that a link beetween a transistor amp linked with a tube preamp may be an advantage to combine the matter and weight of the note given by the pre to the bass acuracy of the transistor amp..

As a result it prooves far more difficult to bring into focus a good preamp vs an amp...it is a definite rule well known by the worldwide specialists..

To date ,preamp culture and know how has disepear since the input stage doesnot include anymore high range Phono MC and MM..

Marketing reasons to make savings have oriented the audio company to " simplify'" the design in bypassing preamp since high end is costly...

Vintage preamp unit like Conrad jonhson  Pv 10  a PV 11, Pv12A or premier series are among the best opportunity ta acquire universal preamp including phono or not..

Keep in mind that the hierarchie in hifi system is.

Source   

Preamp 

Amp

Loudspeaker.

Regards

Raymond