How important is the pre-amp?

So in the end, would a high quality integrated be the best way to go (assuming one likes the sound of the unit) due to one less pair of cables, electrical cord, etc?

If you're looking for ultimate sound quality, no. Integrated amps have both power amp sections sharing a common power supply; in rare exceptions they might have dual power supplies (so that's a thing to look for) but you have a lot of other circuitry on the same chassis and finally, to make it work it has to sit between the speakers (since for best results the speaker cables should be kept short). That may not be the best place in the room since vibration can play a role in system performance. Integrated amps often share ground connections, which has the same effect that you hear with a 3-wire headphone hookup as opposed to a 4-wire hookup. Its nice to keep the left and right hand ground circuits separate- that gives you the opportunity for lower noise and possibly less ground loop potential.


Separates have more chassis real estate for things like extra power transformers, regulation and the like. The don't share power cords (unless you plug them all into the same power strip) so there are less voltage drops in the AC supply.

So in the end, would a high quality integrated be the best way to go (assuming one likes the sound of the unit) due to one less pair of cables, electrical cord, etc?

In the end, yes. Because what the separates proponents always leave out is the cost of all that other stuff you mentioned- "cables, electrical cord, etc". Also the single biggest cost factor in a component is the box- the chassis, faceplate, knobs, etc. The "real estate" mentioned above. Every component manufacturer has to turn a profit, money spent on the box is money not spent on the parts that go inside the box, what makes it sound the way it does. You can pay for real estate, or you can pay for quality parts. Cannot have your cake and eat it too.

Also what you want to really get the most out of your whole system is a whole system. Not just a few boxes, but the stuff connecting, powering, supporting, and the room they are in. So you take your budget, whatever it is, divide into integrated, power cord, Pods, and fuse. Then do the same for preamp, amp, TWO power cords, TWO sets of fuses and Pods, PLUS an interconnect. Now all of a sudden you are comparing one really nice integrated with a budget amp and preamp. This is the reality of separates.

At the very highest levels of performance then that is probably the only way to go. Now you are talking 4 digits on the low end to 5 or 6 - per component! They never mention any of these cost factors. Even when you bring it up. How convenient.

OP,
I had to come back to this thread. I just changed the preamp out of my system for a new to me unit and left everything else the same. Transformative is a massive understatement. This is one of the benefits of separates: The ability to pick one component and go for the home run...upgrading other things as time and budget allows. I may consider an integrated for the bedroom system simply because of space savings. I would sound like a total sound geek shill if I tried to explain all the differences this unit made in my system. My first experience with a true audiophile quality preamp has changed my mindset completely. Cheers.

So in the end, would a high quality integrated be the best way to go (assuming one likes the sound of the unit) due to one less pair of cables, electrical cord, etc?

Note the word 'best' in the question above. Integrated amps are a set of compromises. They might be excellent, but if we are talking about best then they will not be able to outperform separates that are built with the intention to be the best. This simple fact has been a thing in audio for the last 70 years and hasn't changed at all in that time. 

It would seem to me that attenuation would be best implemented remotely at the input of the amplification stage and all other control duties be placed further upstream.