How much does power amplifier really matter comparing to other hi-fi components?

As for the pre-amp, this is also difficult to put a value on. some ppl with higher end DCS or even something like the lumin x1 choose to skip the pre-amp all together and go straight to amp.

Others will find that the pre-amp is the 'heart" of their system and actually put #1 cost priority to their pre.

I think you should make a decision on the speakers which will be the most important/influential and from there it will be much easier to assign values.
If you were, for instance, to enjoy horn speakers and were to go after something like klipsch higher end stuff then you would find that you can save a lot on the amp because so much less power is needed to run something so efficient. 
On the flipside if your flavor was something more like high end magico you would find that the amp choice is very important and you would need to allocate significantly higher percentage of $ to the amp 

So really it starts with the speakers, from there you can start assigning values to the remainder of the chain

Thank you so much for the knowledge.
To pair with an efficient pair of speakers like Raidho XT2, what would be the best proportion of budget for pre-am vs power-am? 50-50, 80-20 split or what?

@questforhifi, Jay compared a Rouge IceEdge 1200 module-based amp, not a Rogue amp which is a hybrid using tube driver and Hypex modules as outputs, just a clarification.

“How much does power amplifier really matter comparing to other hi-fi components?”


Lots and lots. 

I put 1/3 rd into speakers since they are what determines the Sonic outcome and it’s quality in build,drivers,and Xover are 
what determines its tonal accuracy and naturalness .$10-20k
The Source  such as the dac $5-7 k is equally important in quality 
since the music starts there , makes or break the sonics upstream 
accuracy in the original recording , I feel you just need-to spend more with these 2 areas,  while not sacrifice the quality of a good 
integrated amp, or amp,preamp,$7-10k and very respectable cables around $ 5k in cables for all cables is pretty respectable maybe a bit more ,this is good quality mid 
Audiophile cost quality , by today’s pricing, if you can afford more 
that's great.