Importance of Amplifier versus Preamp?

Your amp can't sound any better than what the preamp gives it. Consider the preamp as the heart of the system you eventually want and put the money there.

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You may not need a stupidly expensive amp for your pre-amp because the speakers you have are extremely efficient, don't need massive power and interact well with your amp, so you can go with a very low power, lesser expensive (not all low power amps are less expensive. I know!!!) amp."

You're missing one point in that example. When you say that not all low power amps are less expensive. I know!!!, you have to ask why that is. When you use extremely efficient speakers, they demand a certain level of quality and experience matching components, or you'll have problems. You really need to know what you are doing when getting into high efficiency speakers. Wouldn't recommend that path for a beginner unless they fully understand what they are getting into, and have someone with experience to help.

You may not need a stupidly expensive amp for your pre-amp because the speakers you have are extremely efficient, don't need massive power and interact well with your amp, so you can go with a very low power, lesser expensive (not all low power amps are less expensive. I know!!!) amp.

IMO Minorl has made several excellent points in his post, but this one particularly deserves emphasis (although ZD also makes a good point in response, at least when it comes to speakers having especially high efficiency). For a given level of sonic quality, the price of an amplifier will tend to have a significant degree of correlation with its power capability, and with its ability to drive speakers having difficult impedance characteristics. So how a given investment in the amp + preamp should be apportioned between those two components will tend to depend on the efficiency and impedance characteristics of the speakers that are being used.

One important reason why, as I said earlier, that IMO a general purpose answer cannot be defined.

01-26-15: Wlutke
Your amp can't sound any better than what the preamp gives it.

This is true. But it is also true that the preamp can't sound any better than the amp allows it to. So the location of a given component in the chain is in itself of no significance, IMO.

Regards,
-- Al

The best ampith and the best preampith shall only be as good as thine friut.
Thy goodith music giveth and lousyith music takeith away.
And so shall it be. I have spoken :)

If Rockanroller follows all this advice he'll be out 100 thousand dollars. Misery loves company.
If Rock is all you listen to get as good an integrated
as money will allow, just make sure it is rated stable to 2
ohms.