I misunderstood your question. (the hazards of 2 am postings).
In my experience and the experience of a few friends the ic between source and pre is always far more influential (critical?) than the ic from pre to amp.
The two areas I've noticed the biggest change in my system have been between my turntable and phonostage and my preamp and amp. Both have been more obvious than my cdp>preamp or phono>preamp.
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