Integrated vs pre/power

It is a case by case matter, there is no electrical reason why the integrated can not sound as good . The more powerful the amp the more likely it is to come either as a seperate amp or in 2 or more boxes The ASR Emmitter 2 is an intgrated but comes in several boxes and weighs 400 pounds. Since he does not need a lot of power he should probably be looking at lower power amps, either seperate or integrated. Lower powered amps have advantages over higher powered ones when the extra power is never needed. The circuit can be simpler and many feel that smaller amps are more agile. In any case more power costs more money and why pay for something you don't use?

No, the separates won't always come out ahead... a good integrated can perform as well as separates.

Quality and price being equal, the integrated should always come out on top. Particularly when you factor in power cords, interconnect, etc.

Are you looking for reasons to talk him out of buying what he wants? If so,why?

I started with integrateds to save time and money, but drifted towards separates as time went on. Now if I want to change my amp, I don't have to change my preamp.

The nice thing about an integrated is that it's all in one piece, one chassis; the bad thing about an integrated is that it's all in one piece, one chassis.