Are amp or preamp as important as source in setup?


Just wondering and looking for answer.
In my system (Dynaudio S1.4, Rega Saturn and Cambridge A640V2), as you can see, my weakest link will be my amp in term of money value. I do plan to upgrade it to Bryston power with a marantz receiver. Does it make noticable different? I just wondering why ppl spend lots of money on power amp, can we really hear the different between an 500W to 125W amp? since I only listen music in a normal level.
Thanks.
audiorichard

Showing 1 response by kwtoxman

From the the different opinions I always see on this topic I'd say it depends on your system.

In my system upgrading from an AV SS integrated amp to a high end 2 channel SS amp made a minor difference.

Different preamps made much bigger differences in the sound quality for my system. Tube preamps were the sweet spot for me.

I've heard huge differences by A/Bing tube amps in systems. So I'd say yes for tube amps. Not near as much in SS amp A/Bing.

I'd want horsepower amps for inefficent speakers like planar, but for the other types I haven't seen much of a difference in different SS amps.