Which one defines sound: Pre amp or Power amp?


I'm just wondering which component would influence the sound that comes out of the speakers more?

I have a Rotel 5chx120w 8 ohm power amp, Yamaha rxv1800 receiver and Energy RC-70 speakers for HT. I'm trying to make use of what I have and want to dable in a 2-channel setup.
Here are my options:

a) Buy a Mcintosh mc 252 power amp and use my receiver as the pre-amp.
b) Buy a Mcintosh c2200 pre amp and use my current amp(Rotel).

Which one would yield me a better overall sound?
veltraz81

Showing 1 response by pedrillo

Hi dev,
Big fan of mbl as you may recall, was it the 101's you had hooked up for the prank?
Veltraz81,
Here is another little story, though not as funny as dev's.
I have a pair of psb alpha's from a few years back, they cost about 250.00, well they are at work and I just hooked them up last week for a listen.
I can't believe how good they sound! The integrated is an old scott and a little walkman cd player with headphone jacks connected to the scott. Amazing, they just disappeared, of course the space is much bigger than my room at home! But i could live with that setup and maybe a sub.
I too played a joke on an experienced audiophile friend, I pretended to play a record when I really played the oppo cd player, he thought that it was my 430 pound turntable that I was playing, made me wonder should I add more leadshot?
I recommend both the psb speakers and the oppo 980 dvd/cd player. I think you would be happy with either one.