Both methods can be excellent. The advantage to an integrated is that it can be cheaper and it is simpler. The disadvantage is that you may have less flexibility if you want to upgrade just the preamp portion or the amp portion of the integrated.

Hi Robert,

Agreed with above comment about price. But there are other considerations.

Separates require an extra IC, so a good, accurate one is necessary.

Separates minimize the problem of frequency dependent feedback from one supply. However, the amp Will have this problem unless separate power supplies for each stage are utilized. It is a problem that doesn't go away, regardless of what someone might claim.

Another problem with integrateds is space to do each stage properly. By that I mean that there is not enough physical room to properly design the very best stages, unless the chassis is extremely large.

Separates are more tedious to get right.

Too early in the morning to think of anymore.

Hope this helps.

Buying an integrated will prevent you from have the pleasure of spending more on your interconnect cables than you spent on both of your other components combined.

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Hi again! I would like to know what do you guys think about this issue. Is it better to have an integrated amplifier or an amp/preamp match? What sounds the best?

Thanks!

Seperates have the potential to sound better, but if I wasn't looking to spend about 2k on both a pre and an amp, I would probably go with an integrated. I'm sure there are exceptions, but a good preamp is just as important as a good amplifier and one can strangle the other and cause disappointment.

Adhering to the KISS principle, I haven't found any downside to using integrated amps for more than 20 years now. Go for it.