There isn't much to pro/con.
With the amp, find something with a decent brand name and as heavy as your budget can afford. With a preamp, find something with a nice remote, many outputs, etc. I suggest starting with NAD -
spearitsound.com has some nice refurbs on their latest preamps and amps. The Audiosoruce Amp 300, for its price, is very heavy and puts out a nice amount of power also.
Rotel stuff looks(and runs) awesome but the price is a bit.. high. $700 MSRP for 130x2 is rape, and the fact that they don't sell online and the closest dealer to me is over 30 miles away is disappointing.
Same for Bryston/other uberexpensive stuff. Bryston does have the best warranty, however - you could buy three NADs of similar wattage to one Bryston, which would make the warranty irrevalant. You could buy three and when one breaks, take a new one out of the closet.