Quote Originally Posted by Bigmoney
Is my marantz 4001 really inadequate..........I have heard of huge differences that amps make compared to the player. How are monoblock amps better?
There isn't universal agreement on the typical contribution of various component types to the overall sound quality. My list is as follows:
  • Speakers
  • Room treatments if & where necessary
  • Vinyl playback, viz. cartridge & turntable if used
  • Radio tuner if used
  • Amplifier
  • Preamplifier or DSP processor (if not a receiver system), including phono preamp if used
  • Digital sources, CDP and/or DAC
  • Power supply filters if & where necessary
  • Vibration control devices if & where necesary
  • Speaker cables
  • Component interconnects
However it is the "weakest link in the chain" that needs to be address first.

On the other hand you will note that some people insist that upstream components, e.g. CD player, generally take priority over downstream components