Quote Originally Posted by zin
I would so love that, but does it make any sense or is the quality on these items just too low/screwing the quality the speakers otherwise give?
Therein lies the conundrum faced by all audio enthusiasts: As your speakers become more revealing, they will open up great recordings and expose nuances you never knew existed on the recording. Unfortunately, they also reveal every shortcoming with the front end, particularly bad recordings. It's the old "Truth or Beauty?" argument.

Here's the thing, speakers vary dramatically in sound from one another. You've got dynamics, planars, transmission line, acoustic suspension, bass reflex, 'stats, etc., and they all have their strengths and weaknesses. It all depends on what sounds best to you. You'll hear a lot of people tell you that for classical, panel speakers (planars/'stats) are the best...and yet 80% of all classical recordings are mastered using dynamic speakers (B&W, to be specific). So who's right? Both, naturally.

There are differences in front end components, to be sure. Not all cdp's sound the same, not all amps sound the same. However, they are not night and day differences like speakers. It's more subtle and, depending on your speakers, may not be perceptible at all.

I'd dedicate the majority of your budget to speakers and then go from there. If you can use the Sony for now, go for it. Upgrade the CDP first. Blackraven's suggestions are an excellent starting point. You might also consider buying used from audiogon.com, a site populated with audiophiles that generally take excellent care of their gear, or factory authorized Bstock from ecost.com. Spearitsound.com is also a fun place to look.

Hope this helps.