i want better sounding speakers

Jesseo1, you never get there. If you did you would be deaf, dead, or in love with ( obsessing over ) something else. The journey is the destination, to coin a cliché. And the gear makers know how to get you no matter what you have.

But it need not take too long to come to the point where you think, every time you listen, "How come I get to have sound this good?" and you are sorry when you turn the rig off :D

Just remember--source first, then downstream. Biggest step you can manage each time. Cables come last.

School's out! Go play! :)

I think the order of the upgrades depends upon what will get you personally the biggest incremental improvement. Unfortunately speakers, source and amp are all critical at the end of the proverbial audiophile day. I have heard about excellent sounding demos of great speakers with IPODs as the source and great turntables with low grade electronics and speakers. Starting at the speaker and working back to source and then amp does not seem like too bad a way to go if you know that you've got to eventually make all three stops. It's all fun.

As far as the hardware part of it goes I believe speakers leave the biggest "thumbprint," followed by amplification (the phono cartridge could be in second place if you're an LP kind of guy). Source material is, to me, a huge culprit when it comes to variability in the sound that reaches the listener. But the king of good or nasty influences has to be the room you are listening in. In the case of my recommendation (Tyler Linbrook Monitors) I would advise against them if you must put your speakers right against any wall.

Congratulations! I remember when I finally realized that I just wanted stereo and gave up on all the crap you need for home theater. I mean how much detail do you need to extract from a Holleywood soundtrack? Most of the sound effects are done in the studio anyway. Now it's all about the music.

Anyway, I am very happy with the VS VR4jr. But Totem is a brand you can't go wrong with either. And well there's too many in that price range that are good.

Maineiac, about that iPod demo ( the Wilson Audio one, I presume you mean ). Can you tell me, was Mr. Wilson using MP3 or Redbook-PCM coded source files, do you know? It would obviously make a large difference to the significance of that demo.

Beemerrider ( nice bike ) I agree you have to find speakers you like ( and how to buy them ). That's part of the game. This hobby is a job of learning, as Jesseo1 sees quite clearly. There is indeed a great variation between speakers and it takes time to learn what they are and which variety you prefer. You might as well do that learning with the least-coloured, highest-resolution source you can find, in my view. It's just more fun that way.

Source material varies too, that's true. Again I feel you might as well learn what's good using a player that can get as much data off the disc as possible.

Of course that doesn't mean you should never upgrade anything but your source. When you start out, though, you know you're going to be spending some time with gear that is not yet your dream setup. In my experience, it's more fun saving money when the source is what you love than when the speakers are your best girl ( or boy if that's your taste ).