The simple answer is yes you will definitely improve sound with better transport. The question is which one is better to your taste. Very often there are no simple better or worse but just different characteristics and you have to choose which one you like better. I'm not commenting on Denon v CES cause I never heard either one, but hypothetically, better transport will obviously result in better sound. Will it be a huge change or marginal, it is up to you to decide. To me the difference between Sony7700 (stock)and 10 years old Krell 20t (stock)is big - Krell is much better sounding unit, but I'm sure that some people probably would say there is no difference at all or that difference is not worth the money. To make a long short, you should not rely on somebody’s taste but get both components at the same time in to your system decide which one you like better, and even then it won't be an easy task. :)