Best next step to upgrade sound?


Hello,

I just put together a home theater system with a mid-range Marantz AV Receiver, Marantz DVD player, and Infinity tower speakers. The sound is actually pretty good, I think. My question is: In terms of improving my 2 channel audio sound, what should my next upgrade be? Assuming that I am going to stick with the speakers for at least a little while, I am thinking that a Rega or Music Hall CD player would be a good step up for cd listening. Or should I consider a separate audio-only pre/pro? (Assume that the AVR receiver will stay because it's there for the video duties as well). Any advice in this area would be appreciated.
braudio7
It's been almost a year, so I'll update this thread for those who might be interested. I'll pose another question as well.

I ditched the HT Receiver and got myself a legit integrated (for me, multi-channel is overrated since don't watch a lot of films). I have also added a decent CDP, quality interconnects, speaker cable, and some power line stuff (conditioner, power cords). And wow, did the sound quality improve.

In fact, the only thing that is the same are my Infinity Beta 40 speakers. And I have to be honest, they don't sound that bad. I listened to a couple budget floorstanders recently - the Monitor Audio RS6 and the PSB Imagine T (I mentioned this in another thread). Neither caused me to want to pull out my wallet. I didn't care for the MA's treble, and while the Imagine T sounded better than my speakers, they were not better ENOUGH (and they were being driven by Bel Canto REF 500 monoblocks). So what I have concluded is this: It will behoove me to take my time with speaker selection, and it may end up that I'm going to spend quite a bit more than I thought I would.

So in the meantime, I am considering adding an external power amp to my current setup. My question: How important is it to match an external amp to my integrated if I'm not bi-amping? I can guess that a Rega Exon for example, would sound good with my Rega Mira. But what about something class D like Channel Island D100, or D200, or one of the PS Audio digital amps? I would plan on running a pre-out from my integrated. BTW, I'm asking about class D amps primarily because this is a living room system and space and appearance are considerations.
At this time I am using two PS Audio Trio A-100 class D amps to bi-amp my Kestrel Hot Rod speakers. So far so good. When I first hooked them up I was a bit concerned as they are so small and quiet I wasn't sure how they would sound. I'm thinking of a negative placebo effect. Sort of a "they are so small, how can they sound good?" type reaction. After about 50 hours of listening they sound very good, especially for the price (used).
Small, quiet, and efficient enough to leave on all the time. They might be worth a try.
Bradio7 have you listened to Snell D7 or Snell K7?
I think the K7 is about a grand, not sure about D7. I was very impressed, albeit in dealers showroom. Sounded much, much better than KEF's.
The big $20K Snells are poorly designed IME but the small floor standers are a hidden gem. I heard the older $1,400 Snell E.5 and much, much better than Monitor Audio in the same room at Cosmophonic Sound in NYC. Had rear tweeter to even out room response.