Big Difference With New Source?

It'll make a HUGE difference. I'd sell the NAD and the VTL, then buy a Cary 306-200 on the used market for ~$3k. Run that directly to your ampflifier via balanced connection. You'll hear a LOT more detail.

My experience has not been the same as Gthrush1. I've upgraded everything in my system at least 3 times. I found that the upgrades from a Kenwood cd to a Micromega 2 to a Meridian 508-24 were FAR less noticeable than the upgrades of (in order) amp, cables, speakers, preamp. YMMV

I agree with Rbirke.
I have found that improvements in the analog end to have much more "bang for the buck" than in the digital end.
I would probably leave your CD playback until last.
I don't necessarily agree with the order of Rbirke. I would put the combination of speakers and amp at the front.

Richard

I must respectfully disagree with some of these posts. I am not a Linn fan but I agree with his philosophy in regard to hiarchy of importance. The single most important thing you own is your source, LP, CD, or whatever you use. The second most important thing in your system is the piece of equipment which retrieves the music from the source. I don't care how good your amp or speakers are, they won't add what your CD player didn't get.
Get the most off of the CD or LP by investing the better portion of your budget there and then work back to the speakers in decending order of priority.
I just bought a Sony SCD-777es and am really impressed with the sound of redbook CD and SACDs.
Shop smart!

I also own the NAD 541 and recently upgraded to the Rega Planet 2k. The differences are not subtle. I brought it home from the dealer for an audition thinking that I'd get my gf to help me switch between the two units without me knowing which one was playing, but after about 10 seconds of hearing the Planet, I knew that an A/B test wouldn't even be necessary. Quite honestly, the Planet blows away the 541. The soundstage is wider and fuller, with more presence to the voices and instruments. The 541 sort of sounded to me like there was a hole in the middle of the soundstage... the Planet is very solid from left to right with better width, depth, and height in the soundstage than the 541. Imaging is better too. It's easier to tell precisely where an instrument is coming from, and there seems to be more space around the instruments. You also get a little better detail than the 541. But all of these improvements pale in comparison to the improvement that the Planet gives in pace, rhythm, and timing. This is a quality that's hard for me to describe but its something that the Rega excels at. With the NAD, it seems like the presentation is a bit cold and analytical, while the Planet seems very lively and just makes me want to smile and tap my foot to the music. This is a very intangible quality, but one that I could detect from the very first listen. The Rega also has a warmer tonal balance, which can be a plus if your speakers have a forward treble, as mine do.

Some people are going to say that digital source doesn't matter or that all cdp's sound the same. I can only say that to my ears, the Planet 2k is a night and day improvement over the 541. If your budget goes up to $2k, you might also want to check out the Jupiter, which I haven't heard but supposedly its even better than the Planet. I upgraded my speakers before the cdp(I went from JMlab Chorus 715 to JMlab Cobalt 816) and as much of a difference as the speakers made, I think that the cdp made an even bigger difference. The 541 is a decent cdp for the money, but even for $1k you can do a heck of a lot better. All IMHO.