HELP I need alot of audio advice....

The Apex is not what you want for music to shine in your system, I agree with Highend and Weiserb, upgrade it first with something better for music.

Very few DVD players are tolerable for CD playback, and even fewer are actually good. The handful of *really* good ones cost well north of $2K. Unless you're prepared to spend that, get a separate CDP for sure.

I'm not really familiar enough with the rest of your gear to discuss it. Hopefully it's all better than the Apex, which is definitely a weak link.

Like the others said, some idea of budget would help, as would knowing the kind of music you like. Most A'goners are music lovers first and HT users second, if at all. You're in the right place, but be prepared for some major sticker shock from some of the advice you may receive!

You don't need a lot of advice--you've chosen your equipment very well, with only one obvious exception. Apex is an off-brand with a poor reputation. A name-brand DVD players (Sony, Pioneer, etc.) will serve you much better.

The other thing you shuld do is play around a little with speaker positioning--it can make a bigger difference than changing anything in your system (the Apex excepted).

You might want to consider a used, older DVD/CDP. RIght now, Sony DVP S-7000 or Pioneer Elite DV-05 or 09 are available for $250-500.00 and would be a major upgrade to your APEX. The Sony compares quite favorably (not as good, but not a major step down) to a $4500 list/$1900 used transport/DAC combo in my system.

I'll defend APEX. You get a lot for your money. However, I would never use the audio outs. Use the digital outputs only and use the Denon's internal d/a. It should make a huge difference!