About six months ago, I caught the audio bug from a friend and neighbour, at which point I decided to upgrade a few components. However, I'm on a budget and so my kit is fairly modest. The NAD integrated amp and tuner, the Kef Q5's and the Monster power bar, purchased last Fall, brought my system to what I feel is introductory-level hi-fi. In January, I added the van den Hul interconnects, which were a noticeable improvement.
The CD player is currently the weak link IMO. I've been thinking that the NAD C-541i would be the best way to go, given budget concerns, a number of good reviews and a top-place finish in a What Hi-Fi? comparison with units from Arcam, Rotel, Rega, Marantz, Sony and Roksan. There's also the Shanling CD-S100, which I believe may be the same machine as the Music Hall CD-25 (although I've asked for advice on this in a thread on the Digital page here at Audiogon).
Also, I'm really tempted to find out if the merits of bi-amping are for real, with the addition of the NAD C-270.
Finally, although I said the cd player may be the weak link, the speaker cable is also vying for that title. I'm interested in the van den Hul CS-122, a 12-gauge silver coated OFC cable with a layer of carbon fibre that I've heard good things about.
System edited: Just added the NAD C-270 amp and the C-541i cdp to my system. Am now bi-amping with the C-370 feeding the tweeter/mid-range drivers of the KEF Q5's and the C-270 feeding the low-frequency drivers. Not much burn-in time yet, but sounds promising.
