Thanks to Audiogon and friends


Please be easy as I'm a nubile/novice/non-audiophile. Having said, I thought that I was the cat's meow. Friends and associates agreed. Now, please don't laugh. I have a HT/Surround system from a "high profile" manufacturer(it starts with B) that I, uneducated, thought was ideal. I was using the system for both HT and stereo audio. I thought it was great until I visited an old friend that had Rega gear. Suffice to say, he and Audiogon have awakened me. My surround system is great for "club sound" when I have a gathering, but is inferior when it comes to true music. I am begining to build a system with a small budget(I've started with a Cambridge Integrated). Needless to say, even wth a low budget amp, the difference is astonishing. Audiogon has been a great resource. Any further insight would be helpful. Please bare in mind that I have a limited budget. Thanks, audiogon members.
auditory
I think the best bang for the buck is some decent monitors (appropriately efficient for your Cambridge), subwoofer and computer/dac (mac with Iphone is mucho funno).

Have fun and happy listening.
Budget? Source - have one or want one? Power of amp? Room size? Speakers on stands ok or want floor standers? Since you liked the Rega gear and find your Bxxx system lacking, I am assuming more realistic and balanced midrange is your goal.
Thanks for the responses. Your comments have given me a good basis for further research.
The best advice I can give for a limited budget is to build your own speakers. This can be done by first auditioning all of the best speakers on Audiogon and identifying the sound of your favorite. You then duplicate this sound by experimenting with crossovers and drivers.
Orpheus10: was that really helpful? A new member asks for honest advice and you provide him nothing in return but cynicsm. Humor is fine but that wasn't even funny.

Why all the cynicsm? It must be viral.