Great topic! I am a strong believer that 99% of sound quality depends on loudspeakers and amplifier.
Good sounding audio doesn't have to be expensive. There are really really good solid-state Power amps from 70's that sound fantastic. Those are mostly hi-end attempts by mid-tier companies (Philips, Sony etc.) and can be had really cheap.
I suggest spending 60-70% of budget on loudspeakers, rest on amps and reproduction equipment.
For now, I use a simple home-built 4 x EL34 poweramp without a pre-amp, just a volume knob. It's connected with a straight cable into CD-player.
