Hey Cyanzky,
I think part of determining your goals is to have an idea of what it is about your system you'd like to improve.
You state that you're interested in 2 channel, but what kind of music do you like to listen to? Knowing what kind of music you'd like to enjoy on your system can help determine what type of gear to consider. Building a system around jazz and metal would involve two different approaches.
For jazz you might want to create a system that reproduces vocals and acoustic instruments well. This may involve tube equipment and not require the purchase of high current amps and big speakers.
On the other hand, a system based on producing big sound for metal, soundtracks, etc. could require more powerful solid state amps and possibly different types of speakers whether they be floorstanders or monitors integrated with a sub.
Another factor is figuring out how far you want to go. I know this isn't easy, and to be honest I'm in much further than I ever imagined I'd be. But putting a ceiling on what you want to spend and maximizing your system around this budget is a good idea in the beginnning. This will help prevent you from upgrading as often as some of us, and hopefully sit and enjoy a system for a few years and not weeks before changing things out again.
Get out and listen to many different types of gear. I realize this could be dangerous, because if you hear something that blows you away and it's very expensive, you may either become discouraged or raise your spending limit. The great thing about Audiogon is that many people here can give you cheaper alternatives to the expensive systems you hear in high end audio salons. I've discovered so many great manufacturers through the members of Audiogon that I never saw in the audio magazines or in a any stores.
Listening to other systems will also help you determine the type of system characteristics you like as well. That is, do you like sound that is romantic and intimate or something big and bold.
Read through the Audiogon archives and look at other member's virtual systems. If possible note their goals and compare that with the system they built.
In general I would suggest:
1] Determine what kind[s] of music you'd like to reproduce with this system and how you'd like it presented.
2] Create a budget
3] Visit audio stores and listen to friend's systems as much as you can
4] Peruse the archives here and look at member's virtual systems.
5] Don't spend a lot on cables, isolation tweaks or power conditioning in the beginning. These are important, but on a restricted budget they can be dealt with last if at all since they can in themselves become very expensive upgrades.
6] Make sure your listening environment is sonically optimized and your speakers properly placed for maximum effect.
Specifically in your case:
1] I agree that the Denon is probably the weak link and starting with an integrated would be the first good move.
Good luck!
