In reply to:
think the CD player makes more of a difference than the amplifier as far as sound goes.
It depends. If you are using the CD player's D/A converters and sending the resultant analog stereo signal to the receiver, then different CD players may yield different sounds. If you are sending a data bitstream via a digital (optical or coaxial) cable, then there is no way that one CD player will sound different than another. This is not an opinion, it is a fact. A cheap entry level CD player will send the same 1's and 0's to the receiver as an expensive player over a digital connection.
I would think that unless your CD player is very expensive, or your receiver is very old, that your receiver will probably have the better D/A converters.
Mark
