CDs via DVD player and the 1050

I am a proud new owner of a 1050 for about 8 days now. Until I made this purchase, I was about 90%HT and 10% music. But in the past week I have taken more of an interest in my CD collection, mainly because of how much better everything sounds since I replaced my Denon 1601 receiver. Unfortunately, even though DVDs, VHS, and even cable tv all sound much improved, CDs just are not sounding as well as I'd like (though clearly much better than they were sounding with the Denon). I do not have a dedicated CD player; I'm just using my Panasonic entry level RV32K DVD (optical out). I keep hearing all this talk about the D-A converter in the player vs. the converter in the receiver, and I'm wondering if I can truly rely on my DVD player to reproduce music in the manner I'd like it to. Does anyone have any advice on how I can make an improvement in music?
Thanks,
AJ

My system:
Outlaw 1050 (what an improvement!)
Panasonic RV32K DVD
Paradigm Mini Monitors (soon to be Monitor 5s)
Paradigm CC370
Paradigm Atoms

Well, if your DVD has digital outputs (optical or coax) you could use that to bypass some D->A->D->A conversions....

Well to start off. I would highly recommend a good sub. I used to have the Sony SA-WM40 which was highly toted at AudioReview but have replaced it with Tempest diy (I'm glad I did). The difference is phenomenal. For music there is much more richness and depth. I think it is very hard to get maximum enjoyment without a sub (of quality, not a boom box as in the Sony). Remember a sub is not just for high SPL but to bring out the important bass line.
Another thing to look into is a better DVD player (I'm looking to replace my Toshiba 2700). My research seems to come up with the Denon 1600 DVD. You can bypass the video circuitry for sound (some audiophiles swear this improves the sound). The Denon uses the highly rated Burr-Brown DACs for sound. It is also capable of playing DVD-A with some bass management (crossover set to 100Hz). On the video side it utilizes the Faroudja chip which is also top-notch. The chroma bug, which plaques so many DVD players, on this model has been illiminated. By the way it is a progressive scan player also.
But my first option for your case would be to get a quality sub or even better yet build it.
my .03 cents