amps and monitors

i been runnin my mpc and decks thru my sony hi fi for a while now but think i need something more powerful and with a crisper sound ....... sometimes its hard to pick out the sounds im puttin in to a song on the mpc thru my existing set up.....

this may be a stoopid question but monitors is just another name for speakers right?

what sort of amp / monitor set up u using and or could recommend to some one with an average budget not much greater than $700 - 800

or is this the kind of thing i should save a long time for and then get some crazy shit ..........?

thanks

cram uk