Audiophile, need mp3 player/portable amp advice (please....)

Hey, I'm a ninth grader who loves music, and i'm looking to buy a new mp3 player and a budget portable amp. So far i've looked at the Cowon iAudio9 (saw some great reviews) and iPod Touch/iPod Nano.

I heard that the iPod sound isn't great, but it has a line-out, so it's the best portable sound u can get if u have a portable amp, whereas the iAudio9 is great without the amp. But i'm not sure how they compare if we're talking about both of them being amped.

For the amp, i was looking at Headroom's "Airhead" or the NuForce Icon Mobile. The airhead seems more widely used, but the Icon Mobile got better ratings in direct comparison with the airhead.

Any advice on which combination of items i should be picking? I have quite a tight budget (no HiFiMan for me), so that is about all i can afford, but if there are any other set-ups of note, any suggestions are welcome.

I'm only interested in sound quality, so other extras (such as the truck-load of apps for the iPod Touch) are totally wasted on me.

I'm using the Westone UM2, and like the warm sound it gives, and i lack the funds to upgrade to something better.

Thanks in advance!