Just a thought. I recently purchased a DEQX preamp that completely transformed a pair of speakers that were ruthlessly revealing and too bright for my tastes. The DEQX has very sophisticated DSP speaker correction capabilities that correct crossover, phase, and frequency response problems; corrects for room interactions; and allows for tailoring frequency response to ones tastes (ie fancy tone control). The results are amazing- adds coherency, liquidity, etc and completely eliminates the brightness/edginess/hardness I had before with these speakers. I went through a lot of expensive gear with these speakers, and nothing has come close to the positive impact of the DEQX.
I found that once the DEQX has corrected speaker and room interaction problems, the amp, source, and cabling become much less important. Also the DAC in the DEQX is as good or better than the ones in several 1-2K CDPs I currently own. Vinyl stills sounds great through the DEQX even though the analog signal is converted to digital, and then back to analog.
The DEQX just might get you where you want to go with your existing system.
I found that once the DEQX has corrected speaker and room interaction problems, the amp, source, and cabling become much less important. Also the DAC in the DEQX is as good or better than the ones in several 1-2K CDPs I currently own. Vinyl stills sounds great through the DEQX even though the analog signal is converted to digital, and then back to analog.
The DEQX just might get you where you want to go with your existing system.