Which area of components to spend the most $ on? Boy I was wrong all my life!

On the other hand... I own a Marantz SA-10 and yeah it is wonderful etc... But my LP playback is also fine. No problems with either one.                
The great mystery seems to be... No one has figured out the one thing that made magic in THEIR system might be worthless in someone else’ system. PERIOD. I think most folks seem to get the junk some other guy found, might be no big deal. It is realizing the same is true for our own favorite steaming pile, if it were put in some other system.                      
Take for example my latest spectacular find: Refrigerator magnetic white board.. under the CD changer. I would GUARANTEE nine out of ten others(probably more!) who might be so foolish to try it would find it worthless, or terrible. Not my problem. But at least I recognize the fact!!                      
So take all your psychobabble about black goo magic cards, and whatever gizmo you found... and stop expecting to get praise as if those are the next coming. For you, maybe they work wonders... Realize the near infinitesimal chance they will do the same for somebody else.                 
So back to the op.. Glad your gizmo worked for you. No need to claim it is the SOLUTION in the Audiophile Universe to all there is.                 
(Do not mind me, I think it is the cold weather.. Cranky geesh.)

I am afraid, digital has to be quite expensive to sound acceptable, what you did you simply took it close to that.
Many good points - recording, room, level the system already at, synergy. I no longer think in terms of upgrades, I am not going to upgrade anything in my current set up, I am going to build a new system over the years, so in this sense it is going to be in a state of flux for some time but it will still be sounding better while in the process. I think, I know the destination, where I want to be with my new system, the rest are minor details. Still, if you intend to keep them for long - speakers first, then either power amp or source, both is better.

"For 25 years, I was taught to spend the most in speakers. Sorry! It’s the FRONT END! The best source you can afford. The purity transcends down the river."

Amen - I agree 100% with this.

Spending $3000 on duplex outlets (on sale! retail was over $4500) changed my perception of what is important. (ten Furutech GTX-D Gold, eight Furutech GTX-D NCF Rhodium)        
Mainly that anyone claiming they have THE ANSWER for all, is confusing what worked for them, with some fantasy of ’universal law’.

Spending $3k on outlets may be a reasonable expense for somebody that has speakers that cost $10k or more. Once you get to that level, $3k increase in the cost of speakers will likely be a marginal improvement. If, however, you have $2.5k speakers like me, adding $3k to the speaker budget will have a much more profound impact on the sound than spending the same $3k to upgrade your outlets.
Everything is on a bell curve. Everything.