The missing piece

Well I've been running various ohm speakers now since 1978 and ohm
Walsh speakers since 1982 or so and don't foresee them going anywhere.
Most other very good stuff I use is probably replaceable one way or
another. The ohms are most unique. Nothing else like them.

Squeezebox touch was a transformational gadget for me as well in terms of
enabling hours on end of musical enjoyment in ways never imagined prior.

Audio Research Ref 3, let me know I had to upgrade all my components.

It is my belief and experience that most systems do not perform anywhere near potential because they have not been tweaked out properly. Resonance control, power conditioning, flux reduction, room acoustics, CD/DVD treatment, etc. These are the things that bring a system to life. This is the 'X Factor'. Upgrading to a new component can make a difference, but in most cases it will be modest to an already good system. Tweaks take time and experimentation, but typically are the most cost effective things that can be done to find the 'holy grail' as Raymonda calls it.

"t is my belief and experience that most systems do not perform anywhere near potential because they have not been tweaked out properly."

That may be true. BEfore tweaking though comes the choice of components to use together. Tweaking may help but potential cannot be realized unless the parts work together optimally to start. That way you start with good performance and tweak as needed from there to get things sounding the best to you.