What should I upgrade next?


I am wondering what others think is my "weakest link" in my system.... Here's what I have:
Ayre C5xe CD Player
Pass Labs X-1 preamp
Pass Labs X350.5 amp
B&W 802N (original generation)
transparent ultra XL xlr from CD player to preamp
transparent reference w/XL xlr from preamp to amp
transparent ultra bi-wire speaker cables.
128x128smatsumu
I recently spotted an ad for Audiopoints that fit B&W here on Audiogon. We had vintage 801 Matrix III’s in the studio for some time and found that adding these devices led to a much more musical outcome. These brass cones worked beyond our expectations so we decided to hold on to the monitors. If you are happy with the 802’s then in my opinion I would upgrade them. The increase in speaker performance is well worth the price of the points.

I would also follow up with LAK’s advice and work on cleaner power, isolation transformers, AC distribution or better racking prior to room treatments.
What specifically is missing from the sound of your system? It appears that your system is very nice indeed. I agree that room tweaking is very important. Also, you may want to borrow a nice DAC to see if that makes an appreciable difference in sound (it definitely will) before tweaking too much or buying anything.

Always demo in your system before purchasing.

enjoy
I agree with those suggesting tweaking the room acoustics to include a reevaluation of speaker placement, listening position, and equipment placement.

I also agree that computer audio would be a nice fit.