What would be the weakest link in this setup

It always is a safe bet that the weakest link is the room, followed by the recording. Spending $40 on The Master Handbook of Acoustics, and another $500 on DIY treatments, will trounce any equipment or cable upgrade. If you just have to spend more, throw in another $300-500 for an RTA to really do it right with some actual measurements if you are new and can't/won't fully trust your ears. It might also help you optimize the integration of the sub with your mains - usually another weak point in a system. Then another $500 worth of very good recordings and new artist discoveries, with a modest allocation towards your favorite adult beverage if you are so inclined.

All the above will give you many many hours of involvement, education, enjoyment, and sense of accomplishment. Consider the road less traveled. ;-)

I'd say your room. Your ceiling is 8' and width is 16. A multiple like this will make bass modes much worse. Bass traps at a minimum. You'll be amazed at the improvement in sound. Like the above poster states, room treatment. Until that is done it really doesn't do much good to try different components until your room acoustics are done as well as you can get away with. The "average" room has a frequency response of plus or minus 15db or more! No snake oil, hard facts of physics. The sound improvement by taming the room, if you can, is very substantial. You'll hear the improvement big time. I suggest going to realtraps.com and rives.com and reading. With those dimensions you have a serious problem in your bass and that will muddy up the mids and highs. Cheers

I think all your gear is plenty good enough. I'd look at the room. Is it well treated in terms of damping? Are the speakers well placed for smooth response, precise imaging and adequate bass? Treating the room - especially damping the first reflections and overall echo - is crucial for sound quality, and is the best bang for the buck you could possibly get with your current system.

I think that all of the equipment you listed is an excellent starting point. Before replacing any of it I would heed Lak's recommendations. Every piece of the audio chain is important, and until you have experience with those "fancy accessories" as you call them, you won't know their true value.

In my experience I would leave room acoustics until last, and go for cables, power conditioners and dedicated power lines, probably in that order.

As far as recommendations are concerned, I have different equipment so I am not sure how my choices will work for you. However, if it helps, I use Tara Labs Air series interconnects and Richard Gray power conditioning and am thrilled with the results.

Just my opinion. :o)

I would try a YBA amplifier in your system. They seem to mate well with JM Labs speakers. If that was my system, the amp would be the first to go.

Thanks for the input.

Lak: I just started builing up my system, so don't really have those fancy accessoris, but would appreciate any recmmendation and advice on those that goes well with my setup.

Aball: I looked at McIntosh amps, but aren't those little bit more expensive?

Mlauner: The Arcam DVD/CDP will only act as a Tranport to the Meridian processor. Do you still think it's not good enough? Any other suggestions?

I would say the amp is the weak link - I would get a McIntosh amp. My Mc works great with my 926s.

your cd player is the weakest link.source firstin all cases.

Has your room been acoustically treated yet?
What type of power filtration system are you using?
Dedicated circuit breakers, lines and good AC outlets?
What type of interconnects and speaker cables are you using?