Need advice on overall system

You neglected to mention the basics- power conditioning, and cable choices.

Leads me to think you are unfamiliar with what they can do

Tweak- You're right, I do tend to confer less importance on those things. I have anti cables and ICs, but no power conditioning or after market power cords. I never thought of them as basics and think it's more important to put the money into components. Obviously, I could be wrong.

If the majority of you think my components are even adequate, I would really appreciate suggestions on better cables and conditioning. Also, I have no room conditioning, but that's more of a wife thing. I can't afford to spend that much on such things- Audio Magic products have been recommended many times, but they're out of my price range.

I'm not that familiar with your specific components so I will limit my comments to general ones. Although cabling and power conditioning can certainly make a difference, those differences are more about fine tuning. If you are unhappy with the overall performance/sound of your system, a change in cables or conditioning is not likely to make a leap that would overcome that kind of dissatisfaction IMO. I do think your suggestion about the room could have more impact, but not knowing how bad it is, that would be hard to say. Treatments can be as wife-friendly as carpets, wall coverings and plants in the right places. Speaker positioning also can have a pretty significant impact on presentation. Have you tried playing with that? Just looking at the list of your components my knee-jerk reaction is that if I were to work on one of them it would be the preamp. Seems like the others are proven performers at the top of their class, whereas the pre is a DIY unit that seems a bit outclassed by your other components. The preamp is a very important part of the chain so I might start there. Again, that is just a gut reaction - I have no direct experience with any of your components.

Marco