Help with System Musicality


I'm reaching out to my fellow A'goner's with an issue I'm sure many of you have faced before. My current system (VPI Scoutmaster/Zyx R100H, First Sound Presence deluxe MKII, Edge G8+, Volent CL2i speakers, Mac Mini music server, and Sonore DSD DAC nad MIT, Analysis plus, and Wireworld cables...sounds extremely accurate, revealing, etc.... But that's the problem. It's not music! My favorite system of all time, before Desert Storm war, was Project 6.1 with Kiseki Blue Gold, Vac in the box phono, Reference line 2a, Air Tight el34 Amp, and totem Model 1 with Purist Audio cables. i couldn't have been happier and have been chasing the same enjoyment since then. I want that magic back! Looking for suggestions to upgrade/change system. I like warmth, holographic soundstage, realistic bass, and in-the-room presence with an emotional connection. I'm desperate...listen to %95 jazz. Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. First corrective step @ $3K.
Ag insider logo xs@2xcommunique1
Thanks everyone for your input so far. What I miss the most is that 3d image that puts the artist in the room with you as though you're at the performance. By coincidence I got turned on to a group of local audiophiles with much deeper pockets than mine. I had the opportunity to go, listen and pickup a pair of Antique Sound Labs Cadenza DT 845 Mono amps. Upon first listen last night they were no where near as transparent as the Edge G8+ I have...makes me appreciate them even more. BUT, these babies image like crazy. I've yet however to check bias, etc. Unfortunately war made listening a lesser priority so I got rid of my "dream" system at the time, but I'm determined to return to the magic. It is hard to qualify the sound I'm looking for, bu as A former classical pianist a(in my youth) and stints in jazz and R&B bands in the seventies, I always listen for an emotional connection when I listen. I want the music to touch my emotions as well as my mind. Hard to describe, but I've heard this a few times with some systems.
Before you spend a lot of $$$ it might be that a Schumann Resonator could move the system in the direction you want to go. Acoustic Revive has the RR-777 and Kemp has the SR Plug. There are also units on E-Bay from other sources. I am using the older Acoustic Revive RR-77 in one of my systems and I would not want to be without it. I have tried and use a variety of high-end tweaks, but the Schumann unit has probably made the most difference in what I define as 'musicality'.
Couple years ago, a group of audiobuddies and I, all experienced listeners with high def systems, visited one of our kind who had just bought a RR-777. We spent quite a while trying to hear what he said he heard and there were many A/B comparisons. Not saying he DIDN'T hear it, but it was awfully subtle. I'm not sure whether he still uses it or not.
You sound like an experienced audiophile but I have to ask...

Have you exhausted set up possibilities, i.e. speakers far out into the room, triangulated listening position/speaker location, wall treatments, toe in, etc? A few inches can make a big difference.

I find that a lot of guys just locate replacement speakers where the last speakers worked well and assume that is the best location. Unfortunately it doesn't work that way too often.
Newbee,
I have been into the "hi-end" since the late seventies. You are correct in your assessment of speaker placement and I have a dedicated music room under construction as I write this to make such placement optimal. My main issue beside imaging is tonality and since I'm just spending day 2 with my new Antique Sound Labs Cadenza DT's, I've gotten the body and soul back into my music! In the current room presence has increased exponentially...all with only a change in the amplifiers from Edge G8+'s.