Amps or Speakers which one to upgrade next

artemus, just looked up Watkins speakers and they look very impressive on paper. Thanks for sharing.  We are so fortunate to have so many options out there for great speakers at almost any budget.  And keep learning about new ones every day.

@tomstruck,
I heard the Aesthetic at Johnny's (Atlas?, I believe), with a pair of ProAc's (don't know the model), and was very impressed.
I think you should post your question to him.
I would trust his opinion implicitly.
B

Adding to what david_ten said , the biggest improvement I ever got in greater clarity,resolution and quiet background was putting all my gear on Balanced AC power. I use the Equi=Tech Q .
http://www.equitech.com/model-q-shelf-or-rack-mounted-chassis-systems/
All your gear Must have the same ground .Nothing else plugged into the wall may be connected to gear operating on balanced . More quiet background than you can imagine .Movie studios master with this .

Hi Tomstruck, Just a thought but if you have the space and the inclination, I would at least consider as an alternative a listening room enhancement. $7000 could go a long way to upgrade (if needed) your room. I'm speaking as most of us are based on personal experience. My room is small and that has exacerbated the challenges that such an environment presents. Modest room changes and treatments can make the same speakers sound very different. Good luck, Andy

From my experience, I have found that improving my system was best served by working from speaker to source component. My system improved most from isolating my speakers from vibrations. There are a wide-variety of products that fit that category. In my case after auditioning various products I settled on Star Sound Technologies Audio Points and Mapleshade Plinth speaker stands. Good luck with getting to your audio goal.