I can appreciate all the suggestions for room treatments, but isn't that like putting lipstick on a pig?
I mean, room affects sound/stage, but wouldn't a person want to start with the equipment first?
And room treatments, at least good ones, are very expensive. Look at the OPs list of gear, I dont see that the GIK stuff is similar in pricing. I mean, suggesting one GIK would cost more than his preamplifier or other piece of equipment. IOWs, it does not make sense to me. Yes, the room traps/diffusers will help him, but at what price? and then he never figures out which parts of his audio chain hinder the soundstage.