What would you do?

The most cost-effective way of getting exactly what you want- 3D stage, more liquid natural sound- is Schumann generators. There's a whole bunch of them on eBay and Amazon, they are all dirt cheap, and they all work. Even though they look like a joke, they really work. I started with one thinking it would never work but instead worked so good I now have 7, and another one coming. 

Or if you want to spend money then Synergistic Research makes a couple different versions, pretty much the same thing but of course better and way more expensive. About 10X, 20X. I doubt they are ten times as effective. But they look about a hundred times better, so totally worth it.  (Eyeroll.) 

Seriously, try Schumann generators.  

But even ten of those won't put a dent in your budget. So get Synergistic Research HFT. Get the full speaker kit, and room kits. You will not believe how these things make your speakers disappear! They completely preserve the sound of your system, just make everything incredibly more clear and dimensional. Exactly the sound stage increase you want. 

You will probably still have money left over. Do these things first. Then when you know I know what I am talking about PM and I will hook you up with the really good stuff.

 

Thanks for your feedback,  This is definitely not a direction I was thinking about. I love that! Would appreciate other's thoughts.

Treat the room acoustically.  Look at GIK (though they have a long backlog at the moment) and other companies.  There are plenty of threads on this.  Searching GIK will take you to most of them.

Dude he said he can't make changes there. Sheesh!  HFT are more effective anyway. 

  Been on this road a very long time. Been through tons of component upgrades. Tried lots of wire, all kinds of tweaks, you name it. Component upgrades are all good and fine. It's not like you are going to buy a better DAC, amp, speakers, or whatever, and not hear worthwhile improvement. That, if you do your research, is very likely.  

There is however a risk with components that few bother to seriously consider. A new component brings a whole new sound. This is fine if you know which piece you have now is the one that really needs to go, and how exactly the new one will be better, and it is all in line with what you want. Which almost never happens. But if it does then great, that is definitely the way to go. This is what I did recently with my speakers. Worked out beautifully.

But you didn't come here describing anything like that. What you asked for is a tweak. Specifically, a tweak that will improve the sound stage and make the top end less harsh. Well the tweaks above will do exactly that, and without altering in any fundamental way the character of the sound you have now. Low risk, in other words.

Sorry, but I am relentlessly logical about these things. You also mentioned giving yourself a present. If you do the stuff I mentioned the sound will be to die for. I mean seriously, you will be amazed, absolutely amazed, but none of it looks very much like a present.

For that may I recommend Townshend Podiums. These things are a lot more expensive, but they look great, and the sound you will get from your speakers will be even better. A tremendous amount of the subtle detail that we get our imaging cues from is incredibly fine speaker movement that is obscured by floor vibrations. Townshend Pods and Podiums isolate components from this and the improvement is impressive and easy to hear. Like a major speaker upgrade only without changing any of what you already like about the speakers you have. Also some of the harshness you are hearing is edge exaggerated by these same vibrations, which is why the sound on Podiums becomes more smooth, natural and non-fatiguing at the same time as it becomes a lot more detailed. If you go this route it will eat up a lot of your budget but still leave room for Schumann generators.  

So many great ways to get better sound! https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367 

I agree with you MillerCarbon.  I agree that buying a new component feels risky and may alter the sound I largely love from my  relatively simple system . I know others will say "you could just sell it' with respect to a new component.  And I know that some components can be heard on a trial basis.  I guess I am relatively risk adverse, maybe I am in the wrong hobby!