Frustrated with the sound of my system

It would be easy to try swapping the speaker cables, I found the 8TC to be a bit thin and lacking bass in my system.

fwiw

Just to add an example of how hard to figure this stuff out without hands-on help from an expert, I was once dissatisifed with my system for what I was positive would be cured by a more powerful or "better" amplifier until it was proven to me that every sonic trait I was seeking was much better achieved by upgrading the preamp rather than the amplifier. It doesn't always work the way you think it does. Carry on.

Reading through your complaint, I can offer a different way to approach this problem. It's not a solution that most people will agree with, but I think its a legit way to start out in your case. You have identified something in your system that you don't like. Now the question is what to do. I say, locate the problem first, before you spend a lot of money on different components. After reading your post, it looks like you are not really sure what the problem is. That's OK; we all have situations like this at one time or another. But just guessing and buying different components is almost certain to fail. Think of it like this: If, for example, you decide to get a new CD player, think of what it is going to do. Buying a component like this is like buying an EQ with one setting. The worst part is, you do not know what the setting is until you actually plug it in and try it. I can tell you from personal experience that you will most likely fail. There is no better feeling than getting rid of your best component while leaving the problem on your shelf. Kiwi2 is suggesting a very good place to start. Get a cheap meter and a frequency sweep cd and see what is really going on. If you get some bad measurements you can take it a step further you can take it a step further and get a cheap EQ. (I got one for $40 on amazon. Behringer FQB800.) Use it to get a flat response in your listening chair. You might be surprised as to what you come up with. If you read some of the other posts from above you get: new CD player, fix the room, go analog ect. They are well meaning and any one of them might fix the problem; or none of them will. That is why I recommend a different approach. As far as your equipment goes, I have had your preamp and rotel Cd players (different models). I don't think either are the cause (the preamp is great). Also, I have had the Magnepans you mentioned. I wouldn't even think about those unless you can get a really good in home demo first. Anyway, I hope this info can help you out.

Hi all ! Sounds to me as you probably should spend some effort treating the room . You can spend a whole lot of money and get no improvement if the room is bad . How do I know this ? Been there done that .

I was in a similar situation and I simply started replacing elements of the system. This is simply reality, the way most of us do it. I doubt few were able to buy complete systems all at once. It took several years but eventually ended up with a really great system. I did belong to an audio club and got many ideas by listening to their systems. My guess is that you will end up wanting the sound of tube power amps, will change your source, and speakers. Some final tweaks to your cables and you will be all set. Don't rush and with time you will be able to afford more.