What is wrong with my system?

About 12 responses ago, the OP added new info that that ML CD player sounded sterile , detailed, but thin.  The Arcam CD player gave a warmer sound with fatter bass.

I currently owned the 802N and my experience was not enough bass like the cheaper pair of B&W 683.  I have a McIntosh C-42 into MC252 at 250 wpc.  The highs and mids are to die for, lots of details, but bass was just thin.  And this is making use of the wall boundaries, etc.  I gave up and just added an old B&W ASW1000 sub, and the sub volume at very minimum, just a tad to fill in the hole and the whole system sounds great now.  Saved me from a lot of stress of trying to tweak the system and not get to enjoy my music with the money I spent.

The Classe amps are supposed to be the best match for those 802's as I read somewhere that they were voiced that way.  I agree with others that the Bryston pre is analytical, and there are no tone controls (?) , so you cannot even boost the bass on some CDs.  

I don't have anything to suggest as there were about 100 suggestions already, but I think I know how you feel, and good luck.  Please post back once you find the working combination!!

Compared to putting in a new major component, such as an amp or preamp, it is relatively easier and less expensive to swap out fuses, interconnects and speaker cables but these latter changes yield little, if any, improvement in SQ.

I would agree with Russ69 a tube preamp will go a long way in creating the sound you are shooting for.  A Cary SLP98 or 05 would be my choice but use your ears.   Then room treatments.   With the room treatments you don't have to get fancy,  plants, flowers and rugs/tapestries go a long way and have a better aesthetic keeping the other half happy.

     Build some good subs out of some old cabinets, then get a good preamp and amp to control them separately.  It works for my older 803's.  B&W tends to sacrifice bass output for accuracy.  Your speakers are great, but B&W also prices their speaker so high that we need a dedicated listening room of the exact size, or smaller, for them to function properly.     .In my bedroom, my speaker sound awesome, but in my main 35 x 25 room, with 14 foot ceilings, I need extra bass on most recordings.
     Time align the subs with the speakers by measuring the drivers.  The center of the sub magnet should be parallel with the center of your 802 woofer magnets.I did have Classe electronics (A bunch of it that was given to me), did not prefer it to my Audire, especially in the bass, I could have been perfectly happy with it.  Ditto for my gift Bryston pre-amp (Now on TV system), which was pretty much bassless with my subs, both with the Bryston and Audire amps, so that is another thing to try out. 
     Another thing?  Do you have tone controls?  I do not, but with one of the Classe preamps, it worked well with some bass boost.

Fanny,  just toe the speakers out quarter of a inch  I understand the speakers but should be fine after