the cart or the horse?

I am not happy with the sound and do not know which component to attack first. There is a lack of presence and body and the sound is well.......boring. I listen to jazz at low volumes and would like your opinion on what to work on first.

This is straight from @wavendon

He listens to jazz at low volume in a 15’x10’ room. He finds his music reproduction boring and unengaging. His Omegas are single driver (No crossover to deal with) . The driver is very high quality and very easy to drive with its 8 ohm impedance load.

A friend has Omegas (Different model but same design philosophy) he describes them as exceptionally pure , organic and musically and emotionally involving. He is using an 8 watt SET (Aric Audio) and is besides himself with satisfaction.

I believe @wavendon owns terrific speakers and has an excellent chance of achieving just what he desires (Primarily "body" and "presence"). I just happen to feel that his amplifier-preamplifier is the weak point of his current system set up, followed by the the Blue Node internal DAC. Low/modest (But high quality) power tubes to match his speakers crossoverless design.  So awesome potential for improved sound quality and connecting with those wonderful jazz musicians.

Charles

I would keep the speakers and simplify everything else. One voicing

Personally, I’d buy a used integrated - ideally something with DAC on plug-in card

With those speakers, you can be flexible on power specs

+ Used PrimaLuna (Prologue 1?)

+ Budget is almost at the very best Marantz integrated (used)

+ Used NAD, and one simplifies things even further (you aren’t far from an M33, certainly an M10) - they all act as streamers. DIRAC might contribute to listening experience in a room that size

+ With your speakers, I think the suggestion of the Luxman SQ-N150 is a lot of fun, albeit you’ll need an external DAC

+ I like the Hegel 95 suggestion above

That gives you a range of tube & ss to consider, and all of those components will last for a long time (and can be resold)

All the above subject to listening preference, but s/b easy to audition because brands are widespread

Save a little more & think about some inexpensive room treatments, if anything obvious jumps out to you

Let us know what you decide to do!

Have a great day

Black Ice F22 using EL84s will rid you of the SS mid-fi and that’s all you need. 
Also, turn up the volume a bit for more “engagement”!

I recommend that you speak with a professional. Watch OCD HiFi Guy on YouTube. Mikey is very passionate about helping people get quality sonics from their systems. 

A Sugden A21 class A may be a good match to your speakers, if you can swing $3250. the Border Patrol dac would also be nice, sounds more "analog" at least to me. All you need now is a turntable...😁