I am looking to upgrade - looking for advice

Ok I meant to be sobering but not depressing. Maybe realign expectation with reality. I actually disagree with the premise that amplification within its limits all sounds the same, I feel tonal character changes among other differences. Detail, bass, soundstage, treble, but it’s more subtle than people lead on. Hegel makes fantastic gear, but its straight down the fairway neutral so picking it apart from other amps can be difficult but they’ll match well with anything and the 390 can drive literally anything so it’s an item you can keep forever. But the Rotel stuff you have is no slouch either. You’ll see when Hegel arrives and can make your own conclusion on value.

There is also nothing wrong with your B&Ws per se. It’s just not my cup tea, I find the treble a bit hot and at times they can sound artificial compared to other speakers. They may work well in your room and with your music so if you like them, keep them, it’s certainly easier to change gear than speakers. But if you were going to make an upgrade that’s where I’d do it to get the most bang for your buck. I’d even look further up the B&W lineup if you really like their house sound. Please don’t be depressed, but manage expectations and don’t feel compelled to spend a certain amount of money or change everything at once.

It’s digital gear that I have the hardest time justifying. I’ve had a lot of stuff in my system both dacs and streamers, so I’m not talking out of turn. Maybe there’s something out there that will mop the floor with the Node but I haven’t come across it. I did say buy on features and the Eversolo has a really nice display and is a pretty good looking unit. I think it also decodes MQA although Tidal seems to be abandoning its MQA files in favor of flac.

One last thought- you could look to add to your vinyl collection and upgrade the player, arm, needle etc.  Analog sources are much more flawed spec wise and the differences can be apparent, so maybe not to the same extent as speakers but depending upon how much time you spend listening to vinyl it maybe worth investing there as well.  I’m not the guy to ask though, I only stream.  Don’t even have a cd player anymore.  

I have yet to hear a B&W, (and I too coveted and auditioned numerous models of B&W when I was in the early stages of piecing together my first true audiophile grade set up) that were not overly bright and gave me listening fatigue after only a short while. Cancel/send back what you are able and begin again with speakers...both you and your wife will be far more pleased with the results.

On the plus side, with the Hegel, now your amp is the strongest link in your chain. That’s not a bad thing, aside from: at 250Watts, it is a beast, way above the B&Ws’ capacity. I don’t know the B&W 705 S2 and how they sound in your room and how big is your room. If you add 2 subs, maybe it will be a huge step up from your previous rig.

I used to think speakers make the biggest difference, but here is my analogy: speakers emit the sound that you hear, it’s the constant that can’t change. It’s like a car and the driver, the speakers are the car and everything else are the driver, your room, placement, sweet spot, amp, source, cables, etc. My approach is to find a speaker I like and then I "drive" the best and most out of it.

OP,

Please do not worry about some of the contradictory advice you got… particularly that from @perkadin. I am sure it is very well intended but is either not correct… or highly dependent.

As far as speakers. It is a rule of thumb that it is best to have speakers of above average cost per electronic component… but the reality is, great electronics will get the very best sound out of your speakers. I have been helping a friend build a system. Recently he ended up with a $13K Streamer / DAC, a $10K preamp and a $10K amp powering $800 KEF stand mountain speakers. Wow… it was simply great sounding. Ridiculous… I suppose… but they sounded amazing. Something I could enjoy and live with for a long time. Since then he got some $15K speakers. Does it sound better… yes, but the KEFs sounded quite amazing.

Most of us anre not rich, we build systems one step at a time. The important thing is to enjoy each step. You made a good step forward… and should feel great about it… like you will after spending time listening to it.

@ghdprentice Maybe I'm misreading but it seems your rule of thumb is literally based around spending a sufficient amount of money per upgrade, and then spreading that money evenly across components until everything is upgraded.  Unless you believe there is a linear relationship between price and performance that is a terrible idea.  Maybe I'm old fashioned but I think evaluating audio gear should be based around listening, and the only way to properly do that while managing external influences, such as yourself, is blind testing.