I am looking to upgrade - looking for advice

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.    

Rules of thumb are good ways to begin extensive research of professional reviews and auditioning of audio equipment. I listen to equipment inside my circle of interest as well as outside the circle to verify the validity of any generalizations I have made on a search or made from my previous experience. If there are errors in my generalizations, then I start over.

From here I get serious about auditioning and comparing options. In more recent decades I have had the luxury of often auditioning in my home with the rest of my equipment. I have one main system, a high end headphone system, an office system and a “burn in / experimental system (mostly Schiit). So, I am connected to multiple levels of investment.

So, over the last fifty years I have developed my methodology and repeatedly used it for upgrades. None of it is fixed in concrete. Out of this experience I have noticed the end products of my searches have tended to end at some particular configuration. So, this is where I came up with my rules of thumb. And they are just that… starting places that do not replace lots of research and auditioning, but are helpful to guide folks to optimal solutions.