What to upgrade?

Re all of above. It is a question of balance. You lose highs if you have too much wall covered. Use a friend and mirrors to determine placement of modest size (2x2 ft) absorbent material at reflection points. What do you have for furniture in the room? Some "absorbent" (not leather)couches and chairs(lazy boys) can do wonders for bass. I would also look carefully at your support system for your equipment-especially the cd player to start. If you don't protect equipment from vibration then the sound will definitely suffer as volume increases. This is one of the big reasons the bigger better speakers have more mass as well as solid construction- to try to eliminate vibration from the drivers. I wouldn't spend a cent on equipment until your room and mechanical isolation are to your satisfaction. It will make a world of difference to what's bothering you- and is a great investment in your long term enjoyment. In this hobby you will be happier if you can appreciate getting good sound from a room is a necessary & educational process- that will also allow you to enhance your listening ear and get more enjoyment from the music. Hopefully helpful:)

MORE POWER...seperate's - go with a pre+amp comb of the same make. Sound will open up for sure :-)

ok, just a thought, The opening behind my listing position opens up to the rest of the house(I am in the upstairs loft)The back wall is about 3' high the opening is about 4' high and 15' wide. Would I benefit with some type of sound acoustics behind me?

I have never heard a problem with free space behind the listening position. I agree with Mapman that you should experiment improving the sound of your current system prior to upgrading. You will likely increase the return on upgrade dollars spent.

Materials for building ones own sound panels can be purchased from ATS acoustics.

When you will buy speakers which can give a deep and wide stage you need amps which can give you a deep and wide stage. So first you need to know all the different properties of all the brands and products you are interested in. In the world of highend audio 3-dimensional sound is the most thrilling part to the absolute sound. For me it is difficult to understand why you would choose for a 2-dimensional sound? These days I only sell 3-dimensional sound. Many amps like sources of Marantz will make the image less wide and deep when you use amps and speakers which can give a wide and deep image. You cannot connect any brand to a set to keep the 3-dimensional image. It Always depends of the properties of the source you bring in. Listen also to the Platinum speakers of Monitor Audio with an amp like Pass Labs. Monitor Audio can play at extreme high volumes with a 3-diensional image to die for. They use very good crossovers for a deep and wide stage. They also have one of the best responses in timing of the units they use compared to competitors. Inside they use pure silver cable, most other brands use simple and cheaper copper wiring inside. There high. freq ribbon tweeter goes even above 100.000 hz and also makes the image even bigger. There crossovers give a lot of depth and wide. But in many recordings it also can let you hear instruments in front of the speakers. The huge image is one of the most addictive images I ever heard in my life so far! Don't buy a cd player anymore. Go for a streamer.