jumping back in, where should i start?

A budget of no more then $5K, which seems to be the 'tipping' point where spending more gets little if any improvement in sound. Check out some of the Caying products, used of course. They give great value and great sound.

I would actually consider a Quality Tube type intergrated amp and a different speaker ( other than B&W )..Something more tube freindly..or possibly throw in a Tube linestage..It depends on the amount of money you can afford and how far you are willing to go to change what you have..You could also sell all of what you have and start for the Ground floor ( which could be your best bet in the long run ) ..Personally I don't think one item will solve your problem..Its more of putting together a group of pieces that require more time and experience...Not sure if that answers your question or not.....

This what I would do. I would sell the Rotel 940 pre-amp/tuner combo and buy Rotel seperate pre-amp and seperate tuner. Say a 990 or 995 pre and an older 850 tuner or a newer RT-990 tuner. These pieces are so much better sounding. The rest are fine for now.