2 Channel system sounds weak and lackluster

Thanks for all the replies. I knew room treatment was important but I didn't realize it would cause the sound to be so off. I have moved in and out, side to side, toed in and out and while I notice differences, that never seems to lift the veil so to speak. I'll rearrange the room tonight and see if the long wall helps at all.

When using all of the components in previous apartments I never had issues but they have never all been in a dedicated room this size. I will try and buy a rug or something first and try the cushion techniques but replacing components are way out of my budget at the moment. 

Other replies: Yes, the sound is equally off with vinyl or CD. The directstream has been some of the most revealing audio I've heard in my personal system but at another apartment using the wharfedales and a smaller amp. The ARC has been used before with the Focal and Rega with fantastic results as well. Not to say it isn't a possible bottleneck but it would be a new development. I will definitely re-check all my connections to make sure the phase isn't messed up somewhere but I'm fairly confident its setup right.

One other thing to note: I'm located in Alaska, so buying things might be possible but shipping is a bear and there are no local stores to really try or experiment with

Ok so update, I swapped out the amp for the one I used with the Wharfedales at my last apartment. It sounded pretty much the same for both speakers. I repositioned my listening room along the long wall and it made a drastic difference, even threw some blankets on the floor to see if that helped at all and it seemed to make a notable improvement. As much as I would love to buy a new amp, finances are pretty tight right now so I can only do so much.

My plan for the moment is go to Costco and buy the small sound deadening panels they had because its cheap and gives me a chance to see how it helps and then get an area rug and throw that down. Thanks to everyone for their advice and input, once I try a few things in the following week I’ll report back. Hopefully it truly is just poor room treatment because that’s a lot easier to get spouse approval for vs new equipment 

@oldaudiophile 

You are correct about the front ports and bottom port, positioned right they are incredibly capable speakers especially for their price point (or the pre-covid discount that I got mine at).

The room is rectangular but with a bump in the wall for a closet (previous owners used it as a bedroom and I will be making it a rectangular room when I can get around to renovating). One window (covered with a blanket currrently) on one long wall, the other long wall is where the door to the room is. The window was to my left when listening on the short wall, behind the speakers when on the long wall. Flooring is vinyl pressed wood planks over top of a concrete foundation (basement room). Drywall ceiling and walls, unsure of quantity or quality of insulation (I would assume a fair amount because Alaska). Inside the room is my small leather loveseat and two 8 cube record shelves, one laying down and one upright, behind the couch and beside the couch.

I’ll give it a go with room treatment as you suggested, from what I can tell already it seems to be the right direction

@mswale I went over all of the connections, double and triple checked that they're all going to the correct terminal. Even swapping out to the other amp gave the same results, the only notable change was moving around in the room. I have the option on the Audio Research amp to change the phase and on the DAC I'm using, but no tweaking provided the full change I want until moving the rig around.

@gano I genuinely can't tell if you're trolling or if you're electing to not read the part where I said the sound improved after small adjustments or that the entire system sounded great in the last apartment I lived in 6 months ago. Headphones, earbuds, even my truck, all sound great which is why I specified that it was the 2 channel system that needed assistance. I'm 30 and recently had an audio screening for work, ears are working just fine

Update - I managed to get the panels from costco, cheap and not nearly the quality of proper equipment but this is just for testing anyhow. One on each side wall and one behind and to the center of each speaker. Dramatic difference for the better, the sound was full like it should be and with proper soundstage. I didn't get proper measurements of where they should be or even move the speakers around to try to improve, was short on time. But I think it is truly just room treatment like many suggested. I'm sure other components could help or upgrading amps, but again money is a little tight to worry about trading out several thousand dollar components. Unless something drastic changes I believe this is resolved, so thanks again everyone for the help.