@rvpiano I’ve experienced exactly what you’re describing. The first time I hit the wall I stopped listening to my system for several years. I had a very musically engaging system with B&W N803 speakers, Audio Research CD3 player, ARC LS-25 tube preamp and Pass Labs X250.5 amp. I then “upgraded” to Dynaudio speakers, sold the ARC components and went DAC direct to amp with Mac Mini as a source with my entire CD library ripped to it an external drive. And few months in I reached the point you’re at now. It was all about listening to how the system sounds and listening to and purely appreciating music became difficult. I took a long break and when I came back to listening I figured out what the issue was. I changed the speakers, DAC, got the separates again and began the journey of getting it all back on track.
My recommendation would be to first take a break and then reassess your components. Looking at your system with the Benchmark DAC and amp, that could be a potential starting point. I owned a few Benchmark DACs (DAC 3 HGC was the last one) over time and found the Benchmark house sound to be geared more towards honest albeit cold and analytical presentation. It’s going to show you what’s on the recording but won’t engage you emotionally. Never heard their amps but I’m pretty sure they adhere to the same principles.
Another potential issue is streaming. This is a controversial topic and I’m expecting others to jump in and tell me that I’m wrong, but comparing streaming to physical media when we’re talking low end to mid-fi at best streaming components, you’ll not be getting the level of musicality and engagement you can get into by spinning vinyl and CDs. Not saying streaming sounds bad, it’s just not going to compete with similarly priced CD player or transport in this category.
There are many good DACs out there that will beat the Benchmark in the same price range. Streaming is super convenient and gives you access to amazing music library but it is a sonic compromise. My $0.02.