OP,
Just as an encouraging comment about sound quality. As one rises up the ladder in digital, or analog for that mater, audio reproduction the sound quality improves enormously. To the point it was inconceivable only ten and twenty years ago. For instance, I have a high end turntable and phonostage that produces sound unattainable a few decades ago, and more impressively, my streamer and CD player produce sound quality at that same level. So, the defects go away with increasing better equipment. You can see my systems under my UserID.
None of this may not be worth it to you, but the problems with sound reproduction you have experienced can definitely be ameliorated.