Um, things that are not being mentioned or likely considered here, is the room setup and acoustics. If you have a low 8' ceiling, or sit relatively far back in relation to your setup, you will be getting lots of acoustical challenges to muck up your sound - especially considering the configuration and design of the speakers you're using (tweeter over mid/woofers, and non-first order cross design).
The room acoustics, setup and tweaking are always going to be 50% or more of the sound. So you can't usually have a "how do I get better sound" conversation without including all that, really!
Still, I see you have a Wadia transport, and are mentioning DAC's. I've experience with your Paradigms and Rotel first hand, and can tell you that those components can be swapped out for a larger gain in sound improvement than your digital front end considerations!
You're talking about upper mid-fi speakers and electronics. Get some higher end more refined speakers and amp and preamp setup, and the sound would improve much more dramatically I think.
Still, yes, you must make sure you've addressed your acoustical issues. Otherwise that will hinder your sound quality greatly. So consider.
The room acoustics, setup and tweaking are always going to be 50% or more of the sound. So you can't usually have a "how do I get better sound" conversation without including all that, really!
Still, I see you have a Wadia transport, and are mentioning DAC's. I've experience with your Paradigms and Rotel first hand, and can tell you that those components can be swapped out for a larger gain in sound improvement than your digital front end considerations!
You're talking about upper mid-fi speakers and electronics. Get some higher end more refined speakers and amp and preamp setup, and the sound would improve much more dramatically I think.
Still, yes, you must make sure you've addressed your acoustical issues. Otherwise that will hinder your sound quality greatly. So consider.