system opinions?

I could do with some theoretical what-if-ing from the experts.

I've finally finished my building work and have assembled my system back together again - with a few new components I purchased along the way while the system was decommissioned. The problem is the new system isn’t setting my world on fire.

My original system was Meridian transport->Meridian 565 pre-pro->Pass X350->B&W 802 Matrix speakers cabled together with cheapo Soniclink/kimber stuff. The overall sound was great, quite warm and very musical. A very enjoyable experience overall, if not the final word in resolving detail, dynamics or soundstaging.

While the room has been pulled apart I had an offer for my Meridian system at a price too good to refuse and sold it with the intention of buying a Meridian 800 series system. After hearing a demo of the new EAD 8800 I was very impressed, and a fraction of the price of the 800 series seemed like a bargain…plus it had true analogue bypass for future SACD use.

I was offered a set of Revel Studios at a good price and having heard them several times with different electronics (Levinson, Classe etc) I knew they were superb speakers and I loved what they did. So home came a nice new shiny pair of studios and a buyer was found for the 802s.

Due to the new room setup and equipment location I needed new interconnects (pre->amp) and speaker cables, and being short on money I took a risk and bought the Argent Audio Pursangs interconnects and speaker cables from Ric Cummins that have been very well received by the audiophile community.

I wanted to try SACD/DVD-A and eventually settled on an Exemplar modded 2900, with the added benefit of being a great CD player for the basis of my experimentation.
I’ve had some issues with my unit which Ric is handling at the moment and so far I’ve only used the digital output of the Denon 2900 into the EAD's DACs so please bear that in mind.

The new system then is as follows:
Denon 2900->Kimber D60->EAD 8800Pro->Pursang->Pass X350->Pursang->Studios.

After setting everything up and letting it settle in for a few weeks now I have a sound which I find 'thin' and 'hollow', almost cold and sterile. The bass sounds nicely fleshed out and on some recordings, the good ones, the system through the mids can sound pretty good. Detail retrieval is very good. Soundstaging is good and the speakers have disappeared, something I thought the 802s did well, but not to the extent the Studios have.

I have to add at this stage that the room is very barely furnished, the room dimensions are 13ft by 21ft by 7.5ft. Walls are plasterboard (front and right) and brick (left and rear). The floor is a reflective rubber. Sole furnishings at the moment is a leather sofa two thirds of the distance back from the front wall. Speakers are across the short wall, it is not possible to move them onto the long wall.

Obviously room treatment is going to be a priority at some stage, but while I figure out the best plan of attack I’m hesitant to spend more money.

Obviously synergy is large part of the overall effect of a systems ability to make a nice sounding noise but I wonder if I have assembled something that would sound dry and thin? Could the problems be down solely to the room?

I’m happy to admit I’ve screwed up (wouldn’t be the first time!) and should of course have demo’d everything in my system in my room, but this wasn’t an option at the time. The good side is that I can probably sell the equipment and break even and start again…should I need to.

So experts, what do you think? Where should I look for salvation? Room treatment, change speakers, cables, tweaks…..give up!?

I have ETF and have started to produce some measurements and schematics of the room. I’ll post them when I’ve got them all hosted.

Thanks in advance for any help
Ian