I agree room treatment can be very helpful depending on room and speaker placement options but for me my speakers have plenty of room to back and side walls and i listen semi nearfield- acoustic panels and traps helped but not a big bang for the $.
My personal biggest improvement for the $ is interconnect cables.
Finding the right ones that complement the rest of the system elevates the sound to a level that is not possible without them.
I'm not talking stratosphere either- just $300 per set with discount (Nordost Blue Heaven) but a small percentage of overall system cost.
The sound became richer, more dynamic and detailed. They took a few days to settle in.
Your system simply cannot live up to its potential with basic interconnects.
My personal biggest improvement for the $ is interconnect cables.
Finding the right ones that complement the rest of the system elevates the sound to a level that is not possible without them.
I'm not talking stratosphere either- just $300 per set with discount (Nordost Blue Heaven) but a small percentage of overall system cost.
The sound became richer, more dynamic and detailed. They took a few days to settle in.
Your system simply cannot live up to its potential with basic interconnects.