Not sure what to think or do...

They look great but everything sounds terrible with the new speakers and the new JC5.

They should sound good.

Both the new amp and speakers have about 30 hours on them. I dont think it is the speakers because I tried with a 8 year old A23 Parasound amp and they seems to sound a little better. So either things havent broken/burned in yet or I just got some bad equipment. I hear people tell me it takes 100s of hours, etc, but Im worried and dont expect that big of a change over time.

Yeah I hear that all the time…
But every piece of gear I have hooked up sounds pretty darn good right away.

This has been a bad experience for me and I feel like giving up on the audio hobby. $6k on speakers, $6k on an amp yet the acoustic panels on my Sony tv also sound just as good so Im confused.

Selling it all would be an option.
If it is not the speakers, then getting some amps to demo would be wise.
But it could be that the speakers… (Dunno)

It could also be something like wires reversed, or some issue with the crossovers.

You probably need a UMIK and REW or other way to measure things.
Or an experienced shop that can help.
Or disposing of it all.

The last thing you need now is a bunch of people saying you need thousands of dollars worth or power conditioning, or power cables, or multi k$ ICs and speaker cables.

We’ll your here for advice so I’ll keep it simple. 
Yes it should sound good out of the box, and will likely improve with more time… the amp that is. Thirty hours is nothing on a new pair of speakers so they definitely need some time to stretch out. Give the system a couple hundred hours, one to settle end and second so your ears get accustomed to the new speakers. I’m sure the signature from your old JBL’s and new Wharfedale’s is night and day difference. Lastly play with placement as just because the JBL’s sounded great in one spot your new speakers may need tweaked - another spot. At first fire them straight ahead and then play with toe in if needed, but in small increments. Take your time and have someone help you and be patient. Good luck.

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Sounds like lack of synergy. 

Do you know why the Parasound JC5 exploded? I am wondering if there is a problem with your A/C power in your house. Also, I have done this myself, double check your speaker connections and make sure they are in phase.