OP, you are getting a lot of great advice. Some a little contrary or advice being made based off assumptions, budget, assuming you don’t like your speakers.
The advice on speakers having the biggest influence is great advice, the place to start is speakers, if you are happy with your speakers, start the upgrade journey with your electronics, if you aren’t, do your speakers first. Synergy is key on anyone’s set up and you want your gear to have the right synergy with your speakers, if they are mismatched, doesn’t matter how good the gear is, you won’t be able to take advantage of what the gear can truly do.
The second question to answer is are you looking to upgrade in the most economical way, best bang for your buck? If you are, the recommendations on Integrated units is a great one. But, there is a big but, some want the flexibility of separates, especially when it comes to the digital chain, the ability to change DAC’s and streamers or both. With an integrated you are locked into the all in one solution, sure you can get a separate streamer / DAC but you’ll end up paying twice then as integrated units that are true all in 1 solutions for streaming build that into the cost. If I went with an integrated, I’d likely skip the DAC unless it was a great deal and you still planned on having an external DAC.
If streaming is your “go to” for listening, it is mine, previous advice given on upgrading the DAC, Streamer and then the Amp / Pre is really good advice, as you move up the chain, upgrading, the quality of the Streamer and DAC becomes much more important, the flaws in your digital chain become more noticeable with Pre and Amps that are more capable. Meaning, if you upgrade your digital chain your current Pre / Amp combo should allow you to hear the difference, if you then upgrade those components, things will get even better. Each upgrade will bring you excitement and satisfaction. Upgrade the Pre / Amp and you may find it really highlights the weak link which is the Node, you’ll then be jonesing to upgrade the Node, like yesterday because things might sound worse to you with the upgraded pre / amp. Stinks when you upgrade and you find yourself thinking the old set up sounded better.
Going used is also a great way to go, saves you quite a bit of $$, allows you to get into better gear, if you are smart about what you buy used, low risk, if you don’t like what you bought, you can sell with little to no loss.
And… don’t forget about synergy is absolutely key, with the BW’s I’d be cautious around some of the brands recommended, especially Benchmark, they make great gear, but the Pre is known for being analytical, very revealing vs say Mac which imparts a warmth, can tame the BW’s. If you go the integrated route and or pre / amp upgrade path, be sure to start with your speakers and look at gear that can drive the speakers to their full potential and have the sound signature you prefer. If you think you might upgrade speakers again, also consider an amp that can drive most speakers to their fulll potential, if you don’t, you’ll be pigeon holed into certain speakers because of your amp and or you’ll need to upgrade both your Amp and speakers at the same time. If you really like your BW’s and if you did upgrade your speakers staying in the B&W family, I’d be looking at solid state amplification known for having a warmer, tubey vibe that is known to have great control over speakers throughout the impedance range. Think Pass, Krell, Coda, Mac, Parasound, also think class A. I’d then look at a Tubed Pre you can get this in separates or some Integrated’s.
Good Luck, enjoy the research and planning out your upgrade path, it’s all apart of the fun.
