Welcome to the forum.
You have a lot going on there in your first post. So before I dive into anything, I have a couple of questions for you that will let us know how best to proceed with attempting to get you to a place where you are happy with the sound you are hearing:
1) How open are you to adhering to a slow, step-by-step process?
It's ok if you're someone who "just wants things to work". Not everyone has the time or the inclination to go through what is often a slow and tedious process. If you know right away that you won't have the patience for that, then we won't worry about it
2) Is the goal you have in mind to hear what you were already used to previously, or are you open to hearing accurate sound reproduction - perhaps for the first time?
Again, there is no "right" or "wrong" answer here. Very often, people have become accustomed to things sounding a certain way. To them, that is "right". Depending on your openness to question 1, I can tell you how to get to accurate sound reproduction, but that is often a jarring experience if it is not what you were used to.
3) Are you open to possibly thinking about how a sound reproduction system works, even if that might be different from what you've already gotten used to?
The toughest thing for many people to overcome is getting away from thinking of one component being solely responsible for some aspect of the sound. In truth, it really is a system. But that way of thinking doesn't "click" for everybody. And that's ok.
My goal here is for you to be happy with what you're hearing. But what will make you happy might not line up with what I know how to do. And the way I approach setting up an audio system might not jibe with the way you're comfortable doing it. My particular method takes patience, trial & error, and attention to detail. And at the end of it, your sound will be as accurate and transparent to the recording as possible within whatever limitations you might have. For some people, that's exactly what they want. But for other people, that sounds like a tedious nightmare! So I shall leave it to you, and respond according to how you answer my three questions above.
Unfortunately, I must warn everyone reading this that my time is very limited at the moment. So my replies might only appear in dribs and drabs. So hopefully, others will also chime in to try and help you, Jeff. But I will start by saying: IF you are open to going through a whole process (and it is perfectly ok if you aren't), then I would try to dissuade you from looking to make any purchases right away. Let us figure out what you are already working with, go through the process to get your existing equipment sounding as good as it can, and only make a purchase if it is necessary. Like I say, my method takes patience