What would you do?

I agree with you MillerCarbon. I agree that buying a new component feels risky and may alter the sound I largely love from my relatively simple system . I know others will say "you could just sell it' with respect to a new component. And I know that some components can be heard on a trial basis. I guess I am relatively risk adverse, maybe I am in the wrong hobby!

Component selection is a lot of time and trouble. Component upgrades are also expensive. My philosophy is you are almost always better getting the most out of what you already have than swapping out for "better". 

Bear in mind, none of these guys offering that sort of advice has ever tried any of the stuff I am talking about. But if you search around you will find those who have actually tried this stuff confirm what I am saying.  

So as far as risk-averse goes, you can find Schumann generators on eBay and Amazon. They are all the same circuit and it really doesn't matter which one and so what I did was search around for Make Offer and got mine for only $11 each. Can you risk $11? Just one will not be that big an improvement but you will hear it, and then you simply buy more. Just be sure to get ones with included USB cable. I assume you have a couple spare USB chargers laying around to plug them into. If not then add a few bucks for that.

Some say placement matters but not that I have noticed and so you can probably do fine with them laying around behind equipment racks where it won't matter how they look.  

They sell the same exact thing in a plastic case for hundreds. Synergistic puts it in a anodized aluminum case for thousands. You can buy 7 for $100!  

The more you get the better it sounds. With each one the top end becomes more and more fluid and natural, with less strain and glare. You will hear deeper and deeper into the acoustic space. People talk about the background getting blacker. They should try these so they know what they're talking about. This makes images seem so much more dimensional and lifelike. I've heard a whole lot of stuff and can say for sure you will not get this degree of improvement as these with any DAC or amp or anything else, not without spending multiples of your entire budget anyway. Maybe not even then.

People will argue with this. When they do, ask how many of these they heard? So how do they know? They do not. Biggest problem with this site, all these people blathering about that which they know not. If they would just come out and say, "Of course I never tried this so haven't a freaking clue, BUT" and then launch into it, they could be forgiven. But don't hold your breath.

The equalizer by the way, will do NOTHING for what you want. All EQ can do is turn down the level of the top end. This does nothing to the real problem, harshness. Might as well tell you to put cotton in your ears.

Seven or eight Schumann generators will have you swimming in a luxurious deep rich sound stage for under $100. A set of Townshend Pods under your DAC will open it up with more detail, dynamics, and truth of timbre than you could get from any $3k DAC sitting on its factory feet. Then trick your speakers out with the Synergistic Research HFT Speaker Kit and they will flat-out disappear. You can do all three for well under your budget. They will preserve all the character of what you have, and not change it, but only make it better. All of this for only about half your budget. Your jaw will drop!

Townshend Pods are sold based on component weight. Check with John Hannant he helped me out with mine. https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa8492-townshend-audio-seismic-isolation-pods-set-of-4-sizes-a-b...

Synergistic guarantees the speaker kit, and you have my personal guarantee on the Schumann generators. Can't get more low-risk/high reward than that.

Dude he said he can't make changes there. Sheesh!  HFT are more effective anyway. 

  Been on this road a very long time. Been through tons of component upgrades. Tried lots of wire, all kinds of tweaks, you name it. Component upgrades are all good and fine. It's not like you are going to buy a better DAC, amp, speakers, or whatever, and not hear worthwhile improvement. That, if you do your research, is very likely.  

There is however a risk with components that few bother to seriously consider. A new component brings a whole new sound. This is fine if you know which piece you have now is the one that really needs to go, and how exactly the new one will be better, and it is all in line with what you want. Which almost never happens. But if it does then great, that is definitely the way to go. This is what I did recently with my speakers. Worked out beautifully.

But you didn't come here describing anything like that. What you asked for is a tweak. Specifically, a tweak that will improve the sound stage and make the top end less harsh. Well the tweaks above will do exactly that, and without altering in any fundamental way the character of the sound you have now. Low risk, in other words.

Sorry, but I am relentlessly logical about these things. You also mentioned giving yourself a present. If you do the stuff I mentioned the sound will be to die for. I mean seriously, you will be amazed, absolutely amazed, but none of it looks very much like a present.

For that may I recommend Townshend Podiums. These things are a lot more expensive, but they look great, and the sound you will get from your speakers will be even better. A tremendous amount of the subtle detail that we get our imaging cues from is incredibly fine speaker movement that is obscured by floor vibrations. Townshend Pods and Podiums isolate components from this and the improvement is impressive and easy to hear. Like a major speaker upgrade only without changing any of what you already like about the speakers you have. Also some of the harshness you are hearing is edge exaggerated by these same vibrations, which is why the sound on Podiums becomes more smooth, natural and non-fatiguing at the same time as it becomes a lot more detailed. If you go this route it will eat up a lot of your budget but still leave room for Schumann generators.  

So many great ways to get better sound! https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367 

The most cost-effective way of getting exactly what you want- 3D stage, more liquid natural sound- is Schumann generators. There's a whole bunch of them on eBay and Amazon, they are all dirt cheap, and they all work. Even though they look like a joke, they really work. I started with one thinking it would never work but instead worked so good I now have 7, and another one coming. 

Or if you want to spend money then Synergistic Research makes a couple different versions, pretty much the same thing but of course better and way more expensive. About 10X, 20X. I doubt they are ten times as effective. But they look about a hundred times better, so totally worth it.  (Eyeroll.) 

Seriously, try Schumann generators.  

But even ten of those won't put a dent in your budget. So get Synergistic Research HFT. Get the full speaker kit, and room kits. You will not believe how these things make your speakers disappear! They completely preserve the sound of your system, just make everything incredibly more clear and dimensional. Exactly the sound stage increase you want. 

You will probably still have money left over. Do these things first. Then when you know I know what I am talking about PM and I will hook you up with the really good stuff.