2 Channel system sounds weak and lackluster

@oldaudiophile 

You are correct about the front ports and bottom port, positioned right they are incredibly capable speakers especially for their price point (or the pre-covid discount that I got mine at).

The room is rectangular but with a bump in the wall for a closet (previous owners used it as a bedroom and I will be making it a rectangular room when I can get around to renovating). One window (covered with a blanket currrently) on one long wall, the other long wall is where the door to the room is. The window was to my left when listening on the short wall, behind the speakers when on the long wall. Flooring is vinyl pressed wood planks over top of a concrete foundation (basement room). Drywall ceiling and walls, unsure of quantity or quality of insulation (I would assume a fair amount because Alaska). Inside the room is my small leather loveseat and two 8 cube record shelves, one laying down and one upright, behind the couch and beside the couch.

I’ll give it a go with room treatment as you suggested, from what I can tell already it seems to be the right direction

@mswale I went over all of the connections, double and triple checked that they're all going to the correct terminal. Even swapping out to the other amp gave the same results, the only notable change was moving around in the room. I have the option on the Audio Research amp to change the phase and on the DAC I'm using, but no tweaking provided the full change I want until moving the rig around.

then it's your ears :)

@gano I genuinely can't tell if you're trolling or if you're electing to not read the part where I said the sound improved after small adjustments or that the entire system sounded great in the last apartment I lived in 6 months ago. Headphones, earbuds, even my truck, all sound great which is why I specified that it was the 2 channel system that needed assistance. I'm 30 and recently had an audio screening for work, ears are working just fine

I wasn't trolling. I also didn't mean your ears are bad or wrong or off. All I meant was that there is no synergy between the sound and your ears. It sounds like you tried everything and it's still off.

My apologies if it came off offensive, that's not what I meant.