Welcome from Virginia! Enjoy your stay!
You've described the typical journey of a critical listener; amps, pre's, speakers, room treatments and so on. I dare say that pretty much all of us have gone through it. Bob Carver equipment was always out of my price range from my teens and into my 20's-30's but now get to enjoy them. I have several pieces from Bob's Carver and Sunfire line. My main setup is a C-1 (BillD mod & Gundry filter), M-1.0t (mkII opt002) and a pair of MartinLogan Foundation Motion towers (not ESL). The sounds coming from that setup are ridiculous! Other setup is C-1, Crimson 275 connected to Magnepan MG-1's. Not the power of the main system but buttery smooth.
Glad to have you here!