I think the ACI may have been circa $1500, Audiophiles would come over for a listen and been blown away by the sound and especially the imaging. I would say 'set up wide like this and give your speakers a chance'. None would do it preferring to spend more on upgrades and tweeks. I'm positive you get a similar reaction regarding your sound.. I was using Plinius pre/power at the time. Also agree with some diffusion and absorption on the front wall can work wonders. I found Absorption on the rear wall worked best in my set up at chair was close to real wall. I currently use the GIK abfusor on my front wall, very effective, I use a similar GIK to you on my 1st reflection point. In response to DE, I think its a lack of dealer knowledge mostly . I was a distributor of audio products for almost 10 years and there were just a handful of dealers that understood anything about room interaction and set up. They tended not to be interested. Well I imagine you have long listening sessions, with a great sense of 'having the artist in the room' Best regards to you and thanks for sharing your set up.