Vandersteen help needed

I posted here a couple of months ago looking for assistance on building my first hi-fi system. Based on the feedback I received and auditioning a fair amount of equipment, I settled on the following components:

- Vandersteen 1ci speakers
- Belles Aria integrated
- Rotel DAC
- Audioquest cables and interconnects
- Source: Mainly streaming tidal through my phone

My room is 12’-10" wide by 11’-2 deep. I am setup on the long wall.
The speakers are 27" from the front wall and 22" from the side walls measured from the center of the speaker. The speakers are 9 ft. apart and about 8 and a half feet from my ears.

I’ve read the user’s guide thoroughly and spent a great amount of trial and error with speaker placement. I believe I have the correct tilt back of 2" and the speakers are towed in ever so slightly.

As for room treatment, I’m using the GIK Acoustics diffuser panels at the first reflection points. Nothing on the second reflection points. I have GIK absorber panels directly behind the speakers. I’ve also tried removing them from the room as well.

Here is the problem:

Instruments around the 1k frequency can be at times subdued and sit further back in the mix. What I’m talking about specifically are the lead vocal and snare. I never really get that crack from the snare drum. (I’m a drummer BTW).

Other times I feel like some of the higher frequencies get a bit muddled. I’ve heard others describe their experiences with Vandy’s as it sounds like there is a blanket over them.

By the time I turn up the gain so that these frequencies stand out a bit, the low end is exciting the room and the sound starts to become unbalanced.

I’ve begun thinking of adding 1-2 Vandy subs so that the low end can be offloaded from the 1ci’s and they can be left to focus solely on producing the mids and highs.

Does anyone have any recommendations on how to get more clarity out of my system?

Much appreciated,

Joe