what would you do?

In my small room I put GIK Acoustics sound panels (total cost $750) and it tamed the bass and other things to now sound excellent. My speakers at the moment are small monitors. However, I believe a small floor stander will also sound good now in the room. Take a look at my virtual system for the placement of the panels.

Now if panels are not feasible for your aesthetics then something like the following preamp will solve your sound problems.

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9ea13-anthem-str-preamplifier-dac-solid-state

I am looking to buy the above piece if the floor stander I get into my treated room is still too big for the room. I am 100% confident that either 1 or a combination of both solutions will work for me.

@labguy,
What is your room size? And same questions like elizabeth asked. The 208 are front ported. So bass can be tamed using corner treatments. And why did you go with the 208s if your room was smaller? Why did you not pose the question on this form before making that decision (maybe because your had a bigger room before?). But $2k is not a price I would accept. These are nice speakers. Provide details on your room - like size, placement constraints, what you like/don't like, etc.

YyzSantaBarbara,
 so funny you suggested Sound Treatment panels as well as the Str integrated by anthem. Those were both a thought of mine, that I didn't mention here because I wasn't sure I wanted to throw more money at the problem, and possibly not like the solution that I achieved. I may need to bite the bullet and just keep going bigger and better.

Might I suggest DSPeaker Dual Core 2.0?  It can be had for $849 delivered and it tamed my room.  Works with any speaker/room combination or so I've been told.  Mine is in the chain between the digital front end and the splitter for bi-amping.  My room is 20' wide X 25' deep with cathedral ceilings.  My speakers are Emerald Physics open baffle with nothing behind them (no rear wall).  The sound and sound stage depth and width are excellent!

@labguy If you can swing the panels (the low cost ones I have are not very attractive) they make a world of difference. Prior to the acoustic treatments, I used to try and play the Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream in my room and it was physically painful. After the treatments I could play that disk rather loud without issues. The sound was also cleaned up in all the best possible ways.

I was actually suggesting the Anthem STR preamp and not the integrated. However, I now see you are using an integrated.