What about the floor?

My dealer told me  when we were replacing some old carpet, to ONLY use natural material like wool or berber. Never synthetic. He said synthetic causes highs to be harsh. And once installed I could hear the room sounded much smoother and top end was more open. 

@emailists,

I guess you can listen to the grass growing, then?

@rs507,

softly does it, then?

Take up golf for better sound.... hmmmm. What a great idea!

Yes, it affects your sound, but aesthetics and room balance matter.  What I mean is, shag rugs are nasty, so I totally understand getting rid of them, overall balance of the room can be affected by adding treatment elsewhere.  For instance, would you add ceiling panels between you and your speakers?  Do you need bass traps?  Do you have enough diffusion?

Assuming the floor exchange was bad for the room, you can make up for it.