The problem with absorption panels- it kills the fine details

So I’ve concluded I really don’t need all that crap on the walls.

It might be necessary in the recording studio where microphones are employed. The human brain is capable of amazing things the microphone cannot. Don't make the mistake of thinking the microphone is at all relevant in the listening room. This is why room correction, especially software fails miserably. Ditch room correction as unnecessary academic garbage.

A recording studio never makes a good listening room.

@pedroeb 

It would be so helpful to see your system and listening room. It might help understand your disdain of room treatment better. 

Room treatments are not tweaks, they're meant to solve specific problems created by the listening environment. 

Room treatment is not something that can be guessed at nor something easily done by ear. It is difficult to tame reflections, get a good room response, and maintain on axis speaker response if you are using DSP. That does not mean DSP is bad. It is a tool and must be used responsibly.  I expect you absorbed too much mids making other frequencies more pronounced which further masks the mids. That wrecks your detail.

Sounds like you overdid it with the panels.  I’d start just treating first-reflection points and see how that works and maybe some diffusion behind the speakers.  A careful mix of absorption and diffusion seems to be key.