The problem with absorption panels- it kills the fine details

OP,

How big is your room?  It’s easy to go overboard in a smaller room.

over doing it with acoustic panels can deaden the sound too much.  however unless the panels block the direct radiating sound of your speakers you are not losing detail.  what you are losing is sound reflected by adjacent surfaces mixing with the direct sound, slightly out of phase causing a bit of distortion that sounds like added detail. 

my room has 4 absorption / diffusion panels on the wall behind the speakers.  i left 1 foot gaps between the panels to allow some reflection.  

i have no side or ceiling panels, my speakers are far enough from side walls to avoid side reflections.  i hear plenty of detail and have a smooth response.  

rooms that have panels on every open inch of wall and ceiling space are over doing it.  

Honestly, you don’t need any of this crap. If your room is avg, meaning normal furnishings ( carpet, upholstered furniture, some hard surfaces, pillows & throws, maybe a wall tapestry, etc....u get the point...).

@avanti1960 

Its not usually about reflections giving fake detail though they create a sense of space. It's normally about absorption causing suck out in the room response whether you can hear the direct or not. Detail is not only first arrival it's subtle details in sustain, etc.  Get suck out and you get masking from louder sounds at other frequencies.

where is a good place to begin to find out how to properly treat a specific room?

I have a fairly large area (media room over a 3 car garage) with wood floors.  Just picked up some new (to me) La Scalas and not getting the wow factor I was hoping for.  

We have plans to put a big heavy area rug in between the speakers and main listening position and wouldn't mind putting a couple panels up, but I'd like to avoid the look of panels everywhere if possible.