Listening volume

Every speaker Has some limit where it will compress, My Totems are only speaker I ever saw where this limit is stated
in specs, for my small monitors its listed at 103 db.

Everyone runs into this, some just don't realize it.

There is a "perfect" volume for every room and system. Too low and you can't hear every little nuance, too loud and the room starts to interact more and the sound starts to "bounce" around, (reflection and refraction) and things become diffuse. I have found this to be true in almost room...except an anechoic chamber.

Mofi, you describe the problem perfectly.
Sadly, I never could afford the custom made listening room I need.
Also, I never found a remote sensitive to dial it in either.

If it's a solid state amp, it's possible that based on the speaker and amp sensitivity that the amp was clipping.

OTOH, I have also experienced what Mofi is talking about.

"Was dynamic compression limiting my soundstage? Anyone else ever run into this? I'm really puzzled by this- "

Dynamic compression is certainly a common limiting factor with modern smaller speaker designs that also have good bass extension for there size. There is only so much that a dynamic driver of given size can do.

Walsh drivers smoke conventional drivers in regards to going loud and clear with minimal compression. Modern OHM Walsh CLS driver based speakers are absolute champs at this in their price range. The largest drivers used are only 10", but Walsh style wave bending seems to enable a dynamic driver of certain size to deliver a lot more sound with minimal compression a lot more effectively than it could otherwise. ALso the CLS crossover to tweeter is quite high (7khz range) which helps keep demand on tweeter minimal.

I have run OHM Walsh speakers of one form or another for almost 30 years now. No matter what you throw at them, they will never show any signs of stress, breakup or duress and any compression that might occur seems minimal compared to most anything else anywhere near the same price.