Wow Adzman.
Having a bad time with your girl?
To be fair she is very understanding and after careful discussion with her she usually comes round to my way of thinking.
So I finally ended up with the following:
L&R Kef Q1's on stands
Ctr Kef Q9 (Cunning disguised as a occasional table)
Surround Monitor Audio Baby Boomers
Rear Surround Monitor Baby Ctr.
Sub Rel Strata III
The front soundstage is supperb now, much better that the MA Babies, have more clarity and oomph. There is also no restriction with the ctr so long as the table clocth is kept well out of the way (I may eventually look for a better unit and hide the rel behind the chair). I have now been able to lower the frequency of the Rell which is better.
The rear soundstage is very clear having replaced the Elacs dipols with 1 MA ctr. The ctr is very suited to looking after rear surround duties.
Had a brief llisten to SW AOTC and all I can say was I was well impressed. I also tested Gladiator and again much better.
So I am happy and so is she.
One point, I did try the Kef Q2 dipolls which were no good at all for a small room (15' x13') which was a shame as they were one sexy looking speaker