Good speaker match 4 Rotel/Rega gear &small room?

Help! I have a 12'wide x18'long x8'high ceiling space, with hardwoods, fabric couches, and the following components:
Rotel RB1080 Amp (200watt)
Rega Planet 2000 CD player
Odyssey Audio Tempest preamp
Groneberg Reference Interconnects
AudioQuest Type 4 speaker cable (non-bi-wire)
Signal Cable power cords

I listen to predominantly to progressive rock and metal. I have a pair of B&W DM604s3 currently. I cannot place these things more than 2'0" from rear wall, and 7'0" apart. i'm not getting the kind of stereo imaging that I keep reading about on this forum unless I'm at loud volumes. The speakers seem to be fussy with placement/toe-in. They are on their provided spikes with thick carpet pieces under each speaker. The whole rigg is only about 2 weeks old, played continuously at low levels for burn in, and cranked about a good 2 hours a day. Why are these things not providing the kind of warmth, depth and imaging at low-to-moderate levels? Am I running them in-efficiently? Did I buy too much speaker for the space? Is there a better pair suited to these characteristics? Are there speakers that work well closer to walls (12 - 24" away) for smaller room? Please give me some guidance.
thanks
Frank