Sorry, it’s not me, it’s you?

That reminds me of my first mistake.  I had bought a small but good set up when I was 20, including a nice little proton integrated amp.  I didn't know how good I had it, and traded it in for a Yamaha receiver that retailed for about the same amount.  Because I wanted a remote and to listen to the radio.  Ugh, I always wish I had kept it.

About 2 years later I sold the Yamaha and bought a Luxman R-115.  Kept that for about 12 years until it developed an intermittent channel.

Glad to hear I'm not the only one, I'm just glad I was within the return window for the speakers!  It's not my only misstep, however.

The Parasound P5.  Sigh.  I really liked the idea of the bass management/crossover for my sub.  And truthfully, it did a good job with that and integrating the speakers well.

But the dac was not good.  And the overall SQ was not up to their Halo standards IMHO.  I sold it off for the Schiit Audio Freya +.  Cheaper and much superior SQ, with fewer features.  

To respond to aewarren,

Yes the dealer could have taken more time with me, but it was my fault because I basically made the buy decision based on price(2/3rds off) while looking at the speakers on their website. 
I showed up at 8:30 pm on Black Friday and I couldn’t demo the speakers much because other customers were in the speaker room demoing. I was so sure they would work out!

I’ve had quite a history with speakers in the last few years though. I’m hoping that Kef will save me from the buy/sell cycle I’ve been in...perhaps it would be better to have the emotional attachment that the fella above developed.

Very true, ericsh, as a matter of fact, I presently have a pair of Infinitys that have a bright sound signature, and they probably sound great on the right gear.  But on the wrong gear they can be painful.

I've got several pairs of speakers, and bought the Infinitys used about a year ago just because they were big and cheap, Infinity Primus 362.  I've got 2 Adcom amps, on one they sound better than on the other.  The worse sound is fatiguing to my ears, and makes them ring if I turn it up for a while.  

BTW, the original speakers that I mentioned returning because of the poor results are discontinued Energy CF-70.  

And as to my room, no it is not treated for acoustics.  It's carpeted, with a fireplace on one side of my seated position and a bookcase on the other.  Ceiling is 7'6, room is 10'10" by 18.  But it has no rear wall, it opens into a larger room that is about another 18' by 15, with higher ceiling(weird basement).  I sit about 9 feet away from the speakers.