Any room treatment first requires identifying the problem. If absorption panels remove detail then you have applied the wrong solution, probably in the wrong places. Rooms can be over damped or over diffused, actually sometimes they can be both. My particular room has a massive bass problem at 63Hz, damping helped greatly, but dampened too much, however the intermediate solution was more bass, in the form of 2 subwoofers. This stopped critically high localised bass nodes whilst absorption calmed down the rest, diffusion behind, at the sides and rear were also beneficial. Interestingly the most effective resolution, in the end, was to buy a lower powered tube amplifier, great bass without excess, so 150 watts down to 25 watts provides much better bass and crisp high end, the mid range is of course a bonus.
The problem with absorption panels- it kills the fine details
If you’ve ever removed your absorption panels, you’ll find that you’ll hear a lot more detail and there is more openness. Truth is all those fine pressure amplitudes that add so much to enjoyable listening are considerably extinguished with absorption panels. The room seems quieter with absorption panels because all the fine detail is diminished.
It sounds different, so people think it sounds better. Absorption panels can kill good sounding music. I removed most of the absorption panels, and things actually sounded better. All the furniture in the room and the bookshelves were doing their thing in a great way. So I’ve concluded I really don’t need all that crap on the walls.