full range or mini's and a sub

I'd forget about what people talk about reference systems and think about your own situation.

How much space do you have?  How much are you able to change the room?  Do you have a good place for the sub?  How do you listen?

The truth is that getting excellent, deep bass (i.e. reference level) is hard work.  The dragons are in the lowest two octaves of the room. A "reference" system may cause you more problems than you imagine, but a satellite/subwoofer system, properly integrated with the room can be pretty magical.

My advice is define what you'd like and your constraints including space, budget and such.

My goal is to enjoy music and one of my compromises is no sub - and my space does allow a full range speaker.  Listen to as many different systems as you can to see what you like, don't like and potential options.

The biggest advantage with mini monitors and subs along with an active crossover, is that you can put together a world class speaker system at a fraction of the cost. The down side is that it takes a little more knowledge and skill to do it correctly.

As Erik states a satellite/subwoofer system can be magical, but done incorrectly, you can have a real mess.

Full range with subs. Or at least 3 way monitors. IMHO. 

Full size speakers WITH subs is the correct answer. There needs to be a sound power hand-off between the sub and speaker. Most subs are far more dynamic than stand mount speakers, so the speaker will still be the limiting factor. There are exceptions of course, TAD comes to mind.