Yeah, those KEF's are known for their midrange. Back in my 20's I bought a pair of KEF q-15 bookshelf speakers and I loved them (although I'm not huge into the midrange much now). They had that 'uni-Q' design with the tweeter in the woofer. I sold them to a kid a couple years ago - still in minty shape - but they served me well. I had them mated to the yammy 595 and an older Pioneer 780.
I have a yammy RX-V861 A/V receiver in the living room which sounds surprisingly nice even though I have them mated with very small Energy Classic 5.1's - before Energy was sold. The sub is fine and the speakers are surprising - the house can shake and the sound is still clear and nice. I am happy with this setup and it sounds very nice with albums and CD, too.
Every once in a while I swap out the receiver in my office. The yammy goes and the Sony STR-V5 comes into play, which is a monster, or the sweet, sweet HK 430, which is my favorite. Oh, man, the HK mated to KLH 6's or Polk monitor 5a is so beautiful.....There is a Layfayette LR5555a in the garage which I like, too, but I have to fix the popping sound in the right channel. I wanted to give that one to my boy and the Technics 1300 turntable I need a tonearm balance knob for. Can't find the balance knob, though. What is always suggested is wrong.
What you write about fatigue is so spot on. I will visit a friend and hear their system and within minutes I am 'tired' of the sound. So many people just buy this or that, plug them in and 'love' the sound. Lol, how many people watch their HD tv's in 'short-and-fat' mode, too?