Just to be clear, by recessed do you mean the images and soundstage are clearly developed well behind the speakers? If that's the case, I think you'll find a lot of folks prefer this type of presentation, including me. Actually kinda the beauty of open baffle and panel designs. With that said, I've always found tube amplification to further enhance this, not move everything forward. I would start by perhaps removing some acoustic treatments. Maybe you've overdamped things a bit. Won't move images, but might indeed liven things up a bit.