Another update.
As much as I was enjoying the Wharfedale Diamond 10.2s, I decided to return them and demo more speakers so that I was making a more thorough decision. First, a few observations about the 10.2s: 1) I needed to ever so slightly turn up the treble to have it sounding its best in my system 2) The bass is very present. Almost too much. Sometimes it's distracting while listening to the music.
For my next round of speakers, I decided to try out some front ported speakers. First up, the Wharfedale Diamond 220s in the store's listening room. These had a really nice mid range but seemed to lack in the detailed presentation and the punchy bass that I was hearing in the 10.2s. I figured if these didn't please me in an acoustically treated room, I would only be disappointed when I got them home. Instead, I decided to try out the Focal 705 speakers.
To begin with, the Focals are built in France instead of China which has to be a rarity at this price point. Where as the Diamond 10.2s took awhile to begin opening up, the Focals sounded quite nice right out of the box. One thing, I didn't need to use tone controls at all on my amp. These are the smallest speakers of the bunch but they still produce a lot of bass. And unlike the 10.2s, the bass on the Focals aren't distracting but blend in with all the instruments. The mid range is also impressive though the highs seem to lose a little focus. And when a lot is going on, the sound seems a little confused. Still, these are really nice speakers. They're attractive and small enough to actually fit on a bookshelf. Plus, I have these positioned nearly flat to the wall, and they still sound dynamic.
While auditioning the Focals, Music Direct was having a sale on Wharfedale Denton 80th Anniversary demo speakers. For the price, I figured I couldn't pass on giving the Dentons a shot after hearing the many great things about them online. One of the things mentioned by others is that these have a long break in period so I unplugged the Focals and started listening to the Dentons right away. Immediately, the Dentons proved to be high quality speakers. Like the Focals, I am running the amp without tone controls. The full range is present with a better control of the highs than the Focals (even hearing the details of cymbals). However, right now, I would have to give the advantage of the bass to the Focals. Similar to the 10.2s, the Denton's bass stands out too much. Not as much as the 10.2s but it certainly makes itself known. Still, like I said, I am breaking them in, and it's just Day 1. I'll give another update when I have had some more time with them.