Best speakers under $500? Fire away!

Your NAD 3020 can drive any reasonable bookshelf speakers easily , you don't have to be worry about the speaker's rated sensitivity .
Wharfedale and Q Aaoustics are fine for its cost but not great speakers .not bad sound at all but certainly  not overwhelming. 

I agree that the 3020 will drive many reasonably sensitive  speakers (87-90dB). However many of them, especially those that are priced higher than the $500 class, best return the investment when driven by more clean power than provided by this amp. Again, I am a fan of NAD and have owned several models over time. I believe that there are several $500 class speakers that make for a great combo with the 3020. It is always up to the individual to select which combo is best for their needs.

34dean, you might want to take your NAD to a dealer when listening to a few speakers of interest. Maybe ask the dealer to use their recommended amp (one with more power) with the same speakers as a learning experience. You have me interested in the Q3020s, I am going to look them up. 

 

I agree that the NAD 3020 can drive many reasonable sensitive (87-90dB) speakers. Many especially those above the $500 price point, will not preform at their best until driven by an amp that provides more clean power than this amp.  

34dean, you might want to take your amp with you to audition a few speakers of interest. Maybe ask the dealer to play the same speakers with another amp having more power as an educational experience.  You have me interested in the Q3020s and I will look up info on them. Glad you found a speaker you enjoy. 

@itzhak1969 It really can be confusing if you say that, having heard other speakers like Dynaudio, I dun think especially the Denton lose a lot, in terms of music resolution, if you want compare dynamic that's another story, you have to guide based on OP music preferences, as always there is no perfect speakers, you want something sound overwhelming may result listening to some music as overly bright or detailed, the Denton strike the balance amazingly, it's not really that it's not dynamic, just to the sense of ultimate it's not, but I can say it's enough powerful and musical for 95% music, I think even the Dynaudio lose a bit if to compare how easy to listen to wider music genre

@34dean My experience with NAD 3020 was great which was my first start to enjoy British speakers, also unlike Topping TP60 which unable to drive properly some speakers, the NAD works very well, however the bass could be a little bit mellow, you need cleaner and more power to bring out the muscle grip of some bass notes