Thanks again for all the suggestions. I am taking them to heart.
I stopped by a local audio shop that looks to deal in B&W and Focal, primarily, along with Dynaudio. Now, I know none of these were on the list of recommendations here, but it was helpful to have some reference as to what to expect from a modern (good?) floor standing speaker. I would've checked out what you suggested but this was all they had that fit:
I listened to:
Focal Aria 936 (demo/clearance)
Dynaudio Excite 34 (soon to be discontinued)
Focal Chorus 716
The one take away listening to the Focals is that they would benefit greatly from a subwoofer for my tastes. The Chorus didn't really do it for me, but after listening to the Aria for a bit it grew on it. I have some 'go to' songs when trying things out, including King Crimson's "Easy Money", Bon Jovi's "Let it Rock, and Genesis' "The Cinema Show". I'll tell you, I don't know that I've ever heard "Easy Money" any better than that. With Genesis, the percussion was well represented and all voices heard. I could've done with more bass, though. Tuning the bass on the amp simply made it more "punchy" and not "boomy", if that makes sense.
What *didn't* work well with the Focal 936's was Mountain's "Climbing". It sounded very muffled and muddy. That type of music represents nearly half my catalog, so they might not be a good fit long term.
The Dynaudio Excite 34s made up for the lack of bass in the Focals, but didn't really do a great job (to me) in the mid-high end. Plus, everything sounded a bit... mixed. Less separation of instruments, especially the percussion. The cowbell in "Easy Money" sounded hidden, while guitar and bass were more at the forefront. As for Bon Jovi, the Dynaudio's were missing that "kick in the pants" feel. Underwhelming there, to say the least.
Anyway, I'll keep looking and appreciate the suggestions. I will say, that after getting home and connecting the JBL L-50s, there is certainly a LOT of room for improvement!
