To begin, I’d like to recognize @stephendunn ’s excellent post.
would you say these these speakers are fussy or finicky of the recording quality?
The Nenuphars are speakers that "step aside." Simply put, they express "more."
The question to ask is whether your system and the components and cabling ahead of your speakers are "fussy" or "finicky?" I’ve found what’s ahead of the Nenuphars to be far more important. In other words, I don’t think about the Nenuphars... which I think is saying a whole lot.
In contrast, I have spent a ton of time thinking through my components and critically evaluating them.
An aspect which may help answer your concerns (by example) is how incredibly good mainstream popular music sounds. The genre, as you know, is oft derided here for various reasons...however, I’ve been enjoying a wide swath of the genre like never before. Similarly, Stephen and Charles have shared their take on older recordings and how incredibly amazing they can be, notwithstanding their faults.
Recordings are far better (especially the ones labelled as not being so) than the critical ’discredit’ heaped upon them. It’s our systems and the way we implement them that (I believe) are responsible to a far greater degree than the recording.
does this speaker have good mid bass response avoiding the tendency to sound lean or thin at times?
Page 7 of Srajan Ebaen’s review of the Nenuphar Mini Basis addresses your question head on. (Link a few posts prior)
I experience mid-bass response to be stellar in tone, timbre, color, texture, impact, naturalness, aliveness, etc. AND variable depending on what is in the chain... recently highlighted and expressed while using two different amps, as well as front end components.
Great to hear your Interior Designer spouse approves!!! I believe Cube is now offering custom finishes, by special request.