Best speakers under $500? Fire away!

with the dentons and wharfedale in general, you would not believe the quality of the cabinet, the grill,  and binding posts you get for the money.  
In terms of sonics, they are on the warm side, mellow, laid back, very smooth and zero harshness highs, easy to listen to.  I have them powered by a marantz integrated that is also warm and laid back, and I do not feel like it is a good combination.
They are not monsters of details and air, nor do they fill the room, but that is compared to my totem hawks. They image ok, soundstage ok.
In my room, they are good for low to moderate volume listening, toed-in on axis 8ft away.  If the 3020 sounds like the NAD integrated I once had, dynamic, punch in the lows and the highs, then it could very well be a good match.
The dentons need power, more than my totem hawks.

Yes, all LS 3/5a style speakers need clean power amp, do not try ady warm signature amp like Marantz, not saying it's not working, just not the best

Been listening to the Q Acoustics 3020's for a day or so now.  They are warmer and more refined than the Klipsch RB-51's.  Top end is extremely accurate, mids are nice and bass is tight and precise.  I have them 7" from the wall which seems to be pretty good.  

Next up will probably be the Wharfedale Dentons.  

My NAD 3020 is having no problems whatsoever driving the less sensitive Q's.  Very impressed with this little gem of an amp.  

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.