[VoodooDoctor]

It's useful when asking for advice to name the speakers that you have listened to and what amps and sources they were partnered with. Each product has its own characteristics and some do well being partnered with certain brands whilst doing badly with others. In general, bookshelf speakers don't have as deep bass range as floorstanders. There are plenty of bookshelf speakers that sound great so it isn't a rule that they all sound "harsh" because they don't have "enough" bass.

Room acoustics do also play a big part in how the complete package sounds, which is why it's important to try and get the dealer to allow you a home audition rather than in their (possibly acoustically optimised) listening room.

What is your budget and what sort of room (size, furnishings, floors etc)are you looking to put the system in?