Adrian, every speaker, good or bad, will color the sound. It's impossible using current technology to achieve a ruler flat response. Some speaker companies intentionally add emphasis or de-emphasize specific bands. Others choose to produce as flat a response as possible but even this approach has limitations.

Pablo, I tried direct and otherwise with the Denon, Pioneer and Onk. Neither the Denon or the Onk could reproduce the dynamics like the Pioneer and transient response was much better with the Pioneer regardless of setting. As for the sound, even on direct, the Pioneer sounded different, as I described, compared to the Denon and the Onk. The Denon and Onk sounded the same on direct with the exception that the Onk can go louder.

House of the Rising Sone
Out in the mid or far field
Dedicated mid-woofers are over-rated