$500 bookshelves - not rear ported

I like the Focals (I own 2 different sets of them (908,706)) but my new lust is for JBL.

The JBL 230 gets tons of positive reviews and are on sale now for $300 (free shipping) for the pair. http://www.jbl.com/loudspeakers/STUDIO+230.html?dwvar_STUDIO 230_color=Black#start=1
Really? Didn't think I'd hear that name here much. My neighbor growing up was an engineer with JBL Pro, and I got some speakers through him that I used for a long time. He had the most amazing system I had ever heard at the time; custom speakers he and a co-worker made. I also do some sound reinforcement on the side so have some other JBL Pro speakers. But I've never had any JBL home stuff.
 
Really? Didn't think I'd hear that name here much. My neighbor growing up was an engineer with JBL Pro, and I got some speakers through him that I used for a long time. He had the most amazing system I had ever heard at the time; custom speakers he and a co-worker made. I also do some sound reinforcement on the side so have some other JBL Pro speakers. But I've never had any JBL home stuff.

I recently bought a pair of JBL Studio 580s that I'm listening to today as part of my digital/AV system. They have a symbiotic horn loaded HF driver and (2) 6.5" mid/bass drivers. These speakers are incredible.
A Photo I borrowed from the internet of the Studio 580:
jbl_studio_580_1.jpg

This early afternoon, I placed an order for the JBL Studio 230 speakers:
studio230bk_001_dvHAMaster.jpg
These speakers get awesome reviews. Great for music, great for cinema.
 
I recently bought a pair of JBL Studio 580s that I'm listening to today as part of my digital/AV system. They have a symbiotic horn loaded HF driver and (2) 6.5" mid/bass drivers. These speakers are incredible.

This early afternoon, I placed an order for the JBL Studio 230 speakers:

These speakers get awesome reviews. Great for music, great for cinema.
Those 580s are quite the speaker. I was actually looking at the LSR305 and LSR308 monitors, which I believe use the same tweeter design, since I can get good deals on pro equipment, but I don't have a separate pre-amp and my wife probably wouldn't like the lack of grills. As I mentioned before if I get a sub and cross the speakers over high enough the rear port might not be an issue, and those are certainly price-competitive. I do have to figure out where to put the sub still though.
 
I have an REL T5 sub paired with the 580s in my digital room. The sub is crossed over fairly low (like around 50 cycles) and as the woofers of the 580s have loosened up, the bass is solid, very omnidirectional and fast because all of the bass drivers are relatively small (6.5" diameter for the 580s, 8" diameter for the REL).
 
I ended up going with NHT. Lots of good options but they were at a decent price and easy to place. I have the SuperZeros and sub so far; the SuperOnes should arrive Friday. I like the superzeros, still working on sub setup.
 
Most sealed DO NOT go as low as ported, they just roll off slower so it seems as if they have more bass - they don't.

There aren't many acoustic suspension speakers these days, so it's hard to compare one verses the other, but I'd say it's more likely for a ported design to have a bump in the 50Hz range to give the illusion of bass. In addition, acoustic suspension bass tends to be cleaner than ported.
 
I've just cycled through all of my bookshelf speakers while testing a new amp.

AR19's (Acoustic Suspension)
Usher S-520's (front ported)
QAcoustics 2020i's (rear ported)
Sansui AS-100's (Large, very large bookshelf speakers Acoustic Suspension)
Wharfedale 220's

I prefer acoustic suspension 2 ways and a 10" woofer will do the trick in getting enough bass as on the Sui's but the AR19's performed particularly well.

I bought the Wharfedales during and end of financial year sale well below their normal cost after reading so many great reviews the fact they had knocked the Qacoustics off What HiFi's best bookshelf speaker in the price range.

Initially the 220's were very impressive, I was playing instrumental trio jazz, piano, bass and percussion. They were spacious and imaged well, soundstage was wide and high enough and a low to moderate volume levels they never lost their ability to provide earfuls of music.

I then played a female vocal in a trio setting and there was that muffled hump that made the vocal a little too woolly, that did not show up on the other speakers. And I remember that was the irritating factor that made me move away from my Paradigm Atoms V3's. If I listened to them and only them, my ears would grow accustomed and I would always be amazed and satisfied with the sound (and none of the above contenders can do piano like those Atoms.)

But in comparison that one track undid the Wharfedales, which are now packed away back in my cupboard. They are really nice, look great, sound terrific, and if I wasn't an idiot and kept hold of so many speakers, and purchased a little more smartly so that I had only one pair at a time in my possession, they would be my speaker of choice.
 
The Energy ones I have came with foam inserts. I contacted them and they stated the speakers are designed to be ported or plugged. I kept them plugged but my cat decided they should be open.
 
I'll second the Usher S-520. I've had a pair, along with the S-525 center, for over 8 years. They are mainly used for TV and movies. They still look, sound, and perform great. Exceptional build quality for the price point. I'd buy them again in a second. Those three speakers in a left/center/right configuration will play very low, to the point I thought the subwoofer was on, but it had been accidentally unplugged.
 
It is easy. Just look at the classics - Advent - 40Hz is -6db. That is it and closer to 45-50 Hz for -3 db. To me acoustic suspension are bloated and slow. The 50 Hz bump you are talking about is in VERY few ported speakers - VERY FEW.

Are those Advents your only experience with acoustic suspension speakers? Regardless, the acoustic suspension design is not the problem with those Advents. It's the cabinet, woofer and crossover.

Let's look at something a bit more recent, the NHT SB3 with a -3dB of 39Hz producing clean, tight bass.
 
The comparison is apples and oranges. A good AS will make a bass drum sound tight and some people like that. A poor AS will certainly sound like it is full of hot air and restrict movement. Nevertheless, the comment was made that an AS will seem to have more bass when it doesn't. Unless, you have a monstrosity loudspeaker set up that costs tens of thousands of dollars that is all we have to go with and is it really necessary?

http://www.harbeth.co.uk/usergroup/...d-my-speakers-go-for-a-lifelike-sound-at-home

Not an entirely scientific experiment but interesting nevertheless. Especially, coming from the owner and designer for Harbeth. I like the part about the heartbeat on Darkside of the Moon. Is it really music? At the beginning of the thread is a link to a similar thread only about subwoofers. So, I really don't think it is unnatural for a speaker to seem like it has more bass when it doesn't. Most especially at those low as it will go frequencies.

But we all have reference recordings will listen to judge the bass on our personal preference. Squeezing out that fantastic bass riff on Every Picture Tells a Story is not an easy task even for the remastered version. Hotel California is another good one. If your AS or PR box is making that ending continuous bass riff sound like one continuous note than your loudspeakers are wrong. Also, the rough mix of the first recording for Since I've been loving You on the companion disk with that low bass and ultra low organ not to mention Bonham hammering that bass drum. If you can squeeze that out of an AS than more power to you.
 
Thanks everyone, I appreciate the comments. I'm surprised that I've never heard of Usher, I'll have to look them up.
 
You put speakers IN the entertainment center, because if you don't, your wife says YOU will be OUT! :whip:

This has been the case with my loving wife of 54 years! This recently came up when I suggested placement outside of our credenza in the living room. She has no love for stereo and does not want to see speakers or gear at all. At night she will head to bed and I will open the doors of the credenza exposing my system and get in about an hour of solo listening.

Now about that porting... I have found that it is possible to use my BS-22-LR speakers, which use rear ports, and the effect isn't a mess, but they have a warm sound. Possible replacements would be Polk T15 front ported speakers, Kef Q100 front ported speakers or NHT Zero one speakers which are acoustic suspension speakers. They all are a size that will fit the upper shelf of the credenza and place them about 28" from the floor. The Klipsch R15M speakers would also be a possibility although they are rear ported. Their horn loading and efficiency might help to overcome too much warmth. We'll just have to see!:music:
 
I'm looking for a pair of bookshelf speakers ($500 range) that I can put in an entertainment center. The problem is most are rear-ported. Here are some options I've come up with:

<snip>

Check this guy out on Youtube - does/done hundreds of reviews on speakers that should fit your bill. Reviews are typically 2-part; impressions and then a sound measurement -which is kinda limited via Youtube audio, but you get the point.

https://www.youtube.com/user/ZeosReviews
 
My question to hemismith is will these speakers be used only for tv/movies or a combination of that and music? I would suggest that if only for the former check out the Klipsch you mentioned. I really like Klipsch for HT type use more so than for music only duties. If those closeouts you mentioned are sealed and reasonably priced they may be a good choice.
 
Not sure how large your entertainment center is or what constitutes a "bookshelf speaker", but you can have a truly excellent 10" 3-way front-ported JBL 4410 in that price range. They've been my HT fronts for over 10 years and I don't see myself ever "upgrading" them.

jblnut
 
Jblnut,
Thanks for the info, I'll look into it. My problem in the credenza is available space for the speakers. The speakers shelf is about 7 inches from the top. I just found an adjustment possibility that could open that to 10 inches, need to measure tomorrow. My best space use is having the speakers lie down on the shelf, so the BS-22-LR speakers just fit. The Polk T15 might fit standing up and definitely fit lying down. What's the dimensions on those JBL's? Sorry, I just found them online and they are too big for this cabinet.
 
I have a compact 2-way design that will fit on a bookshelf that I can be had as a kit. PM me if interested.
 
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I decided to not drop that shelf. My wife has a slow cooker stored in the right half of the credenza and if I drop the shelf her slow cooker would be crowded too much. So the system will stay as it is in the living room, but it sounds real nice as it is.
 
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