How do they rank compared to some of the other speakers you have had?
Not that I'm in the market, but would be nice to take some of the guess out of buying these blind!
Done more listening to the Studio 230 speakers
OK and decent/nice for music, but are somewhat limited. The bass is good and is not bloated or mushy sounding and does go low, the upper midrange is somewhat recessed. The tweeter can be a little bright on some recordings, but not sharp or ear piercing, however poor recordings will be exposed. Their overall sound signature is not in the $400 range as they are somewhat lacking in overall resolution -- the soundstage is also somewhat lacking in central imaging and depth, the soundstage is wide but not as wide as some other speakers can be. They do have a slight boxy sound, but they do not honk like the Q A 3020i and they are more cohesive sounding than the 3020i speakers. They are more linear and balanced over the SuperOne 2.1, and the JBL is more rounded and full compared to the SuperOne 2.1 -- The QA and NHT do have that forward push that can be annoying, while the JBL does not really come at you. The Studio 230 does perform better for Movies/TV and do have some decent dynamics, but they are not made for blowing your roof off or blasting your windows
If I were to use some WhatHiFi lingo, I would say that the Studio 230 lacks some pace and rhythm.
The JBL can benefit from a crossover mod, as they did not put a lot of work into it to save cost. And the cabinet could benefit with some cross bracing. The Canton GLS 2 is still an overall better speaker. But I still prefer the Studio 230 over the HTD Level Three, Polk Rti4, Klipsch RB61, the Q A 3020/3020i and the NHT SuperOne 2.1 -- For $159 a real good deal for the budget friendly minded.