[Face]

It's hard to compare them directly to other speakers besides what I've heard in that rig before.

Smooth but revealing. You hear everything but there isn't any harshness. Large soundstage...great imaging. They also sound great from anywhere in the room. As for the bass response, there's a knob on the back to help you tune it to the room. When tuned correctly, it's very powerful without any boom.

As for the downward firing port, I wouldn't be concerned. Unless a port is right up against a wall and wasn't designed to be, it's nothing to worry about. Some like to make a bigger thing out of it than it really is.