Of your two choices:
B&W for two reasons
1. front port avoids reflections off rear and side walls, in your case close.
2. impedance easier than SF
Visual Appeal: Because they sound so darn good, I could get used to the B&W look, however I prefer the SF
IF/When you add a pair of Subs (pair, self-powered, front firing, adjacent to the mains), the front firing ports will prove to be a better choice then also.
Either choice, almost any small driver 2 way: When you add self-powered subs, then you only need the amp and mains to handle upper bass, mids, highs, which makes your 30 wpc amp no issue, and the mains sweet singers rather than trying to make more than their size can naturally do. Less cone movement, less port action, easier for the magnet to control the cone in both directions.
Bass is most of the job. I read on Raven’s site, a piece with a built in crossover, they say bass is 65% of the job. Whatever it is, it’s a BIG load off the amp and mains.
Raven
https://www.ravenaudio.com/product/nighthawk-mk3-tube-amplifier/"High-Pass Crossover
The Avian MK3 series high-pass feature provides an extraordinary advantage when using a subwoofer. By removing bass frequencies, it frees the power amp from 65% of the load it normally has to bear. This is like tripling the power of the amplifier in terms of its ability to drive speakers. It also frees smaller speakers from reproducing low bass frequencies which reduces speaker distortion. This is all achieved with a gentle 6db per octave slope making it easy to achieve a seamless and musical transition with any good quality subwoofer."
