Bang for the buck

@onebean

Re: placement page 3 in the manual states you move them closer to the wall to increase bass but doesn’t give a minimum distance for back walls, only side walls (20 inches for side walls).

In my experience if you find that you have too much bass you can either:

A) Place a sock loosely in the ports.

B) Place an absorption panel behind the speaker.

https://www.jbl.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-masterCatalog_Harman/default/dw356fc2fb/pdfs/STUDIO580_OM_EN.pdf

The matching sub is marked down from $599 to $179 and JBL makes excellent subs, I own the JBL 10 inch for the Studio 2 series. At this price you might want to get a pair.

There are some very good suggestions here, but I'd like to weigh in with my own: Ryan R610. I've owned a pair for several years now and have not really been tempted to upgrade. On the used market they sell for way under $2K (they're about that new), but the problem is that they almost never come up on the used market. That's how good they are. Of course, as with any speaker, the electronics driving them are a factor, as are the cables (and in this case, the jumpers unless you bi-amp them) but for musical, balanced, non-fatiguing sound, very few speakers in this price range can beat them. 

If bang for your buck is the main consideration, some sort of DIY kit speaker can  offer an amazing value by using the same drivers that are found in expensive speakers ($25,000+).  

I don't review specs, they are flawed in many ways  believe.  At $2k budget Wharfedale Linton 85 come to mind. Unless you want vintage.

I don't want vintage,  the croton tdx are definitely bargains,  but I would not be inclined to build them myself. The bang for the buck I was thinking of was great sounding speakers that sell for irresistible prices on the second hand market. As someone already pointed out, sometimes those great speakers are hard to find on the second hand market because people tend to keep them. I like the idea of getting a Salk veracity ht2 vs the songtower (both are great I'm sure, but the ht2 is probably better but bigger.). I do wonder if for a small space (15'x11') if the cabinet space of transmission line design takes up more cost and space than cheaper and simpler port designs.