Woofer placement near floor-benefits?

Just depends on how the speaker is designed and voived. Woofer near the floor will give reinforced low end but it has to be balanced with the rest of the system. To say one design is more appropriate than the other really is not based on anything more than some gut feeling you have. I have heard the speakers you mention and they are all excellent
Alan

I agree in that it depends on the design and how the end product sounds. My Unity Audio Sig 1's had a down facing woofer on the bottom of of the cabinet and the results were excellent. The speaker wasn't bass heavy and the integration was excellent.