I'll take a crack at this one. The both the Friedman and H&K matching 1x12 cabinets are closed back with Celestion V30's. The Lonestar 23 isn't that at all. My informal rule of thumb is British voiced amp=closed back, American voiced amp=open back. On the other hand I have a Lonestar 100 watt head driving a PRS Deep Cabinet(closed) with a pair of WGS Veteran 30 and ET65. But I'm looking to downsize the cabinet to a Lonestar 23, so I have the best of both worlds. Price and size/weight is a consideration too...maybe one of the Mesa Compact Cabinets would work for you instead? YMMV.