Seems like Every single pre-built subwoofer I see is ported. I'm just building my own box, not buying one but I was looking at other subs for ideas and they're all ported. As far as I knew most "musical" subs were sealed while ported subs were for home theater. So, for the best transient response and lowest Q I was going to build a sealed sub. But now I don't know since I can't even find any sealed subs made by the experts.
Ported speakers (other than a transmission line) dominate the market right now. It is very difficult to find a sealed box of any kind. I have no idea why this is other than the 3dB efficiency benefit of a ported system. The bass more often than not sucks and has a steep roll off after resonance. The twin impedance peaks of a ported system are more difficult for most receivers to deal with. But that is what is selling right now. Though technically not the best approach, I took my ported sub and sealed the box and got much better performance. If you have the amplifier power, stick with a sealed system.
Yeah, I definitely have the power. I guess it's just cheaper for manufacturers as they don't need as powerful amps. *shrug* oh well. Now I just have to figure out how to let the family let me put it somewhere other than the corner behind the television heh... Guess i'm going to have to make it purty.