Sealed vs Ported enclosures

[flez007]

I am posting this at the Avalon sub-forum since this manufacturer has taken both ways at different points in time; early models were all sealed enclosures (Eclipse, Ascent, etc..) but recent ones are mostly ported (Ascendant and Eidolon to name a few) - I had always liked sealed boxes over ported ones - better bass definition and a more integrated sound, but I recognize the benefits of ported ones, like being less room-sensitive and the abilty to go lower in the band.

Are there any other considerations for speaker manufacturers to go one way or the other?

 

[puroagave]

with a sealed box the roll off in the LF is actualy more gradual than a ported system. after getting back into audio this year i surveyed the market for a small monitor with the characteristic of having a sealed enclosure and i coudnt find any - most if not all of them are ported! One of my fave small speakers of all time were the celestion SL600/Sl700, both went pretty low in the bass for a small system at the expense of lower sensitivity and somewhat compressed dynamics - no ported system of the day could touch it for speed/transparency.

 

[JackD201]

As I understand it, efficiency is one of those considerations. Sealed enclosures usually require more juice all other things being equal.

The asian market in particular, now the biggest market for high end equipment, swings between tube and solid state amplification. The last four or five years has leaned towards tubes but is now swinging the other way. It might have been a factor for some loudspeaker companies to come out with models that require less damping factor.