Guys, ported subs are obviously better. Bose has used the design for over 20 years!
Now, for the serious portion of my post (and please read the whole thing and not just parts of it before commenting)...
I'll start by admitting that yes, I'm a JLAudio home dealer and have owned every sub they currently offer (yes, even the Gotham) as well as a ton of subwoofers from other manufacturers not to mention all of the subwoofers and gear I've installed or demoed over the years. Regardless, I will also say that I am not biased towards one brand or the other. Believe it or not, I change brands that we carry all the time because I want the best for my clients. If someone makes something better, I switch. Period. I'm not on here trying to sell stuff unless it's used demo equipment or a special buy and I'm able to give someone a great deal. I have no reason to carry an ulterior motive in trying to convince people one way or the other. I just still really enjoy the hobby and like to think that some of my posts actually help people. I want to add to this debate (which has, unfortunately, become very personal for some) from my personal experience.
If you have not spent any REAL amount of time with the JLAudio Fathom or Gotham products nor the SVS gear or whatever else people want to throw out there that's comparable, I question how you can really have a dog in this fight. I find it absurd that people, who are supposed to be into finding the best sounding gear, are trying to defend their personal purchases or, worse yet, trying to decide what SOUNDS best by looking at graphs or quoting reviewers. Is that what a hobbyist who's interested in great SOUNDING gear does? Now whether or not it's best sounding for the $ or best sounding regardless of the $ or the best sounding/looking gear is up to the individual. That's what these threads are for. All the time I see & hear gear that looks great on paper and think "Yuk!" or "That's OK" and the opposite happens as well where I'm blown away by a product that seems to exceed "specs".
It's funny, some folks are adamant in their beliefs that many "high-end" shoppers are convinced that different pieces of gear sound better than what they do because of their price tags. Yet, some of these same people haven't thought it all the way through enough to think that consumers aren't also blinded in the same respects by reading spec charts or reviews. You don't think that companies offering so-called "High Value" (meaning unbelievably specced gear for way cheap/er) products have figured out that shoppers (particularly internet shoppers because that's all they have to go with) are wowed by numbers? It goes both ways. You don't think that these numbers can be "achieved" through less than honest or practical means? Come on, wake up! The amplifier/receiver & front projection markets have been doing that to consumers for YEARS and I assure you it's spilled over into speakers & subs.
As for the actual debate on the table: Three things I can promise...
1. There's more than one way to skin a cat. Both designs can be pulled off very well.
2. Ported subs have been around for a long time and are, generally, cheaper to build, design, and manufacture. It’s tried and true. But whether or not the hole(s) in the box are detrimental to sound &/or force or beneficial to it is up to the individual listener.
3. Whether or not a manufacturer actually makes their own pieces or not does not add to their probabilities of a successful product. It could possibly help with quality control. It could also possibly help with speed of production or model updates. But, in my experience as both an A/V integrator and in sales management with an A/V manufacturer, I have learned that, like our design debate, there are benefits and drawbacks to both. For the record, JLAudio does not manufacture their own drivers. Those, along with other parts, are made over seas in Asia if i remember correctly. Infact, now that I think about it, everything might be made and assembled in Asia or the majority of the parts are brought in and they are put in the sub-boxes here. I cannot recall for certain.
Both designs, ported and sealed have design flaws. Speaking in a generality rather than an absolute: I have found ported subs to generally be irritating because of the, for lack of a better word, droning after the action has stopped. They seem to sort of linger and reverberate though the room and that irritates me because I really notice it. This can sometimes be desired, particularly when dealing with a smallish driver. Like an 8". I can understand if more 8" subs than not have ports because that way they can sound bigger than an 8".
Sealed designs take a lot of work to pull off properly. They're more expensive to build as well. A lot of them in the entry level tend to waffle or "chuff" when played loudly which is just as annoying as the drone from the port.
All of this depends on practical evaluation of someone's needs. Big time subs like the SVS ULTRA (Yes I've heard it. A client had us install one in mid '07) & JLAUDIO Fathom are brilliant for different reasons. The SVS is big, loud, very forceful, accurate enough, and reasonably priced. The JLAUDIO Fathom F113 is great because it's smallish, attractive looking, extremely tight/accurate, loud, forceful, self calibrating, and plays much bigger than it looks. A lot of similarities and some differences.
Where the JL excels and the SVS cannot is from an installation stand point: I can put the JL in a normally sized cabinet or built in. I also don't have to worry near as much about any special engineering in the cabinet because the output is front firing and it's sealed. Wives are more likely to be willing to accept it out of a cabinet if need be. I also find that front firing sealed subs, like the JL's are better for music. That's just been my experience, particularly in carpeted rooms.
As far as one always being better than the other, it's always going to depend on the price point and which manufacturers we're putting up against each other. As for the "best"? Well, the JLAUDIO product is really nice, but I would have to say that it will always depend on the application.
*NOTE: For the guy who said he built a sub for $600 and it will blow away the SVS & Fathom: I would like one. I might like a lot more than that if you'd care to make them and sell them to me. Work me up a price for one and I will send you a check. I'm serious. I would absolutely be willing to buy one and try it. I have an F112 as well as many others on hand that will be easy to A/B with.
But, it is true, Bose subwoofers are ported.
