<font color='#000000'>hawke,
IMO tightness and punch are directly related to how much unwanted harmonics (2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc) and/or frequency peaks/nulls are introduced into the output stream. Various designs deal with these additions in different ways; foam vs. rubber surrounds, bigger vs. smaller magnets and voice coils, servo motors, amp EQ, bass reflex vs. sealed vs. infinite baffle, vs. dual push-pull drivers, etc.
The most important but most misunderstood influence (by end users) is room modes, but they all have an influence.</font>