TorqueGuy

My argument is that for a given box "net internal volume", let's say 1.5cuft, the vented box will be larger outside. It might need the same room in your trunk as a 2.5 cuft sealed box. Using that sealed box properly, you could use a 1- maybe 2-size larger woofer, and gain efficiency everywhere in the bass range, except maybe at the vented box tuning frequency, and I say maybe, and get an overall louder musical bass.

The more power you got, the more it get true IMO. It doesn't need that much compromise in your vented design to have it behave far from the theorical model, and became a leaking sealed box once you apply some power. I've seen too many times box that were supposed to get loud not beign any louder than sealed when burping at tuning frequency, with nothing more than 1000w rms. I've seen 140.x dB on the termlab with a single RF X6 and and two sealed P2 12" sub, 0.85 cuft each, in a hyundai accent hatch, 143.X with a single Mmats Jugg 15, 2.0 sealed, and one MC2000D amp, in a civic sedan trunk. Compare those numbers to any less-than-perfect ported design, real score vs how louder it should be than sealed, and you'll understand what I mean.

Dukk

Your point of view appears to revolve around mistuned vented boxes. I'll readily conceed that any mouth breather can cobble together a sealed enclosure with acceptable results but building a proper vented enclosure takes a little more skill.

A 4" diameter vent in a 1.5cuft enclosure, tuned to 35hz, only displaces 0.136cuft.