Acoustic Suspension sound in 2020?

Vandersteen 2s and 1s are sealed-box enclosures, no? If no ports, therefore acoustic suspension, unless I misunderstand the definition. There is also an interview with RV in which he cites his inspiration from the sound of the acoustic-suspension designs of Acoustic Research, etc., -- the "New England sound" I think he called it -- when he designed the Model 2.

The 1 has a transmission line vent and the Model 2 has what essentially functions as a passive radiator, and passive radiators act similarly to ports. Both speakers lack temporal snap in the bass which is the hallmark of a good AS design. 

Helomech, the acoustic coupler in the 2 and 3 is an active driver. Wondering if you know any technical details re how it essentially functions as a PR.

Would never, ever think that the bass in the 3 lacks snap, but of course that’s subjective and perhaps amp related

Look at the measurements of the 2Ce Sigs in Stereophile, it does indeed behave more like a PR.  

The whole series is somewhat lacking dynamics and bass texture. Not amp related as I've used the same amps on many other speakers of similar load difficulty. They dig plenty deep in the bass, with plenty of output, but it's not the tightly-controlled bass of true AS. 

Some AN models are ported, some are sealed.

IME, there is really no substitute for the acoustic suspension sound in a vented box. Some bass-reflex and transmission-line speakers can play as deep but lack the speed and texture. Open baffles excel at texture but can’t dig very deep. The advantage of bass-reflex is reasonable efficiency with decent extension. AS designs tend to be power hogs but excel in bass quality.

Old models like the Large Advents can match and even surpass some modern designs in many regards. Unfortunately, I find they sound great until they suddenly don’t. They suck up gobs of power and there’s a very sharp transition from clean sound to ugly distortion. Playing them at loud levels can heat up the motors quickly and lower the threshold further. This is why I don’t use my NLAs above moderate SPLs, however, played within their limits they can teach modern designs a thing or two.

The Gershman Acoustics AS designs are intriguing, though I’m suspicious of their claimed sensitivity:
http://www.gershmanacoustics.com/gershman_speaker_modles.html

Most ATCs are acoustic suspension.

In the budget realm there's NHT.