For what its worth, here is the perspective of a die hard planar guy. Back in the 70's and 80's, I would have answered this with an emphatic yes. Based on some fairly extensive listening of current designs, it appears to me that the question should be answered no. I was very pleasantly surprised by the sound from a number of ported designs. I think the current ability to use computers in cabinet designs has allowed the capability of ported designs to match that of sealed designs. At this point, I think its not the design approach per se, it's the execution that matters.
Sealed vs. Ported Speakers
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Are ported speakers inherently inferior to sealed speakers? If so, why?
It seems the higher up you go on the speaker pecking order, the ports disappear. Same with subwoofers, ports disappear as the price goes up.
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Are ported speakers inherently inferior to sealed speakers? If so, why?
It seems the higher up you go on the speaker pecking order, the ports disappear. Same with subwoofers, ports disappear as the price goes up.
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