Detlof and others have been very good on this question, IMHO. All I'd add is that room acoustics can certainly make bass sound UNcontrolled. I thought my bass was okay, not a problem area, but then decided to add a couple more perforated panel absorbers to the three I already had, these tuned to "tame" the lowest room resonant modes assocated with room length and the width. I was amazed at how much pleasanter it was to focus on the bass, or how much more I could enjoy it subliminally. I could follow pitch, for example, much better than before, even with quiet bass in a jazz group. Not surprising, if certain notes were no longer getting a big decibel boost and masking others. Components are important for good bass, of course. But don't neglect the room, for it has to be part of the good bass equation.
Tight Bass
I'm tired of hearing this term as it does not exist outside of the audiophiles world. Where does this term come from? Bass is not tight. It is loose, warm, enveloping, harmonically rich. What I hear from solid state amps and ported speakers is an extended low frequency without the definition and body that tubes and a good sealed box or transmission line speaker serves up. I equate tight bass with consticted bass and perhaps that is a question of semantics as I feel the bass should be full and round but not out of control, perhaps if those that use the term "tight bass" are actually trying to describe what I would term a "rich/ripe bass". I would like to hear some discussion on "tight bass", "rich/ripe bass" same or different terminology.