I'm another fan of the acoustic suspension approach. It's been ~50 years since I read the Thiele-Small papers, so please correct me if I'm wrong. IIRC, ideal porting only extends linear bass response for something like 1/3 octave - 2 or 3 notes. Below that, it drops off at 12 db/octave, while an AS design rolls off at 6 db/octave. In addition to the rapid roll-off, ported designs also unload completely at their resonant frequency, resulting in wild, undamped woofer oscillation. A TL is a modified port design. Creating a longer, damped path to the port ameliorates some of the problems with ports at a significant increase in cabinet complexity and cost.
I am intrigued by passive radiators, which allow the use of the woofer back wave without unloading the woofer, but have never owned any.