The compact sealed subwoofers deliver excellent sound quality and balanced performance on music and movies while maintaining a smaller overall size/weight/footprint. The compact sealed subwoofers are an outstanding choice in listening environments which have more stringent décor or aesthetic considerations and require a lower visual impact from the subwoofer.
The ported subwoofers generally deliver higher maximum output at the deepest frequencies due to the efficiency advantages offered by the larger enclosure volume and porting system. They are a great choice in larger listening environments where higher playback levels are typical, and greater levels of slam/impact/pressure are desired on bassy action scenes. The ported subwoofers are larger in overall size and have more visual impact than the compact subwoofers, so check the available space and décor considerations to ensure good compatibility.