Sealed or ported?

Over the years, I've heard many a speaker.  Bose, KLH, Tannoy, JBL, AR, Infiniti, Cerwin Vega, Magnepan, McIntosh, QSC, EA, Peavey, Meridian, Mackie, Polk Audio, DCM, MTX, Pioneer, Meyer Sound, you name it (along with others too custom for a name).  I heard from a friend of mine that it isn't what the speaker says on the icon that matters, or what you paid for it; it's how they make you feel.  This same logic can apply to amplifiers as well, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

In my listening room/den/study/office/getaway oasis, I personally own a pair of gorgeous Acoustic Research AR-4x's that date to 1969.  I also have a pair of Infiniti 4000-A's (information on which is hard to find, but it seems these are a California-only model sold in the 70's).  The AR's are a 2-way bookshelf speaker with an 8" woofer and originally a 2" paper tweeter in a sealed enclosure (there is no port for bass).  Once inside you'll find tons of fiberglass, which I imagine lowers their efficiency since you're attenuating the baffle.  The Infiniti's on the other hand are a 3 way floor standing speaker with a 12" woofer, 6.5" mid-range and a tweeter I can't recall off-hand.  They have a front facing single port about 1.5" in diameter.  Rounding out the aforementioned listening room is a single 10" driver ported subwoofer, a DCM TB1.  It has a pair of 3" ports and everything is down firing.

Downstairs in my living room off the family receiver, among other things is a sealed DCM TB1212, which is a 12" subwoofer with one driver firing downward, and a passive radiator firing outward.

It seems, to me at least, (understanding multiple variables have changed simultaneously), that the sealed speaker is more warm and musical than the ported, and I believe this is result is a combination of the larger amp in the 12" (250 vs. 100w), the larger driver (but that is also another topic for conversation), and the fact it is sealed (the port otherwise has a natural harmonic which makes for less even frequency response).  I've moved speakers around before so they're the only variable changing in the equation and my opinion stands just the same.

That being said, the 10" accomplishes as much with 100w in terms of impact (punch you in the chest as well as dBSPL) as the larger and stronger 12".  The frequency response isn't harsh at all on the 10", and in terms of bang for buck it can't be beat.  So if we set value aside within reason and focus mostly on the performance of the speaker itself (and size of the enclosure when we're considering some significant others), what are your thoughts on which you would consider, or would you just let your ears be your guide?  Ports, after all, make for noticeably better results with smaller drivers...