In my opinion and experience a well designed ported system can also sound very musical - but the enclosure must generally be a lot bigger. I suspect this might be why the SVS is so well received - they don't seem shy about using an adequately large enclosure, unlike a lot of subwoofer designs.

Obviously the acoustic suspension design is simpler and instinctively seems like it should have some advantage, but the only things I've actually noticed were the side effects of the shallower rolloff, and (in the old days) less sensitivity to rumble.

Given an unlimited space and $$$ budget I'd build a sealed system, but I've never been in that situation. Actually I'd like to play with rear loaded horns too.