It goes to 11! Kicker's VC10 pumps out big, fat bass, thanks to its ported design.

Kicker Competition VC10 10" ported hatchback enclosure
Kicker's VC10 features the Comp 10" woofer mounted in a ported (or vented) enclosure. The port — a round opening in the enclosure with a tube extending into the interior — provides a release for bass waves emanating from the rear of the speaker inside the cabinet, so that they reinforce the output from the front of the speaker. As a result, a ported enclosure is generally 2-3 decibels louder than a sealed box of the same size. The down side — the ported box isn't as accurate as a sealed box, and it won't play as low in the frequency range.

I played the reference Buddy Guy cut through the Alpine bandpass box, then connected the VC10. To balance the bass with the rest of the system, I had to fade 3 steps on my Pioneer receiver toward the front speakers, which would make the impact of this ported box roughly halfway between that of the Kicker sealed box and the Alpine bandpass box. Technically, the VC10 won't play quite as low as its sealed cousin, but it actually sounded like it was hitting deeper because of its extra-strong emphasis in the second lowest octave. The kick drum hit with almost as much power as it did through the bandpass box, and the electric bass was strong and well-defined.

Big + fat = ported
As a sealed box fanatic, I was surprised how much I liked the sound of this enclosure, a nice compromise between the sounds of the sealed and bandpass boxes. I had to fool with my EQ a bit to get rid of the touch of boominess, but once things were tuned up, it sounded great. Everything seemed rounder and fatter through the VC10, almost like somebody turned the bass and volume controls up a notch on my system. Electric basses sounded supercharged, kick drums hit like John Bonham's, and even the acoustic bass fared well — slightly boomier than through the sealed box, but still totally acceptable.

Conclusion: "Warm" is the first word that comes to mind to describe the VC10. It sounded great on all tests cuts, almost as tight as the sealed box but with a little extra punch and fatness. The ported box was also exceptionally loud, so it would also be a good choice if you have limited power available. If you listen to a wide range of music and if you're always cranking up the bass when you listen to tunes, the ported box would be a smart move.