[Phlogiston]

The ports improve bass response at a particular frequency/distance calculated to be 180 deg out of phase with the front of the speaker cone. All other frequencies  have less gain than the tuned frequency. This leads to uneven bass response. Why would you need to push the bass up by 3db anyway. It is a gimmick (think Bose here), impressive at first ,becoming tiring at long term. If a speaker/crossover is designed properly there should be no need for ports or passive radiator (edit).

The "house rattling" was what they were hoping for with this design.

Remember, you asked.