As a caveat, I am not an audiophile. I love listening to and playing music, and have a discerning ear.

I will be purchasing a pair of Sierra Towers w RAAL upgrade and trying to decide which sub to purchase along with it.

These are going into the family room, which is about 14'X18' with 9' ceilings and hardwood floors. However, it opens up to the kitchen and eat in dining area, which extends back another 20 feet or so (basically same width). There is a room separator (wall about 4' high) in between fam room and kitchen area.

Our listening will be 50/50 music/movies.

I am also limited in where I can place the sub - it will go against the side wall (roughly) about 3-5' in front of the speakers and TV.

The main question is do I get a sealed or vented sub? At first I was thinking sealed given the fam room dimensions. But then thinking about openness to the kitchen makes me wonder if I would be better off w a vented sub.

For my music I don't like earth shaking, rattling bass. I like rich, full, vibrant bass that I can feel inside but that doesn't make the floor move.

Most of our focused listening will be in the family room proper, though we do watch tv/listen to music from the kitchen as we cook and just hang out in the kitchen area. That said, I would be willing to give up some bass in the kitchen to get the rich bass I love when in the family room.

So would something that can power bass back into the kitchen area come at the expense of what I would otherwise want in the family room?
Also, a 15" sealed sub would not really fit in the fam room, so may be limited to 8" (like the F8) or 12", and dual subs are a potential option as well.

Looking for feedback on what better option would be.

Andrew