For home theater purposes, the quality of sound isn't as critical, but for two-channel listening, it'll be classical and I'd like them to work well in that setting. Accuracy, smooth response, etc. are very important, moreso than power (although that'd be nice, too). In my experience so far, sealed systems sound better than ported, but I'm open minded. The Valencia cabinets are ported and sound better than anything else I've owned...

Isn't classical music the most demanding? Dynamic range, frequency range, soundstage, fine detail and power all together...

I'm pretty sure the LF drivers are 416-8A. 8B and 8C have an Fs around 25hz, so I assume the 8A is somewhere around there.