JL Audio 8W7

[subymike77 10+ year member]

First, let me say what my goal for the system was in the first place. I wanted a well rounded, high volume and high clarity system. I have a 2005 Subaru Legacy GT sedan. The wife imposed a few rules that I had to adhere to as well. The trunk still had to be fully fuctional and a baby stroller would have to be able to fit. So, in the rear passenger side tuck in behind the wheel well went my enclosure. It's made of fiberglass and MDF and is formed into that area. It's approx. .75 cu feet sealed. It is being run off of the sub channel of a JL 500/5 which is 250 watts.

Now, onto my review. It has fufilled my goals completely. With a variety of music it does extremely well. Primarily I listen to rap/ hip-hop, dj music and some rock. As with any sub system I reccomend some type of external level control for fine tuning,(i.e. head unit sub-level control or bass knob connected thru the amp). At low volumes the bass is pleasant with very rich fullness. I liken it to a pair of good 10's or a single 12. With the volume cranked this thing will rattle your brain. No matter how hard I push it this sub keeps asking for more. I know full well this could easily handle 500 watts, however that would be more output than I had aimed for. For alot of you, this may not be sub for you. Reason being is that alot of people are looking for an insane amount of output and though I feel it is fully capable, Price is the biggest hurdle. For accuracy, clarity and depth I personally feel this sub cannot be beat. I got this sub for a little over $250 shipped and while that is pricey for a single 8, You will not be disapointed. The people that have heard this system are in disbelief that A) it's a single 8 and B) that it's only running on 250 watts. I may post a few pictures so you can see the final result.

In conclusion, if your budget will allow and you have similar goals in mind, spend the extra bucks and get this subwoofer. I have yet to find a single negative side to this decision for the system I wanted in this car.

Click to read more...

 

[LittleJoe 10+ year member]

Thanks for the review. I plan on installing an 8W7 that I have. I have been debating wether to have be a stand alone sealed box or ported. I think after reading what you said I may go sealed. BUT now I don't know if I want to do a stand alone sealed box or have one made like you did. I also have 3 kids and the space is always needed in my Jetta.

If I may ask. How much does a box like that cost to be made like yours?

 

[subymike77 10+ year member]

It depends. If you looking for a shop to build one it could easily be in the 300 to 400 range. For me, materials cost about 80 bucks,( fiberglass resin, 1/2" wood, glue, screws, cotton fleece, latex gloves, brushes, bondo, sandpaper etc.) and took about 2 to 3 days to complete. Your location says carolinas. If you don't mind me asking, where abouts are you located and what year and jetta is it. I'd be happy to help out.-subymike

 

[LittleJoe 10+ year member]

I'm in Charleston, SC.

 

[subymike77 10+ year member]

It ***** you're that far away from VA. I'd love to help out.

 

[emgee420]

your review convinced me to pick one up when i came across it for $100...so glad i did...also running mine at around 250 watts in the spec ported enclosure and it sounds amazing

 

[subymike77 10+ year member]

your review convinced me to pick one up when i came across it for $100...so glad i did...also running mine at around 250 watts in the spec ported enclosure and it sounds amazing

Thing hammers doesn't it!

 

[assassin1840 10+ year member]

im looking at getting a 13.5w7 and i can get one for 400 with a box built to specs by a local high end shop that i know every one there and trust they know there s*** should i get it sub is great and box also tested toojust been in storage and he doesnt have the money to get an amp for it so selling it?

 

[subymike77 10+ year member]

Sure! A 13.5w7 will hammer! What vehicle is it going in? Be careful when selecting an amplifier though. This sub has dual 1.5 ohm voice coils and the impedence sweep is pretty high because of the massive amount of excursion this sub has. I would reccommend to wire it in series to get a 3 ohm nominal impedance and run a quality mono amplifier rated at around 500 to 800 watts. It can handle more power than that, it all depends on how much output you want. At 400.00 bucks with the box that thing is a steal.

 

[DaBigBone 10+ year member]

Thanks for the review. I've been looking at these myself

 

[j&b4ever 10+ year member]

they are pretty nice but sa-8's kill them

 

[subymike77 10+ year member]

they are pretty nice but sa-8's kill them

KILL is a very strong term. Now if you were to say that 2 15" inch subwoofers with 2k watts would KILL my 8W7 then I would have to agree. However, claiming that one high quality 8 would KILL another high quality 8 I would be forced to disagree. Is the sa-8 a comparable subwoofer? Yes. Is it more competitively priced? Yes. Does it have as much invested in R & D and multiple patents? No. Does this make the sa-8 a lesser subwoofer? No. The extended expense that JL put forth to attempt to push speaker technology forward is the main reason why it is more expensive. Has general speaker design changed in the last 30 to 40 years? Not so much. So, I say kuddos to JL for trying to push the limit and in my opinion, succeeding. With all of this being said, I will leave you with the most valuable piece of speaker advise to ever be given... If you hear a speaker and you love how it sounds, BUY IT. I don't care if the cone was hand knitted out of Kevlar by virgins, the magnet is made of compacted meteor dust and is liquid cooled with unicorn tears harvested in the black forests of Bavaria. BUY IT. It all comes down to your OPINION of how it sounds. After all, your the one who's going to listen to it.

 

[DaJuice 10+ year member]

they are pretty nice but sa-8's kill them

I second that! SA's are the ****. I just got rid my single W6v2 12" for a SA12.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

I second that! SA's are the ****. I just got rid my single W6v2 12" for a SA12.

Totally different design goals.

IMHO the only thing wrong with the W7 line is the MSPR. They are good sounding and good performing woofers.

 

[j&b4ever 10+ year member]

KILL is a very strong term. Now if you were to say that 2 15" inch subwoofers with 2k watts would KILL my 8W7 then I would have to agree. However, claiming that one high quality 8 would KILL another high quality 8 I would be forced to disagree. Is the sa-8 a comparable subwoofer? Yes. Is it more competitively priced? Yes. Does it have as much invested in R & D and multiple patents? No. Does this make the sa-8 a lesser subwoofer? No. The extended expense that JL put forth to attempt to push speaker technology forward is the main reason why it is more expensive. Has general speaker design changed in the last 30 to 40 years? Not so much. So, I say kuddos to JL for trying to push the limit and in my opinion, succeeding. With all of this being said, I will leave you with the most valuable piece of speaker advise to ever be given... If you hear a speaker and you love how it sounds, BUY IT. I don't care if the cone was hand knitted out of Kevlar by virgins, the magnet is made of compacted meteor dust and is liquid cooled with unicorn tears harvested in the black forests of Bavaria. BUY IT. It all comes down to your OPINION of how it sounds. After all, your the one who's going to listen to it.

when i can get louder and sound pretty good for way less money thats getting killed