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.