Kicker Competition or JL Audio W1's???

[Fool Throttle]

Im about to get 4 new subs and wanted opinions on these 2 subs. the specs look the same but the Kickers are buy one get one free. if they are the same, I'd like to save some $ with the kickers. I will be running 150W RMS to them.

any/all opinions would be appreciated.

thanks.

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[dropped_mazda]

the jls

 

[MisterGrubbs 5,000+ posts]

JL's are better speakers in my opinion. You're referring to Circuit City on the Kickers, and I THINK they have the Kicker Competition VR's for sell like that as well - - - if the VR's are on sell BOGO I would personally buy the Comp VR's and save some cash, they do pretty well

 

[scarolinablazin 10+ year member]

Kickers

 

[Fool Throttle]

the only reason im considering the Kickers over the JL's is because the max out at 150w and thats exactly what i have pushing them. i will not be adding more power.

the JL's are 300w RMS and i will only be pushing 1/2 that so I'm thinking they might not hit as hark as the 150w Kickers???

the kickers state they can be mounted w/o a box enclosure but i have bandpass boxes and will be using those. but i heard all subs that are "free air" dont hit very hard. any truth to that?

 

[Dre20xl 10+ year member]

W1v2s are 150rms just like the kickers. I was stuck in the same spot your in and the anwser i got were the kickers will hit harder but the jls will sound better. If you have both in front of you, you can fell that the jls are tighter for SQ and the kickers are made to move in/out further to give you that boom.

Yes kickers can work with any enclosure but i've never seen anyone test that, most i've seen were in sealed enclosures. I look at it like this, a enclosure is made to make bass stronger there for i would never do a free air set up unless it was in a small trunk.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

If you're after bang for the buck, the Kickers are the easy answer. Based on the fact that you plan to run 4 of them, I would say that's probably the best choice for you.

The RMS power rating of a sub has nothing to do with the amount of power that you "need" to run to them to get the most output from them, it's only how much power the voicecoil cna handle from a thermal perspective. You have to consider the enclosure when you're talking about sub output for a given amount of power because that is much more the determining factor than the amount of power the coil cna handle. Most subs can reach their full excursion with much less than rated power in a large sealed box.

IB installs are not for you. They greatly reduce the power handling of the sub to get the best out of the driver in terms of a smooth response. They also sacrifice a little bit of peak output.

 

[Fool Throttle]

If you're after bang for the buck, the Kickers are the easy answer. Based on the fact that you plan to run 4 of them, I would say that's probably the best choice for you.
The RMS power rating of a sub has nothing to do with the amount of power that you "need" to run to them to get the most output from them, it's only how much power the voicecoil cna handle from a thermal perspective. You have to consider the enclosure when you're talking about sub output for a given amount of power because that is much more the determining factor than the amount of power the coil cna handle. Most subs can reach their full excursion with much less than rated power in a large sealed box.

IB installs are not for you. They greatly reduce the power handling of the sub to get the best out of the driver in terms of a smooth response. They also sacrifice a little bit of peak output.

What do you mean by "IB"? thanks for all your replies. I'm almost to a decision.

 

[lebomb 10+ year member]

W1v2s are 150rms just like the kickers. I was stuck in the same spot your in and the anwser i got were the kickers will hit harder but the jls will sound better. If you have both in front of you, you can fell that the jls are tighter for SQ and the kickers are made to move in/out further to give you that boom.
Yes kickers can work with any enclosure but i've never seen anyone test that, most i've seen were in sealed enclosures. I look at it like this, a enclosure is made to make bass stronger there for i would never do a free air set up unless it was in a small trunk.

No offense, but you are wrong on quite a bit. First of all the W1s have been RE-rated to hold 300watts rms.....originally it was 150, but JL upped the rating. I have the 12w1 and have 150watts powering it in a ported box and it goes lower than the CompVR I had with 300watts. Kicker subs have more punch (impact).....but JLs rumble (go lower). This is from first hand experience with both.

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[Fool Throttle]

No offense, but you are wrong on quite a bit. First of all the W1s have been RE-rated to hold 300watts rms.....originally it was 150, but JL upped the rating. I have the 12w1 and have 150watts powering it in a ported box and it goes lower than the CompVR I had with 300watts. Kicker subs have more punch (impact).....but JLs rumble (go lower). This is from first hand experience with both.
//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

No offense taken. thanks for the info. so which do you recommend for putting 2, 10's in a bandpass box?

 

[lebomb 10+ year member]

Bandpass boxes arent very accurate......they have a huge peak in a certain frequency range. If you want accuracy go with a sealed box.......for more output go ported. I had my W1 sealed and it sounded great, but the output was lacking. I switched to a ported box, and its loud and goes low. Ive been happy with it for the last 2yrs.

Also, the Kicker has a much stiffer suspension......that is why it sounds tighter and you get a better kick drum or thump. The JLs suspension is softer and it allows the sub to give that low end rumble.

 

[Fool Throttle]

Bandpass boxes arent very accurate......they have a huge peak in a certain frequency range. If you want accuracy go with a sealed box.......for more output go ported. I had my W1 sealed and it sounded great, but the output was lacking. I switched to a ported box, and its loud and goes low. Ive been happy with it for the last 2yrs.
Also, the Kicker has a much stiffer suspension......that is why it sounds tighter and you get a better kick drum or thump. The JLs suspension is softer and it allows the sub to give that low end rumble.

awesome. ok, so getting new boxes aren't an option. i am staying with the 2, bandpass boxes because they are designed for my boat and that's what all this is going in. being that, which speaker do you recommend with 150w going to all 4 woofers in these 2 bandpass boxes?

thanks for your help, by the way!

 

[lebomb 10+ year member]

I like JL subs better, but if you can get 2 for 1.......grab the kickers. It makes more sense.