pretty much its power handling, the cone is a lil different than the L5, but i think depending on if you have low wattage or high is where youll know the real decision btw the two. Example, if you bought a jbl 1200.1 and 2 12 L5s, that would be a perfect setup as each sub is 600 watts rms each!!! Just think, you have to get at least a 1500 watt amp to power those L7s to there max rms power!!!!