solobaric L7 vs. L5

[2wheeler 10+ year member]

Is the Kicker solobaric L7 worth the $ over the L5? I have a 300 w RMS RF mono amp (birth tested at 408w at 2 ohm) and havent decided on using 1 or 2 8" solos. I've been thinking 1 L7 or 2 L5s. Good plan?

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[Pacman 10+ year member]

I don't think you should use either...just my opinion tho. I had 2 12" L5's and I hated them.

 

[2wheeler 10+ year member]

Why didnt you like them?

 

[hdave 10+ year member]

SQ sucks ***.

 

[hdave 10+ year member]

they CAN sand decent, but it takes a nice big sealed box or some sort of box deisng that i am unfimiliar with.

 

[bri487 5,000+ posts]

they CAN sand decent, but it takes a nice big sealed box or some sort of box deisng that i am unfimiliar with.

they sand....hehe. anyway, the L7 is designed to use a somewhat small sealed enclosure. in the appropriate box they have deep smooth bass but do lack SQ to a certain degree. if you are into listening to rock or something of that sort, i wouldnt reccomend this sub, but if you are into rap/ hip hop, i think you will be pleased with either one of them.

 

[mjbailey21 10+ year member]

I disagree.

I got a 32hz ported box for my 2 12" L7s, custom built.

While many people tend to believe that solo barics are strictly for SPL and have 0 SQ, my L7s sound great. As long as you are not over doing the bass boost or sensitivity on your amp and have a good box with good install, your L7s can sound good. I am not just saying this cause I own a pair, but I've also heard a few other L7 setups that were good, and some bad. I've dealt with w7s, a few RE subs that have great SQ and the L7s have a pretty good mix of SQ too. As for L7 vs L5, its ends up being up to you and if you want to spend the extra money. I figure you might as well do it right the first time if it means spending the extra money.

Remember, car audio is an investment!

-Matt

 

[2wheeler 10+ year member]

If I use a box on the small side of the sealed specs SQ will suffer? The reason Im looking at these is the small enclosure size, and would one in a bigger (.7 cu ft) have better SQ than two sharing the same enclosure?

 

[bri487 5,000+ posts]

If I use a box on the small side of the sealed specs SQ will suffer? The reason Im looking at these is the small enclosure size, and would one in a bigger (.7 cu ft) have better SQ than two sharing the same enclosure?

i would strongly reccomend putting them in the correct cabinet. as for the SQ thing, SQ is really subjective. it all depends on the listener.

 

[2wheeler 10+ year member]

If I go with two subs my cabinet will be within the recommended specs, but barely. Each driver would have .35 cu ft. Kicker specs .33 to .75. I'm thinking that I'll get more spl with 2 subs, but will I give up a bunch of sq over one sub in a .70 cu ft box?

Oh yeah, I listen to all kinds of music, from rap to rock to jazz.

 

[bri487 5,000+ posts]

If I go with two subs my cabinet will be within the recommended specs, but barely. Each driver would have .35 cu ft. Kicker specs .33 to .75. I'm thinking that I'll get more spl with 2 subs, but will I give up a bunch of sq over one sub in a .70 cu ft box?
Oh yeah, I listen to all kinds of music, from rap to rock to jazz.

one of my buddies had two L5 8"s off an arc audio 4150 and it sounded, eh, ok. i will have to ask him how big his box was. this was behind the seat of a single cab s10 by the way.

 

[ighettoboyi 10+ year member]

for solos: ported > sealed...in like 95% of situations

 

[2wheeler 10+ year member]

That would be great, thanks bri. I know I am limited in what I'm doing here, but in a Tacoma double cab I just cant do much. Limitations make a man creative ya know. I'd love to port them but again, space limitations make that hard. I'll keep looking tho, maybe I can find the space.

 

[hdave 10+ year member]

i listen to only rap and hiphop. i use to think that my L7 sounded jsut great, but then when i heard more subs and stuff i didnt really like the sound of the sub that much. i love that it gets so loud, and i can feel every bass hit, but i hate that every bass hit sounds the same, like i dont really know how to explain it.

i use to think bass is bass, it all sounds the same. but now i want something just slightly more SQ oriented. before i was 99/1 SPL/SQ now im 70/30 or 75/25

 

[2wheeler 10+ year member]

[i hate that every bass hit sounds the same, like i dont really know how to explain it.

That idea does not sound good at all, what kinda box(s) are you using?