Whats exactly wrong with Kicker & JL?

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Bruce Macmillan who designed the Xtant amplifier technologies is the one behind JL Audio's amplifier design. Slash series amplifiers are spendy for a reason they work for any application do rated power and have a pretty simplistic user interface. Show me other class D amplifiers that can do rated power at 4-1.5 ohm at a constant power.
I am not talking an amp that does 250 at 4ohm and 1000 at 1ohm, I am taking 1000rms at 4ohm to 1.5 ohm ect ect, for this reason alone makes these amplifiers desireable for almost any application. Sure there is better built stuff out there but not alot that can do what these monoblocks can do with power vs ohm load and voltage.

SO you'll pay 60 cents per watt to be able to only have 1000W @ 1 ohm? To each their own I guess. JBL/Crown amps do full power from 1 to 4 ohms. Not a really useful feature IMO.

i'm still waiting on someone to show me a sub for 300 shipped new thats better SQ-wise than the w6.

JBL wGTI MkII is very highly regarded in the SQ scene and can be had around 300$. I can think of half a dozen others that aren't in production anymore that were better for less money. That's subs that can sound good and take 1000W. Really most true SQ people wouldn't even consider more than 500W to sub-stage anyway so the field opens up a bit more.

I suspect if JL were a spectacular SQ driver people would be using them in home theater. They're above average, but I've never heard any JL install that has really blown me away.

I've used my share of each and actually miss some of the Kicker equipment I've owned. Nothing I can think of in production from either that I'd trade any of my equipment for today.

 

[Why So Cereal? 5,000+ posts]

JBL wGTI MkII is very highly regarded in the SQ scene and can be had around 300$. I can think of half dozen others that aren't in production anymore that were better for less money. That's subs that can sound good and take 1000W. Really most true SQ people wouldn't even consider more than 500W to sub-e anyway so the field opens up a bit more.
I suspect if JL were a spectacular SQ driver people would be using them in home theater. They're above average, but I've never heard any JL install that has really blown me away.

I've used my share of each and actually miss some of the Kicker equipment I've owned. Nothing I can think of in production from either that I'd trade any of my equipment for today.

So basically in the case of the w6, equal can be had for the same price.

I dont see myself running an all JL setup since I'm not really a fan of their comps but maybe the reason you've never heard a mind blowing JL setup is the same reason some people regard Kicker as garbage for SPL, none of the seasoned vets are putting much into using the products of kicker or JL to their full potential.

 

[orphe 10+ year member]

So often, people will start a thread about whether to get this Kicker/JL sub or not? But, almost everytime, someone will say how overrated both of them are and that you shouldnt even consider them and I'm just wondering if anyone has actual valid reasons as to why or are they just apart of the bandwagon that thinks anything sold in typical audio stores is garbage?
With Kicker, the way I see it, Kicker Amps do rated and then some...always have yet somehow brands like Audiopipe get recommended over Kicker even when the buyer has it within his means monetarily to buy a better amp.

Their subs will take their rated power and will get loud probably not the best sounding but neither are some of the other subs people will recommend very readily.

I can understand the want to keep people from thinking Kicker is the end-all of the audio industry, but thats no reason to give eveyone the impression that they are not good at all.

As far as JL Audio, all I ever see is "overrated, overpriced". While, JL can be crazy with their pricing, the online prices you can find on some JL stuff is actually not bad. Also, its well known, whether you admit it or not that the w6 is a force to be reckoned with for SQ purposes. Not the loudest subs but I cannot say I have ever heard a bad sounding JL sub. Their amps also do rated power cleanly! and people will recommend Hertz which is also overpriced but simply call it "pricey".

Maybe i'm missing something but I honestly dont see how Kicker or JL deserve the bad rep they receive on forums. For noobs to audio (I am no expert by any means) its very misleading actually. What gives?

Sorry if this is a little incoherent, typed from my phone.

Cliffs:

I would like to know if anyone has actual valid reasons as to why Kicker or JL Audio are just soooo horrible and shouldnt even be considered?

I hear the same thing about Memphis amps and subs all the time!

 

[wickedwitt 10+ year member]

I agree with the pricing that has been stated numerous times. As I have a shop that honors warranties even beyond the manufacturer, and gives me essentially dealer pricing, I can't complain about that. I have had multiple Kicker systems for the better part of the decade, and have been nothing but satisfied with them. Are there people louder than me? Most definitely. Have I ran into anyone saying that 2 12s are louder to the ear or more impressive than mine? No.

With that said, I won't be brand swapping until I hear something that can impress me more than my Kickers have. A lot of the claims on here are baseless, mostly because people online want to be part of the 'cool' club and bash what everyone else is bashing. Any moron can give the big companies (JL, Kicker, Pioneer, RF) a bad name. That person does not 1) represent the community of those brand's owners as a whole, nor 2) that companies products as a whole.

 

[wickedwitt 10+ year member]

So basically in the case of the w6, equal can be had for the same price.I dont see myself running an all JL setup since I'm not really a fan of their comps but maybe the reason you've never heard a mind blowing JL setup is the same reason some people regard Kicker as garbage for SPL, none of the seasoned vets are putting much into using the products of kicker or JL to their full potential.

Kicker stopped helping competitors out at all. Unless this changes, you won't see people putting any real effort or money into Kicker competition vehicles. Practically every other manufacturer at leasts supports it's higher end competitors with some sort of sponsorship perks, Kicker does nothing. Who would spend $20k + and hundreds to thousands of man hours working with a product in which the company doesn't support you at all?

 

[Why So Cereal? 5,000+ posts]

I agree with the pricing that has been stated numerous times. As I have a shop that honors warranties even beyond the manufacturer, and gives me essentially dealer pricing, I can't complain about that. I have had multiple Kicker systems for the better part of the decade, and have been nothing but satisfied with them. Are there people louder than me? Most definitely. Have I ran into anyone saying that 2 12s are louder to the ear or more impressive than mine? No.
With that said, I won't be brand swapping until I hear something that can impress me more than my Kickers have. A lot of the claims on here are baseless, mostly because people online want to be part of the 'cool' club and bash what everyone else is bashing. Any moron can give the big companies (JL, Kicker, Pioneer, RF) a bad name. That person does not 1) represent the community of those brand's owners as a whole, nor 2) that companies products as a whole.

Exactly...I hate when people join the forum, make posts about how Kicker ***** and JL is overpriced and feel that makes them cool. Yet, I have yet to hear a sub for 75 or less I liked better than my cvrs and no subs less than 300 that "crush" the w6 for SQ. Still not convinced that JL and Kicker are crap or shouldn't be used or why people should be told their stupid ffor buying it.

,

 

[Why So Cereal? 5,000+ posts]

Kicker stopped helping competitors out at all. Unless this changes, you won't see people putting any real effort or money into Kicker competition vehicles. Practically every other manufacturer at leasts supports it's higher end competitors with some sort of sponsorship perks, Kicker does nothing. Who would spend $20k + and hundreds to thousands of man hours working with a product in which the company doesn't support you at all?

While that does s uck, the typical user is not out for sponsorships so that doesn't affect too many people.

 

[murph 10+ year member]

two w6's are on the way

on the side note about the memphis comment, memphis has gone to complete crap in a lot of what they offer really IMO I like the mojo's but thats about it

 

[sprblk]

I may just be proving a stereotype, but I'm new to audio and love my 10 W6v2. The shop gave it to me for $300, which seems like a good deal for a new one from a shop based on my research. I wasn't looking for ridiculous bass, just something to help my stock Bose system with lows without sacrificing sound quality. Amp, box, sub and installation put me close to a grand. Could I have gotten more bass for the money? No doubt but I was looking for a specific sound and professional installation and I got both of those things. I'm happy with it and don't regret spending the money. I'm sure if I was more patient I could have achieved a similar sound for less as well, but I just woke up one morning and wanted some bass in my ride haha. Went to this shop I'd been eyeing, picked out my equipment, and had it installed the next day.

 

[fullwoofer2121 10+ year member]

no because no one who knows what they are talking about will say the sa-12 is the loudest subwoofer. why would I buy a kicker l7 when I can get a deathrow or audioque hdc3? maybe kicker is good if you want to overspend. why pay $500.00 for a 1000 watts when I can get audioque aq1200 for half the price. why pay $600 for a w7 when I can get 2 deathrows, 4 ssa dcons, 2 hdc3, ssa zcon, ect.

it is called being an economist. remember our countries economy is bad along with the rest of the world. why? economy involved spending your money efficiently something no one can do today.

just like car care products. meguires and mother spend money advertising but they are bottom of the class products.

thats the fault of idiotic users...it still doesnt make the product any less...thus no reason for it to be hated....

if you got to a hooker do you pay 20 for the hand or 15 for the mouth?

 

[Danometal 10+ year member]

I once bought into the hype of Digital Designs and paid $255 for a DD 1515 D4 sub. Worse sub I've ever had. My wife's Kicker CVR 15 pwns it. The DD sounded like poo, and then smoked on me. I got a RE SE/x 15 afterwards, left all amp settings where they were, and it ***** the DD in every category. It still does in my Nephew's Cherokee to this day. RE is another company that gets hated on like Kicker, but... haters will hate. People like what they like, and don't like what they don't like.

I like stupid low tunings, and people are like, "Dude, you can get sooo much louder tuning to 35 hz." Pffft. Who cares? Who am I trying to impress? My dollars. My designs. My reward for my own work. My iPod plugged in playing whatever track I feel like hearing at any given moment, from bluegrass to death metal. Sometimes loud. Sometimes less than loud. Sometimes off. Sometimes with rear fill. Sometimes with no rear fill. Sometimes sub level @ 15, sometimes @ 5. (Cool story, right?)

I say spend your $$ on whatever blows your hair back and rock out. Let the haters hate. Who cares who sounds better or gets louder? Worrying about all that kills the buzz of this hobby.

 

[Why So Cereal? 5,000+ posts]

no because no one who knows what they are talking about will say the sa-12 is the loudest subwoofer. why would I buy a kicker l7 when I can get a deathrow or audioque hdc3? maybe kicker is good if you want to overspend. why pay $500.00 for a 1000 watts when I can get audioque aq1200 for half the price. why pay $600 for a w7 when I can get 2 deathrows, 4 ssa dcons, 2 hdc3, ssa zcon, ect.
it is called being an economist. remember our countries economy is bad along with the rest of the world. why? economy involved spending your money efficiently something no one can do today.

just like car care products. meguires and mother spend money advertising but they are bottom of the class products.

thats the fault of idiotic users...it still doesnt make the product any less...thus no reason for it to be hated....

if you got to a hooker do you pay 20 for the hand or 15 for the mouth?

You completely missed the point, I stated that its all about every woofer having its purpose. Sure you can buy 2 or 3 hdc3s for the price of a w7 but which willsound better. You're just concerned with getting loud for cheap, which in that case you rightfully should not be running JL.

 

[wickedwitt 10+ year member]

no because no one who knows what they are talking about will say the sa-12 is the loudest subwoofer. why would I buy a kicker l7 when I can get a deathrow or audioque hdc3? maybe kicker is good if you want to overspend. why pay $500.00 for a 1000 watts when I can get audioque aq1200 for half the price. why pay $600 for a w7 when I can get 2 deathrows, 4 ssa dcons, 2 hdc3, ssa zcon, ect.
it is called being an economist. remember our countries economy is bad along with the rest of the world. why? economy involved spending your money efficiently something no one can do today.

just like car care products. meguires and mother spend money advertising but they are bottom of the class products.

thats the fault of idiotic users...it still doesnt make the product any less...thus no reason for it to be hated....

if you got to a hooker do you pay 20 for the hand or 15 for the mouth?

Show me a pair of 300-400w rated subs on a IX1000.1 four years down the line. Now show me the same subs on the AQ1200. I'll show you two blown subs. The price difference is in the THD, the clean signal output. There are a lot of amp lines out there that have it, but AQ isn't one to put out rated CLEAN power on the same level. There is a reason for price discretion in amplifiers. It isn't about output, it's about clean signal output.

 

[THATpurpleKUSH 5,000+ posts]

i'm still waiting on someone to show me a sub for 300 shipped new thats better SQ-wise than the w6.

Go listen to a Boston Acoustics G5. They are as good or better than the w6 in sq and spl and cost less. The people who own them dont want to get rid of them plus they are discontinued so they are hard to find.

 

[Why So Cereal? 5,000+ posts]

Go listen to a Boston Acoustics G5. They are as good or better than the w6 in sq and spl and cost less. The people who own them dont want to get rid of them plus they are discontinued so they are hard to find.

Well I'm a BA fan so I'm proud of that one //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

I dont think they're much less than the w6 though nor will it "crush" it. I still wudnt mind having one tho lol