unbiased opinion SA8v2 or W7 8"

Seeing some crazy stuff from the w7 8. I know its much more expensive than the SA8v2 so it may not be in the same category. But in your opinion what would sound better SQ wise? Going to be powered by a JL 500.1 hopefully

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Buy the sa8 and use the extra $ you woulda spent on the best enclosure you can build/buy. SQ is mostly determined by your enclosure, not the driver.

i would have to agree with av83 if those are your only choices.

i swapped out my w6s for w7s last year, and was terribly unimpressed, ended up selling the w7s and buying another pair of w6s for my daily driver.

I'm running two of the JL 8w7s and they sound fantastic, although I'm debating on the SA8's for the simple fact that they require less space and running them ported will yield pretty comparible results. 8w7's need 1c/ft per.

sa8v2 without a doubt

Skar 8" > all

Okay, I am unbiased as I have never run either but have heard both. Granted every system I have heard with the W7 was a sealed enclosure for SQ and every SA8 I have heard was in an SPL enclosure. I'd have to say go with the SA8. Even in the SPL enclosures they still sounded clean. I could only imagine what they could sound like in the proper SQ based enclosure. Plus you will save a TON of money. Just my .02

I am following this as well. I am not in the market for a the w7, but looking at 8's. When poeple talk about the sa8 they always mention loud and power handling, not really sq. I just want to make sure we are on the same page when people say better? Ive heard a couple of w7 systems and I liked them all, but those same systems had people that said you could do better. The reasons were price, which I agree and the other was they werent as loud as other set ups. Nobody ever said the sq was lacking with w7 set ups. I havent heard the sa8's live so I want to make sure they can really do sq?

Another 8" to look at is the NEW Atomic Manhattan Series now rated at 1000 watts rms.

I've run the Digital Designs 1508, the 8w7, and the SA-8 og model. If I had to rate them in ease of integration and sounding good, I'd put the 8w7 and the SA-8 as a tie for first and the 1508 dead last. Now for sheer output, I'd put the 1508 at the top of the list and tie the 8w7 and SA-8. Looking at the Klippel graph on the new SA-8 V2, I'd go with it over the 8w7.

In fact, the only reason I am about to use a 1508 in my WRX is because I had one on hand and I'm saving my last remaining SA-8 V1 as a backup for if my wife ever blows her True Bass Ultra 8.

Do you have a small car or minimal space to work with? A single 8 inch sub isn't really known to get all that loud. Yeah yeah you can blast 150dB out of a SA-8v2 but that ain't gonna last plus it's from an one note wonder box.

If space is minimal then you should wait for Sundown's upcoming 8 incher that's designed specifically for a sealed box - I think the requirement is something really small like .3cf per sub.

What do you think about TC Epic 8"?

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My only concern is their past history of closing up shop, then making a comeback. Also, rumors of nonexistent customer support during this last comeback phase would make it tough for me to consider their products unless I could get them at a good price. In other words, you buy it from Parts Express. If there is a problem, PE will refer you to TC, where you may or may not be able to get a hold of someone to address your issue.

Now, for the negative side... while a .6 cubic foot enclosure tuned to 32 Hz seems all well and good, there is one problem. Just wait until you see the required port area for such a small enclosure. 15 square inches of port has to be mighty long for such a tiny enclosure! I tend to remember seeing one design for the OG SA-8 that was .6 cubic feet net for the sub side, but the folded port took up .7 or .8 cubic feet. It takes a lot of additional space to fold up 64 or so inches of 1.5" by 10" port.

W7 >>> w6

There is more engineering in the W7 than the SA8 will ever have.