Solo-baric L7???

So for the last 2 years I've had 2 12 inch kenwood tornadoes powered by a sony xplode amp 760w. Now I finally have the money and time to upgrade. I am looking at the new Solo-baric L7's. I was looking at the specs and each speaking needs 2 cubes, and I don't think I could fit 4 cu feet of box behind my seat. I have a '95 gmc sonoma extended cab. So I was just wondering if anyone has tried these subs yet, and do you think I'll need 2 12's or will 1 12 work just fine? Thanks for any help.

you can fit a 4cuft enclsure just fine, we fit a 3.2 net (like 4 gross) enclosure in an extended cab S10 with plenty of room to spair length wise.

Now let me ask you these questions:
-Budget?
-Amp is going to be upgraded also, corect?
-Expectations (pure SQ, SQL, or just something that gets loud with out over distortion and wont bottom out)?
or
A better question is what type of music do you listen to and how do you like your bass with it?
-Are you willing to step up to a single 15" driver and if so how much room do you have between the bottom of the drivers seat while you are sitting comfertably to the back of the inside of the cab, along the floor.

I am thinking of a single REaudio SX 15 with a good 1000w amp.
or
SoundSplinter RL-P 15 with a 1000-1500w amps

if youd like to stay with 2 12's i am thinking

2 IA Lethal Injection 12's with a good 1000-1500w amp
or
2 SE 12's with a good 1000-1200w amp.

haha for a simple answer.. ive heard a single L7 12 and it had pretty decent SPL.. so dont worry.. itll show your old stuff up.

kicker is good...but i geuss if you jsut want middle of what you could have...

I have heard nothing but good things about the L7's, as a matter of fact thats what the Eclipse will be getting. One 12 L7 will bump pretty damn hard depending on how much power you give it. If you feel the need, 4 cu ft should be able to fit in ok.

have you even hread of led alone actually heard any of the drivers i had listed or done anyresearch on any of the companies?
Kicker is SPL bassed and so far their best sounding driver ive heard where the old round Solo Barics.
Now the best sounding driver ive heard from them are the Comp VR's and there is better sounding for the money (but they are prety loud with decent sound for the mony if you are into more loud oriented SQL or listen to nothing but comptuer generated beats).

I personally think the're awesome. Loud and low at the same time and it's different from the traditional round sub.

::rolls eyes::
i geuss im one of the few that listens to more than just rap here...
all of kickers (especially the l7 and solo x) square drivers have a wired sound to them when you listen to real music, ie acoustic bass guitar or kick drum or similar instraments.
it is detectible with rap but it is even more prevelant with non computergenerated bass...i will never own any of kickers current products unless given to me... or sold to me for SPL at a goo discount. :)

You only get that if you don't wire right. If accompanied by a good EQ or crossover and a good amp then you don't have that problem.

ok all knowing one...if you do it right in the begining only minimal EQing is needed with good drievers...

i had a friend who had soem L5 10s in a sealed box for a while and i was actually really surprised. sounded very smooth and pretty accurate with rock/ska/metal. ive heard better sure, but dont knock the whole company based on a few installs youve heard.

i do knwo what youre talking abotu though, a lot of the square subs sound strange on anything but rap ifg theyre not installed just so.

didnt kicker have a world record for SQ last year with L7 15s? the driver that everyoen says dounds sloppy as hell. i think the sound you hear is always install dependent. but everything is i guess

it was with team alma i beleive, Kicker sponsored SQ car... but they also had a trunk to filter out harmonics...

ok all knowing one...if you do it right in the begining only minimal EQing is needed with good drievers...

Wow I am so glad to know that you think that :headshake. I never said that I was all knowing. Yes the L7 was made for SPL's, you got me. But it's obvious that you've never listend to an L7 that was set up for anything other than rap. Now lets go through enclosure basics 101 for those of you who don't seem to understand that there's more to your box than just some wood, screws and carpet.
:eek2:Yes I know this may be a shocker but the way you build your box is directly related to the specifics of the sub that your using. Let's take the L7 for instance. It's very important that you read your manual and not just skim the pages. You can't just slop something together and expect to get pure beautiful sound from. A good system requires time and dedication. You need to know every little aspect of what's going on. Recomended power requirements, vented/ported vs sealed, response curves and what type of space requirements are only some of the things that you need to look at when you start to think about piecing a good system together. A well built system that was constucted with the understanding that your vehicle wasn't going to filter out harmonics by itself would include an enclosure that would resolve the problem.

Here's just a little information you might have found if you had looked.


One of the benefits of the L7-Series high performance suspension system is that the Solo-Barics can operate inlarger sealed enclosures for ultra sound quality (SQ) applications without significantly sacrificing their powerhandling. This extra bass extension and smoothness can be obtained by simply using a larger sealed enclosure. Thebox can be .sized up. all the way to a .707 Qtc. enclosure, which has a very flat response, with greatly extendedsub bass.OMG what is this. But wait the L7's are for rap only right. No no. This quote came straight form the manual. Don't believe me here's the lnkhttp://www.kicker.com/05/tech-support/manuals/manuals/04SL7%20Tech%20Brief.pdfPlease turn to page six, paragraph 3. Wow there it is. That's amazing. If you will now turn to page 10 paragraph 1 you will find the following quote.Ported Solo-Barics incorporate massive slot loaded ports with ultra low air velocity for ground pounding streetbass that will make your hair stand on end (if you have any left)! These are the enclosures of choice for outrageousstreet bass and high performance SPL contests.Isn't that amazing. Who would have ever guessed that the type of enclosure would make such a difference in what you hear. Now there's lots more info on what exactly encompasses what needs to be considered when building your enclosures toward a certain type of system. I would suggest that you read and head and until you've experience both types of setups including something to help tune the freq's that your sub recieves so that it works better with the type of enclosure required, that you sit down and keep your :2cents: to yourself.:owned:Oh and to answer the initial intent of the post. I belive that the money spent on the upgrade is well worth the L7's if you decide to go with it. You should only need one 12 or one 15 for your Sonoma. I'm sure that if you follow the guidance of the Tech manual that you will be thoroughly pleased with the outcome.

^^^^Wow...you read a MANUFACTURER manual...good for you!

Anyways, you obviously don't know much about speaker design...and especially not motor topology and such. The Kicker L7 is a pretty loud sub, I give you that. I would rather have at least 25 other subs tho...that are in the same budget or less.

Something inherently holding the L7 back in the SQ department is the square shape. At higher volume levels, it's distorts MUCH easier than a traditional round subwoofer. It's the corners that cause this, it's not something that can really be gotten rid of...it's just something Kicker disregards...they see it as a sacrifice to greater cone area I guess.

Also, as stated by your FANCY PANTS manual...they need rather LARGE sealed boxes to attain "good" SQ. I know this to be a fact, I've done my share of installs...they need HUGE sealed boxes to sound good. Yet another drawback, requires MUCH more space to sound as good as a few other choices.

I'd look into:

I am thinking of a single REaudio SX 15 with a good 1000w amp.
or
SoundSplinter RL-P 15 with a 1000-1500w amps

if youd like to stay with 2 12's i am thinking

2 IA Lethal Injection 12's with a good 1000-1500w amp
or
2 SE 12's with a good 1000-1200w amp.


www.reaudio.com for the SX or SE's, call for direct pricing
www.soundsplinter.com for the Rl-p
www.visionaryaudio.com for the LI's (or contact me, I can get you a deal through an Authorized Dealer)

Later...

NG

hehe, fiberglasscivic hasnt been around here long enough.

thanks for the support noah :) maybe he gets it now.

fiberglasscivic, if you would do some reading in this form we have discuessed why oddly shaped drivers such as square ones and oval ones will (in a lot of cases) produce more distortion than round ones.

if you had even looked into my reccomendations then you would have STFU and never started the arguement when your only premesis is what you've read stright out of kickers manual...

hehe, fiberglasscivic hasnt been around here long enough.

thanks for the support noah :) maybe he gets it now.

fiberglasscivic, if you would do some reading in this form we have discuessed why oddly shaped drivers such as square ones and oval ones will (in a lot of cases) produce more distortion than round ones.

if you had even looked into my reccomendations then you would have STFU and never started the arguement when your only premesis is what you've read stright out of kickers manual...

FYI DA I've more than read the manual. I've built competiton level spl and sql systems involving the L7's and they wern't the first subs I've ever worked with either. The manual is only hard evidence of what I've been saying and if you need more I'll be glad to show you what 13,000w of precisly tuned power can do. Not to say that I require excessive power but I'm pretty sure it's more than you've worked with. Amateur!


Oh and another thing. I can't say yea or nea to your recomendations even though I checked them out. It's my personal oppionion that until you've used or worked with the equipment that you can't really give good advice on the subject. Yeah they have a good rep and are well priced for what they are but I have never used any of them so I wouldn't know personally, so I'm not gonna say they're hot stuff or they suck horribly. It would be wrong of me.

IVE INSTALLED L7's AND HEARD MANY SET UPS WITH THEM...

if you want to talk about SPL talk to ngsm13...

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=416724


149.2 on the TL legal with 1 15" and 3500w after impeadence rise...in a pick up...with out a wall...if you know jack about SPL you know getting that high in a pick up with out a wall is hard.

He also knows quite a few of the more prominent SPL compeditors such as tottie and i think loyd.

Persoanlly ive ben a part of a project which has done 147.2 legal with a CRX, 2 DD 9112's, and 4 old old unregulated pionneer amps. i forget the number.

My goal for my current truck is 145 (set conservatively) with an Ascendant Ava18 and my Current BX1205D in an SPL box, low 140's with my daily enclosure.
however i may need to up the power to reach my 145 goal.

ive had experence with the SE's and the SX's and have heard great things about the Rl-p and Lethal injections.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I was up north for a week. But thanks for all the comments and the argument. I talked to my buddy that works at car tunes and this saturday he is going to sell me his used 15" L7 for $150 so I think I'm gonna try this. So for a box in my extended cab S10 would you guy recommend sealed or ported. I've never built my own box before, but I have done pleanty of wood work. Do you guys suggest building my own to the size and shape of my truck or just buying a pre-made from a car audio place? Then finally the amp. The specs for the L7 say it can handle 1000w rms, so how big of an amp should I look for? My buddy said 800w rms would be good because then I won't blow the speaker, but I don't want it to distort before my ears start to blead. By the way, ngsm if I do deside to build my own box do you still design boxes for a charge? Thanks for all the help guys, I will post pics when I get everything done.



O ya, What does it take to be un-classified as a noob?? Is it after so long or so many posts, or does PaulD have to change it?

it's based on post counts ...... so be a post whore and you'll be an AF expert in no time :rofl:

it's based on post counts ...... so be a post whore and you'll be an AF expert in no time :rofl:

I see, I thought it was quality not quantity, but I should know that doesn't mean anything in here by some of the posts. Ok. Thanks PaulD.

yes, the more posts you have

the smarter AF considers you
so post up


lol...

50posts to become a non noob :)

O ok. I guess I will have to ask more questions then. By the way, do you guys think I need an amp for my L7? What about a box? Can I just stick the sub to my bed? :lol2:

you said you have an 800w amp? not much output difference between 1000w and 800w...so that amp will be fine. if you are dead set on the L7 (15 will wang hard...SQ is still questionable with high output) IMO port and tune in the low 30's...lots of low end for you ;)

you said you have an 800w amp? not much output difference between 1000w and 800w...so that amp will be fine. if you are dead set on the L7 (15 will wang hard...SQ is still questionable with high output) IMO port and tune in the low 30's...lots of low end for you ;)

No, I don't have an amp yet. I will probably get one with next weeks pay check. I was hoping to get around 800 RMS since the speaker is rated for 1000 RMS. One of my buddies has a liquid cooled amp. Are chose any good for keeping the heat down, or do they make good enough power? That all probably depends on the brand doesn't it? I'm not sure what brand it is or anything. What brands are worth buying for something that big? Then also, Someone told me I should run two smaller amps instead of one big one, does that matter? It seems to me it would make it hard to get them both putting out the same amount of power at the same time? Right now I just replaced my alternator and I have a brand new red top Optima. A buddy told me I should get a yellow top too, and someone else said just get a capacitor. I know you guys argue about capacitors all day, but will I need another battery or a capacitor? Thanks for all the help guys.

liquid cooled amps are almost as rediculous as liquid cooled CPU processors...its only needed for very high powered units being pushed very hard. 800w amps isnt going to need to be liquid cooled....there are SPL compeditors with 130,000w of power who's air cooled amps work fine. also stick wiht one single amp if you can, its generally cheaper that way anyway ;) .

Ok, so 1 amp. Now for a box. Right now I have my 2 12" tonadoes in a sealed box. I've tried them in a ported box and you can hear like wind coming from the box, I've also put them in a bandpass box and blew the glass loose in like 20 mins. So I like sealed boxes. But what is recommended or what do you think will sound best with the L7?

Another quick queston. The L7 as dual voice coils and I have connections for 4 wires to go into the sub. What is the benefit of using both voice coils. Then also should I look for a single channel amp, or 2 channel because it has 2 voice coils? Will it sound like shit if I only hook up one coil?

you need to hook up both coils... 1000w RMS means each coil can handle 500w RMS.

id reccomend a Mono Block Class D amp because they have a better price per watt than high powered 2chanel amps (for the most part)

you heard port noise with your ported box becasue you didnt use enough port area... for your single L7 15 id reccomend at LEAST 70sqin of port area.

bandpass sucks unless it is VERY finely tuned and built properly... good bandpass enclsorues take a lot of time and calulation...stick with a large ported enclsoure for your L715. 5-6cuft tuned to 30-35Hz maybe a little lower for a flatter responce.

Ok. So just for now, if I get a box before my amp, will it destroy the sub if I hook it up to my 2 channel 760w peak Sony Xplode amp? I have some songs that each sub fires at different times, like the left and right are different, would that mess up the speaker if the voice coils are trying to do two different things at once? So for a port 70 sqin is that just the size of the hole on the outside or does that include the volume of the tube you use? Then would it be better for 1 big ass port or a couple smaller ports? Ok, last question for today. What all is involved in tuning a box, and what does 30-35 Hz means??

BCAE1.com

And ill look for a place to download WinISD for you. Download.com may have it. it can calculate port length for you...much past that it isnt a very accurate tool for designing an enclsoure.

Tuning means the frequincy at which the air in the port is providing the most resistance to the driver moving...well that isnt what it actually means but that is what happens. it is the frequincy at which the enclosure is tuned, just like how you change the tone of a trombone, you lengthen and shorten the "port" to change the pitch.

it seems like you dont have that much experence. if you can have the local audio shop build the enclosure for you. if you are a good carpender ngsm13 deisgns custom enclosures for a small fee. he can enter some specs into his program and give you the exact cut out for each peace and how they go togather.

otherwise, id reccomend sealed unless you want to go throuhg a BIG learning experence...