Solo-baric L7???

[OffRoadSonoma]

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.

[CBFryman]

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.

[AndonD454]

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.

[CBFryman]

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

[Thor06]

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.

[CBFryman]

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).

[fiberglasscivic]

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

[CBFryman]

::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.

[fiberglasscivic]

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.

[CBFryman]

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

[AndonD454]

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

[CBFryman]

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

[fiberglasscivic]

Originally Posted by CBFryman

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 . 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.
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 in

larger sealed enclosures for ultra sound quality (SQ) applications without significantly sacrificing their power

handling. This extra bass extension and smoothness can be obtained by simply using a larger sealed enclosure. The

box can be .sized up. all the way to a .707 Qtc. enclosure, which has a very flat response, with greatly extended

sub 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 lnk

http://www.kicker.com/05/tech-suppor...ch%20Brief.pdf

Please 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 street

bass that will make your hair stand on end (if you have any left)! These are the enclosures of choice for outrageous

street 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 to yourself.

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.

[ngsm13]

^^^^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:

Originally Posted by CBFryman

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

[CBFryman]

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...