where can I get one of these at

 

Did you test/compare that thing, yet? Someone on another thread said that the L7s weren't very musical, so I wanted to know what you had experienced. It looks great, and if it comes closer to a 10", I'd be interested (I'm interested in your enclosure either way, but I feel like I'm waiting for the best version). I'm not crazy about all the trunk space that I've given-up w/ the Stealthbox.

thanks,
gil

 

The above post is for WLAURENT.

gil

 

I don't have much experience with 8's, but in most cases an L7 has degraded SQ when compared to a traditional round woofer of the 'same size'. They generally do handle more power though and have higher SPL. I wish Adire made an 8in Brahma... :

 

You can order the enclosure through the S2KI store. The Kicker L7 is not listed as an option currently, but you can purchase it from me directly - $175 including the grill cover.

I have not did the SPL testing yet due to vacation preperation requirements. I will be testing them once I return from South America - should be done sometime around November 18th. Sorry for the delay

Regarding the L7 being musical? This is a subwoofer mounted in the trunk of a convertible. The L7 hits very hard and provides notable bass inside the cabin when driven by a solid amplifier. Once I do a side by side comparison I will let you know my "impression" of how it sounds musically.

Sorry for the delay in replying to the posts. I am in Ecuador working from a very slow dail-up connection. Even the internet cafes here are only 56k (no broadband solution is widely available here as of yet)

 

Hope u are enjoying your trip, It should be nice weather around there right now, well always really, lol. That kicker package is awesome, u might just want to do adds for it, they look great in the trunk.

 

I have used this enclosure in a members car and it sounds great. I used a JL 8w3 which turned out very well. More than enough bass for most people !!

 

I just received my Laurent enclosure. This is a superb piece of craftsmanship -- even the cover, which goes over compound curves, has been crafted with great care. Since I haven't installed it yet, I can't comment on the sound, but based on the quality of the assembly, I have no doubt that it will be great!

 

Sorry for the long delay in updating this post with the 8" sub-woofer testing.

Test Equipment
Pioneer 7400 HU
JL Audio 500/1 Amp
WLAURENT Sub-Enclosure
Bruel and Kjaer 2238 Mediator Sound Meter
2002 Honda S2000
1000W variable impedance Dummy Load
Fluke 867 Graphical Multi-meter
RFP3408 - 8" Rockford HE Sub (SVC 4 ohm, 200/400W)
RFP3208 - 8" Rockford HE2 Sub (DVC 4 ohm, 250/500W)
RFD2208 - 8" Rockford HX2 Sub (DVC 4 ohm, 400/800W)
KickerL7 - 8" Square Kicker L7 Sub (DVC 2 ohm, 450/900W)
JL8W3 - 8" JL Audio Sub (DVC 6 ohm, 125/250W)
RFP3410 - 10" Rockford HE Sub (SVC 4 ohm, 200/400W - mounted in RF made sealed enclosure)

Test Preparation
The first thing that I wanted to test was the ability of the JL Audio 500/1's RIPS (Regulated, Intelligent Power Supply) circuitry to hold a constant output power over the designed load impedance (1.5 - 6 ohms). Using the variable impedance dummy load and the Multi-meter I was able to verify, to my surprise, that the power output only varied by 2-4% through the specified range. I set the system (HU Volume, AMP Gain, etc..) so that there was 200W RMS output at 60 Hz.

The SPL readings were taken with the meter placed on a small tri-pod directly above the shifter.

Test Results

The images below show the direct comparisons of the tested SPL for each of the subs:




Subwoofer Summaries

Sound Pressure

As the chart shows the Kicker L7 had the most SPL across the 30-70 hz frequency range of all of the tested 8" subs - nearly as high as the Rockford 10" sub. The JL Audio 8W3 and the Rockford HE2 were nearly identical in SPL across the frequency range. Interestingly the Rockford HX2 was very strong from 30-50 hz, but did not compare well from 50 - 100 Hz. The Rockford HE did not produce the 30-70 hz sound as well as the others, but did well from 70-100 hz.

I was able to get much better performance out of the Rockford HX2 by lining the inside of the enclosure with DACRON fiber (about half full). I believe this created a dampening effect that resulted in better 50-100 hz response and did not seem to effect the sub 50 hz performance.

Personal Impression of each subwoofer

Kicker L7 - Although it produced good SPL, it sounded very boomy/boxy (hollow) compared to the other tested subs, almost to the point of sounding mechanical.

Rockford HX2 - The HX2 sounded very good (natural, musical, etc..) from 30-60 hz, but was less than surprising above 70 hz. As mentioned above I think that adding some DACRON fiber to the box made some improvement.

Rockford HE - The HE provided nice tight sound across the freq range, but did not provide the same SPL as the other 8" subs. As the HE and HE2 are nearly identical subs with the exception of the HE being single voice coil and the HE2 being dual voice coil, I expected them to sound similar given the same amount of power. My best guess is that the HE2 provides more SPL at 200 watts because it is more efficient.

Rockford HE2 - The HE2 sounded amazing (natural, musical, tight, etc..) and provided excellent SPL.


JL Audio 8W3 - The JL sub sounded, IMHO, the best of all the subs. It was very natural sounding and provided excellent SPL. Although the testing was done at a power level above the JL's spec'd RMS range (200W vs. the JL's spec of 125) - I do not think the sub was working harder or building up any damaging thermal energy. JL's website states that the range for the 8W3 is 125 (green zone) to 250 (red zone) - 200 watts put it in the yellow zone.

For me it would be a toss-up between the JL 8W3 and the Rockford HE2 for a single sub install. Both sounded very strong and provided, what I considered, good natural/musical sound reproduction.

If you have any questions please post or PM them.

- William

 

Excellent writeup. Do u sell the JL8W3? If so, how much's the JL8W3 shipped w/the enclosure? Also, what mono amp would u recommend & how much is it shipped (If u sell it)? Thanks!