Alright...well about two months ago (maybe less) I bought two JL12W3's, dropped into a 2.4 CF sealed box (not exact measurement, but close), supplied with a 1000 watts by an Alpine MRP-1000M amplifier. They started off great. They provided very clean bass and they got LOUD, however after about a month they started to loosen up a bit. They began to produce a lot of mechanical noise (almost like a bottoming out noise), so the gain was then turned down...unfortunately in order to prevent a lot of mechanical noise I had to turn them down A LOT. On the one hand they are a sub designed for SQ, not SPL, so its part my fault. However, after paying 270 something dollars for them, I was pretty disappointed, especially after I saw the build quality I got from these SSA ICONS. I wish I had taken pictures of the two subs to compare, but I am telling you....you would be amazed at the difference in build quality. SSA's are made in the US, and in fact I know the CEO and he provided me with a great deal on the subs. Anyways...in short the JL's are no where near the SSA's as far as build quality...JL uses a cheap punch basket design whereas the SSA is built with an aluminum former...not to mention they are hand crafted. These SSA subs have dual aluminum coils and extremely stiff dual spiders...its amazing to see how much stiffer these subs are than the JL's...The magnet is massive too, a good 15-20 pounds heavier than the JL...unfortunately I am waiting on my Sundown 2500 amp to get here...these subs run on 1 ohm and need a good 1000 watts each versus JL's 500 watts...if you ask me your getting double the sub for the money...too many people are so set on these big companies like JL, Rockford, Alpine, Kicker...not saying they dont produce good components, but its amazing how much more you get from these other companies like RE, SSA, Diamond, Fi, the list goes on. I have a friend who has been involved in this stuff for a long time, participates in competitions and has had everything from 4 rockford T1's to his current SSA 18, among dozens of other setups...he would tell you the same thing...these smaller hand crafted companies are the way to go..sorry for the long write up, but I thought I would share a bit of my knowledge.

 

I wouldn't dog on JL too hard, the W7 is a fantastic driver that actually had a lot of thought go into its design. I've heard very few subwoofers that have that kind of output but still blend into the soundstage at reference levels, even when crossed as high as 100Hz or so. Don't forget many people look for quality sound in a subwoofer, not just glass shattering SPL.

I do agree though, much of the smaller off-brand stuff is better built than a lot of mainstream equipment. SSA, Fi, etc often use better parts. You can even take it a step farther and look into drivers that use improved Motor gap technologies like XBL (Exodus, CSS, JBL WGti, Stereo Integrity) and LMS (newer TC Sounds) etc for much lower distortion, and copper shorting rings for lower inductance and even greater SQ. These drivers have large useable excursion for huge output and a flat BL curve and will not distort even right near max excursion, unlike the typical motor designs used by SSA, Fi etc.

 

I think the W6 and W7s are great from JL audio, cant expect much from the other lines. But still to me are great sounding subs lol.

 

i had the w3's i dunno if i said w7 in my post on accident or not...the w7's are nice for sure, but little expensive for me haha. Yea i probably don't fit in this forum much anyways because I know most people on here are just looking for primarily sq purposes. I am big on SPL right now just because I love having obnoxiously loud systems haha, however my SSA's are a good combination of both, I cant wait to get the proper amp and hear what they really sound like

 

the w6's and w7's are great subs, definitely, just pay a bit much if you ask me when there are other comparable subs for half the price

 

you are right, jl w6 and w7 are a bit much, but i have to tell you i still think by far my w6's were the best sounding setup ive had. Ive been through many non maintstream subs too.