well im a newbie to car audio and i need some help im
ok ive been wondering this for a while and i have some q's
i want to get a kenwood head unit #KDC-V7017 and i have decided to get either 1 or 2 kicker solo barics 12's but whats the difference between L5 and L7? also what does the dual ohms mean either 2 or 4?another question is what kind of amp should i be looking to get like how many watts and channels should i get?(im guessing that if u have 2 subs and 600 watts&2 channels does that mean that theres 300watts going to each sub?)
also i would like some suggestion on speakers through the whole car. also i dont understand the deal with the alternator how do i know if mine can handle it

 

I'm by far not a pro but i can try to help. the dual voice coil means that there is 2 voice coils per sub. I'm new to that so not much help there. and if the amp is 300wx2 that is 300w per sub, also the amp should have a fuse rating, this is the max that it will take to power the subs. if you look on you alternator it should have a ampree sticke on it, that is what it can put out at around 2500rpm or so.

 

the difference between the L5 and the L7 is that the L5 is a tradition round sub while the L7 is a square sub. both are very good subs, but the L7 is known for being a power-hungry sub. dual voice coils (or what you refer to as dual ohms) is having to sets of terminals on a single sub. it allows for more installation options. a very nice inexpensive amp to power subs would be the new JBL amps. they've got 300, 600, and 1200 watt amps. If you onle have one amp in the car or even two smaller amps, you're alternator will be fine. I'm running an amp for my front components and an amp for my sub right now off the stock alt and having no problems at all

 

Both L5's and L7's are square subs. Difference being power handling, cone material, and price.
(other Voice Coils are available 2,4, or 8ohm)

L5's
Key Features:
copolymer cone
Santoprene rubber surround
dual 4-ohm voice coils for wiring flexibility
frequency response 20-100 Hz
power range 50-600 watts RMS (300 watts per coil)
peak power handling 1,200 watts
sensitivity 87.1 dB SPL
top-mount depth 6-1/8"
sealed box volume 0.88-2.0 cubic feet
ported box volume 2.5 cubic feet


L7's
Key Features:
titanium deposit cone
non-resonant aluminum basket
Santoprene rubber surround
dual 4-ohm voice coils for wiring flexibility (with a compatible amp)
frequency response 20-100 Hz
power range 75-750 watts RMS (375 watts per coil)
peak power handling 1,500 watts
sensitivity 89.2 dB SPL
top-mount depth 6-13/16"
sealed box volume 0.88-2.0 cubic feet
ported box volume 1.75-3.25 cubic feet

 

lol "L5s are traditional round subs" lol someone didnt do thier homework

 

what kind of amp do u guys suggest if i were to get 1 12 L5 or 2 12 L5's. BTW i really dont wanna shell out a ton 4 an amp i want 1 that can power the subs but back up my speakers

 

grr, crap. my bad. next time i'll be right. promise

"will not open mouth before checking first, will not open mouth before checking first, will not open mouth before checking first, will not open mouth before checking first,......."

hehe

sorry!

 

I'd suggest going to IKESound I would try to get as much power as I could afford to throw at those subs(I don't mean a 1000watt Jensen or something) because they love the juice. Plus it's better for speakers to have too much power than not enough. You can always turn the gains down to match whatever amp you have/plan on getting.

 

LOL, yeah I've done that before so now I always go to the manufactures website before I post.

 

Few things, dual voice coils allow better wiring flexibilty and sound because one coil isn't getting all the power, so it keeps the sub cooler as well, and makes the sub hit harder. I just got rid of my JL Audio 12W0's (single voice coil) and upped to JL Audio 12W3's (dual voice coil) with a Kicker ZR600 amp. I love kicker's amps, and for the L5's, I'd suggest the ZR600. My friend has 2 Kicker L7's in his on a ZR1000 and they hit hard, so the 600 on the L5's should be a good mate. You don't want to skimp on the amp, because a good amp can make OK speakers sound good. And since your going to spend the money on Kicker, go with something good. You can find a ZR600 (if your lucky) for under $400 or if you have a hook up. Alot of your big brand amps (Kicker, Rockford Fosgate, JL Audio, etc) are underrated. It may say the amp puts out 125 wattsx2 channels, but may be pushing closer to 250 watts x 2 channels. So take that into effect. The L5's are pretty much a budget L7, they will give you nice bass, but without all the features of the L7's. They look just like last years L7's. Don't know how they perform, but if they hold up to traditional Kicker, they should be really nice. Hope some of this helped.

 

has anybody else seen the solobarics break in the corners? I've seen it happen a couple of times. I don't know if that is common or just has happened to my friends :-)

 

I have never seen one actually tear like that, but I have heard many stories from people who have had them. The new series is supposed to have fixed that problem (hopefully). My friend has had his 2 L7's on a Kicker ZR1000 for awhile and has never had a problem, but he is one of the lucky few.

 

another thing to consider when purchasing an amp is the ohn capability of it,,,duel voice coil subs have 2 4ohm voice coils,,so if you have 2 subs,then you have 4 4ohm voice coils,,you have few options when purchasing an amp for these,,,first, you could get a 4 channel amp,and use each channel for its own voice coil,,the problem here is its going to be hard to find a good 4 channel amp for subs,,being most 4 channel amps are class a or b,,,making them bad for subs...second, you could get a class c 2 channel amp that will run stable at 2 ohms,,wire 2 voice coils off each speaker parrallel to each channel on the amp (cheapest most logical setup for you) and last, you could get a one channel class d amp(class d are designed specifically for subs)run all 4 voice coils parrallel to the one channel at 1/2 ohm..this is the best setup for your combo but a little on the expensive side(memphis 1000d-400 usd sony xplode 1000d-299 usd)there r many others but these r the ones that get the best reviews..