Kicker L7 subs ?

Just wondering what kind of input professional car audio installers could give me on the subs. All the people around me couldn't give me good facts or reason for their opinions. I guess some people just don't like the name KICKER.? How about their amps?? Any info would be great.

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Thanks

JC

I as a retailer compete against Kicker. While it has been a good brand for a number of years, they have tried to remain competitive with the rest, and like the rest their product quality has also dropped. Here in Canada the distributor that was carrying the line for years has dropped it, the reason why from what I heard was because of warranty claims. The product been returned was greater than Kicker Corp had allowed, 26% vs 6% from what I heard.(note I cannot substantiate this in writing). This is a staggering return rate. This return rate came about when the line was changed to the current amplifier and subwoofers. The older stuff is rock solid, return rate was low and performance was quite good. Now in order to remain competitive, Kicker has stopped manufacturing everythng themselves and has now started to build things in China with parts made who knows where and at what tolerance. This is not a new practice, companies are interested in their bottom line only (how much $$$$), if they are losing market share then they must do something to help get it back, but for a good distributor to drop a line that they helped build in Canada, well it must have been a very hard decision, made because of hard facts.

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Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.

Good information, Thanks. I know I started to, and still do, buy Kicker products because of their reputation to replace the item if it blew or burned up no matter how or why.  I purposely blew 2 sets of subs a week before the warrenty date came up, both times just to get newer subs. ( I know thats a cheapo thing to do but I was a youngster.)  Everyone I knew just treated their subs like crap just because of the warrenty. Maybe that helped the return rate to go up a bit, who knows. I do business with Kicker's Corperate office at the main factory in Stillwater, Oklahoma. By the end of the year I plan on going on a thorough tour of the plant ( which by the way  is moving into a much larger factory ).  Hopefully I can see what they actually make themselves and what they just distribute with their name on it.  But anyway, I'm still going to buy Kicker, partially because I can now get it cost, and partially because I trust the old name. Thanks again for you info.  

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Thanks

JC

Good to hear you supporting a good line, hopefully they will recover here in Canada. The Kicker that I used to sell was great, hopefully it will again return to that status. It is really an amazing sight to see who makes who in this industry, get ready for a couple of shockers.

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Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.

I have had nothing but good from Kicker Products. I had lots of friends brag about how awesome their JL system was. But every time I went to our local Jl dealler, the people were A$$holes & treated me like an idiot. So I went elsewhere. I was sold on Kicker products @ another dealer. Very nice salesmen, infact, they have replaced many speakers of mine for problems not covered by the warranty, or after the warranty had expired. I have not had any product problems, mostlly problems caused by accidents. I have nothing but Kicker gear in my car(excluding HU).

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