JL W7 vs. Earthquake Magma

Brahma 12's would be a cheaper way. They are darn good subs as well...even cheaper would be the shiva's

Also Eclipse subs are..well the best...lol.. thats if you want to spend lil more

First off, I wrote this Very Long Reply to help you as much as I can, so please read it through and gain the knowledge that took me a while to acquire. The brands that I will show you at the bottom are great brands that can truly hold up against the Industry's best. Once you get familiar with those brands, do a search online and see who uses them and why. Now second, how much money do you wanna spend?  If it is a lot you wanna spend for a great SQ/SPL system, most of the brands stated (JL, Eclipse,...) will go a long way. If you are interested in having an awesome SQ/SPL system , there are some more sights you should check out RIGHT NOW!!! There are a couple of companies that make Great subwoofers for less than the cost of a JL or Eclipse sub and also have great customer satisfaction teams. I have a list of companies under this paragraph that will help you onto your quest for sonic bliss. Notice that the most expensive and best sounding subs have a huge/deep  motor structure(magnet) and a large amount of Xmass("excursion"- what moves the air and makes BASS!). The Magmas one-way excursion is half an inch(13mm) with a Measly 500 Watts RMS, while all of the companies listed beneath have models that regular 18mm Xmass and a 2.5" - 3" full stroke and can definately take more wattage and sound window-shattering while doing it.

First, Resonant Engineering: https://www.respl.com/flash_index.html             They have GREAT SUBS for all applications, make sure to check out the pics! Definately check them out! If you want a place to buy them, check out https://www.visionaryaudio.com/RE.htm

Second, Elemental designs(Best Buy): https://www.edesignaudio.com   They also have great subs made by geaky car audio Freaks! 3 different models in fact, the K, the O, & the A. The A is their top woofer and the MOST EXPENSIVE @ $315 for the 15"!!!! It contains Dual Spiders, a 200 something ounce magnet and a flat-piston cone, like the rest of the line. And all the subs are backed up by their 3 YEAR WARRANTY!!!! For this price what is being purchased is unheard of. You can purchase this companies products on their websites.

Ricetech, which subs are you getting from Elemental Designs? The A's? Well whichever you are getting, make sure you have a box "BUILT" for them. Don't go with a prefabricated one. Because if good money is being spent on some great subs at least compliment them with a manufactered spec box. If you are going to put them in a ported box make sure you have an amp that has a steep crossovered Subsonic filter. If you want I can help recommend a good class D amp for any application.

Just a heads up.  The ED 15A sub is on backorder for quite a while. 

I'm with Maxst on recomending the Brahma's.  They cost a little more than the A, but have a little better SQ.  Output should be the same.  You can buy those from Visionary Audio as well.  It is owned by Marshall, a friend of mine.

BTW, the XXX (by RE) is a VERY similar sub to the Brahma. 

Sounds pretty good to me!

https://adireaudio.com/mobile_audio/drivers/brahma_series.htm

theres the Brahma- very good stuff

Check out this Hifonics amp! It has the usual low-pass filter 24dB/octave, a subsonic filter 24dB/octave, a remote bass boost, and it can take up to a 9 volt input! One of the reviewers compares it to his old Tsunami that was sucking the life out of his Electrical system and how all of his problems are over. It looks like a very effecient clean sounding amp and oh yeah it does 1500 watts RMS @ 1 ohm.  https://www.sounddomain.com/sku/HIFBX1500D

Wanna check out the rest from Hifonics? https://www.sounddomain.com/shoplist~b~HiFonics~t~Subwoofer+Mono+Amps

In that case I'd like to know a little more about the install.  Because you are the first person to ever describe the Brahma as muddy.  So what size enclosure were they in?  How were the gains set?  I have a great deal of familiarity with the Brahma's, and I know how they sound.  IMO the best SQL sub on the market is the W7.  But the Brahma is about half the price and 99.9% of the performance.  They utilize different techniques to gain their superior sound quality, but the end result is two subs that sound VERY similar. 

Now some people don't like the low distortion sound of the Brahma.  But usually they feel the same way about the W7.  You claim that the difference was huge, so I'm thinking that had to be install related.  They possibly had too large an enclosure, which worked fine for the W7 (the Brahma's enclosure is VERY small).  I'd suggest you take a listen again with a better install.  I have a feeling your experience will change.

BTW, what do you mean by Xmax means nothing?  It can greatly effect the SQ and LFE of the driver.  That's why some of the best SQ drivers, like the W7, have monster throws on them.

the box for the sub was built with the tech support from brahma for a 2000 IS300 slot ported through the center space as per their instructions. Gains on the amp were rough set by DMM and fine set by 50hz sine wave and occilliscope. Also, the sub played fine for most selections with simple bass lines but didn't handle the complicated stuff as well as I had heard it would in review.  Personally I think the reviewer at Mobile Electronics is on a ego trip with his "Torch Red 2001 Corvette" and "Crown Macro Tech 5000VZ amp" I mean his reviews are pretty lously if you actually take time to look (as I have gone back and done). Just my $.02 on him.

as far as xmax, (i didn't say nothing) I mean there are quite a few no name brand subs and some on brand subs claiming better SQ and SPL than W7 or Titaniums highlighting powerhandling and xmax.  The MTX 9500 ad comes to mind.  Just saying, don't throw all your decision on one number. You know that a linear bl curve is also a very important SQ factor.

JL3GEclipse wrote:

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the box for the sub was built with the tech support from brahma for a 2000 IS300 slot ported through the center space as per their instructions. Gains on the amp were rough set by DMM and fine set by 50hz sine wave and occilliscope. Also, the sub played fine for most selections with simple bass lines but didn't handle the complicated stuff as well as I had heard it would in review. 

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Wow!  I will never question you again about gain setting.  You obviously know how to do it.  Good job!

People's opinions greatly differ in how things sound.  Many people prefer their music to be what I call surreal.  Some people will like one thing, and not like another.  It isn't bad, that's just how it is.  But from an objective SQ standpoint, both the W7 and Brahma are the best because they will produce less distortion than other subs using a more standard motor topology.  It is just a function of the motor.  It is up to the user to decide if they like the distortion.  I still find it odd that you liked the W7, but didn't like the Brahma.  I can only guess that it was due to differing alignments.

JL3GEclipse wrote:

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as far as xmax, (i didn't say nothing) I mean there are quite a few no name brand subs and some on brand subs claiming better SQ and SPL than W7 or Titaniums highlighting powerhandling and xmax.  The MTX 9500 ad comes to mind.  Just saying, don't throw all your decision on one number. You know that a linear bl curve is also a very important SQ factor.

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Ah, I must have misunderstood you.  In that case I totally agree with you. 

Yea, most people just do it half ass by ear to set gains.  I don't see the point of spending several grand on a stereo only to I got the best technical training from JL, 8 hour class and they talked about their product may 30-45mins.  Mostly just ohms law, accoustic theory, wiring, ac and dc basics, sound (frequency, harmonics, SPL) and finally they wrapped up by connecting every thing to their products...it was the most fun I think I ever had learning!

Just looked at your ride, nice idea for bass upfront!  Get that thing painted, and Sony Mobile ES, nice, I don't know why they went away from that for Xplode.

Yea, most people just do it half ass by ear to set gains.  I don't see the point of spending several grand on a stereo only to have clipped signal from setting the gains wrong.  I got this from the best technical training from JL, 8 hour class and they talked about their product may 30-45mins.  Mostly just ohms law, accoustic theory, wiring, ac and dc basics, sound (frequency, harmonics, SPL) and finally they wrapped up by connecting every thing to their products...it was the most fun I think I ever had learning!

Just looked at your ride, nice idea for bass upfront!  Get that thing painted, and Sony Mobile ES, nice, I don't know why they went away from that for Xplode.