3 12" Diamond Audio D3 vs 2 12" Kicker L7

[Flipp153]

Hey hows it going? I got 3 12" diamond audio d3s in a independently sealed 1.2 cu.ft. per chamber box powered by an older power fosgate 1000bd amp in the back of my 03' dodge dakota ext cab. I like the way they sound but I find myself wanting a little more sometimes. I was thinking of getting two kicker l7s in a sealed box the same size of the triple 12" box. So like 1.8 cu. Ft. per l7. Any advice or recommendations? Stick with the 3 diamond audios or 2 kicker l7s with bigger chambers. Thanks.

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[3kgtAudio 10+ year member]

L7's get loud but are not SQ subs by any means, where as the Diamond subs are geared a little more SQ. You could probably get more out of either 2 L7's ported or 2 Diamond subs ported, being that built right and tuned right in a roughly 3.5 cu ft box is perfect for ported 2 12's, and ported will always be more efficient and louder at the same power level. If your wanting to stick with a sealed box for the ease of construction I would go for L7's. But for personal tastes I am not a big fan of the way square subs sound for quality. If you like the Diamonds how about the SX 12's? They are the same as the D6, throw enough power at them in the right box and you will have both SPL and SQ

 

[Flipp153]

I'm looking for something with equal sq as the d3s but just some more spl. I prefer the sound of sealed boxes over ported from my experience. I listen to all kinds of music (rap-young jeezy, common, classic rock-doors, zeppelin, metal-metallica, slayer). I like the way the d3 sound. Clean. I just want a little more umph when i listen to rap. More low end. Can i just get a bigger sealed box. Also I want to stay in the $200-250 range if possible. I plan on sticking with the fosgate 1000 watt amp.

 

[bbeljefe]

You can extend low end response by making a larger sealed box but to be frank, that's only on paper. You've got good subs and if you want audibly lower response from them, a ported enclosure is the way to go.

That said, the ported boxes you've heard were probably either prefabs or boxes that were intentionally built for acoustical peaks at a given frequency. A ported box that's designed to be flat won't have the acoustical peaks (boomy) that people typically (and erroneously) attribute to ported enclosures but it will have the low end extension that a prison cell (aka, sealed box) doesn't. ;-)

 

[azimuth 5,000+ posts]

I have a d6 10 ported and its **** loud. Diamond does well ported. 2 of your 12's ported will be louder than the 3 sealed. I listen to metal mostly. Motor strength is good, no motor noise at all from ports. Handles double bass very well.

 

[supra1987]

If you don't want to give up sealed enclosure you could always try upgrading speaker wires in box (if not already sufficient.at least 12ga or heavier) and adding polyfil to each chamber.see if that helps with bass from the sealed box.