Hey ppl I just got home from a local audio shop. I was looking at a 13W7. The guy didn't have any hooked up so he asked me if I wanted to hear it and I said YEAH. He hooked it up to the JL 1000/1. When he turned it on I was total shocked. And not in a good way. The sub sounded good but I couldn't hear or see anything special about it. I was set on buying one but after that I decided I could prolly find something better for 900 bucks. I mean it isn't a bad sub but I was expecting it to blow my hat off my head but nothing it sounded like a normal 1000 watt sub. So know I'm on the market for something else. Could any of you recommend something as good are better then a W7? Money isn't a problem I just can't see paying that much for a sub that isn't even gold plated. Thanks for any help.
It also depends on the reference material as well. If you were listening to FM Radio, or a poorly recorded CD, it will only sound as good as the reference material will allow it to. Even a competition winning IASCA vehicle will still have bad sound quality if playing poorly recorded material. Other options for SQ subs are the Adire Audio Brahma, Eclipse Titanium series, Resonant Engineering X.X.X. series, Image Dynamics ID Max, there are many options out there that are cheaper (and arguably better) than a W7. If you lean more towards SPL, look at Bacon's list above. There are many things that can prohibit a sub (or speakers) from performing to their full potential in a showroom, such as the room itself (resonances, etc. many mount their subs, head units, speakers on a wood panel with no damping), not having cabin gain like you would in a car, poor reference material (always bring a copy of your favorite CD when demoing subs or speakers) and the fact that the enclosure may not be the proper one, especially in shops that try to show off premade boxes and such, the gain of the amps may not be set correctly or the head unit settings, and possibly added bass boost, amp EQ, and crossover has been altered from the optimum setting in the past, either by employees or customers, there are endless things that affect a soundroom. Car audio components are not designed to perform to their optimum ability in a soundroom. If the shop manager or other employee has a car with a 13W7 (highly likely), then see if he/she will let you listen to the sub in their car to get a feel for it.