Hey guys,
First thread here in a while. The RL-P18 is blown, trying to get rid of the Box and driver for $200 still. I'm not so into the Below 10hz stuff anymore, I'd rather have something small and musical. Life Style is changing, and these things change with it . By the way, if anyone is in Orange County and wants the dang thing, please, take it!

Alright, so here's the dilemma. A JL 13W7 has been offered to me for $250 with a sealed enclosure. 5 Cu ft internal volume. I honestly can't think of a better alternative. The 13W7s go for around $300 around here, so even assuming I cannot get the $250 deal, would the 13W7 be a high sound quality driver that can go a tad low with some EQ? I just can't find any threads for the 13W7 in a small sealed application.

Thanks.

I wouldn't buy a subwoofer just because its a "deal" Is it a car box or a HT box?


Also what are you going to power that sucker with?

JL 13W7 for $250 ! That is great deal, I would check if it is in perfect working order before,some deals are not so great after inspection and test.


Worst case you have a 13W7 driver and have to build a box,building a compact sealed box is a child's play.So you can always build a box if the one that comes with the driver is not ideal (looks or volume).

It's just a sealed 4 cu ft box. I'm not sure if he intended to use it for HT or car, but that doesn't change internal volume.

I have an amp similar to a EP2500.

Arthur,
SQ wise, do you think it would be a fine sub for my uses?

I say a Maelstrom-X in a compact enclosure instead!

Where do get 13W7's for $300 nevermind $250?

I'd run 4 of them for that price.

SQ with the JL driver in asealed box will be at the very least very good.A low SQ sub using a 13W7...can only be the work of the most incompetent DIY person on this planet.

Craigslist.

what happened to your RLP18?

I believe his "Friends" fried the voice coil.

And there is no re-cone available, unless you wait for the restructuring/resurrection/the second coming of TC Sounds.

Yup, Dan got it right.

Emailed Soundsplinter a couple times, no response ever.

damn! good thing i didn't push through buying from soundsplinter

Ya I almost bought 2 18" from SoundSplinter...too bad nice drivers. I run a 12w7 in a sealed box and if I could have found 3 more for that much I would have done it in a heart beat awesome sounding subs but do require alot of power I run a Crown XTI 4000watts to mine.

Nate

Why? SS sells good stuff and they stand by it.

Spezzy - I've heard Mike takes care of people, so don't give up.

spezzy said there was no reply to his emails.

Yeah...I read that part. Thats why I said don't give up. Its not as if Mike would read them and simply not respond. He obviously hasn't read them yet, for whatever reason. I wish he provided a phone number.

Sound Splinter not responding...strange.Each time I had great service from Sound Splinter.

I agree with TheEar. A 13w7 for $250 is amazing. I had to read it twice. Make sure it's a working speaker though.

Sent a third email earlier today and actually got a response. $280+shipping to get it fixed..

Could I use it in a smallish sealed sub? Might just keep the driver and sell the enclosure for $200.. maybe even see if I could use the wood from it.

If 6-8 ft^3 is smallish sealed then yes. -_-

Ooh. Ouch. I think I may get it fixed and sell it..

The 13w7 goes more than a tad low btw. It can crank a lot of spl in that small box.

Been doing some modeling. At 2 cu. ft., the 13W7 Comes ahead over the RL-S12 and RL-P18. I think I may sell the Rl-P18 and spring for a 13W7.

meh, get a Maelstrom and put it in 3.5 cubes, powered with your amp, it should do more damage than the 13W7 and cost about the same (where are you getting them for $300 new? sounds like someone stole a shipment of them or something, the sell for 4x that normally)

Read my mind.

I was thinking the Maelstrom as well. Haven't gotten the chance to model it yet.

Edit: At 2cu ft the 13W7 of course beats it out. But at 4 the Maelstroms is slightly louder. Not sure what to do.. Leaning towards Maelstrom, but how is the SQ? I've heard the 13W7 and it ranks at the top of what I've experienced.

Lol, you have got to be kidding me! They are both about identical in the lower registers with any of these small boxes, its simply Hoffman's (previously) iron law, not it seems to be made with ti, as it flexes a bit. Still, you will not have any noticeable difference between drivers down low with these box sizes, the JL does have to work a lot harder than the Maelstrom to get there though. In the upper octaves though, the Maelstrom needs half the power of the JL to get the same performance, this accounts for an awful lot in my book, this means a whole lot less heat is being dumped into the driver, less compression, less distortion, more output, better sound quality. I am generalizing, but that is what those things amount to in a nutshell. Either driver would benefit from a 4 cube box though, the JL is at a Q of .7 and the Maelstrom is at .85, even though thats higher than I'd like, it still is doing VERY well and will make most anyone happy.

I don't see the big debate here though, the Maelstrom has far more displacement, the same power handling, much lower inductance, ect ect ect, from the looks of things without either driver being tested, I'd put my money on the Maelstrom any day.

All great(!) points Army, but the JL does look better.

I guess, sexy drivers are neat, but I no longer look at the aesthetics as a plus, I have come to the point that the best looking driver is the one that performs best.


BTW, ever thought of an acoupower spezz? Save that money and never worry about upgraditis again.

I've thought about it, but honestly the upgraditis is starting to wear away. Maybe it's the fact that I haven't had a quality sub for months now. I just can't justify it..

I'm trying to sell a lot of my things, including all of my surround speakers and other misc stuff. Life style has changed drastically and I'm trying to get a good laptop (HP HDX.. ). I think the Maelstrom will be good enough for some time, I'm actually thinking of duals to make up for the lack of pleasing aesthetics.

EDIT: Jeez. If I return my RL-P18 and fork up $330, I can get myself a brand new RL-S12 through Mike at SS. It doesn't look like it can hang with the Maelstrom, but just wanted to ask to be sure.