The Kicker L7 Series and Sundown SA v.2 series are both incredible subwoofers. They’re designed to give you maximum volume, bass, and clarity. Made with premium materials and priced pretty competitively, the subwoofers are steals for the price. My personal choice is the Sundown SA v.2 since they’re made with traditional materials and feature more bang for the buck.
Table of Contents
Available Sizes
The Kicker L7 Series is available in 8-inch, 10-inch, 12-inch, and 15-inch models. Each model also has a 2-Ohm and 4-Ohm variant. The Sundown SA v.2 series is available in 6.5-inch, 8-inch, 10-inch, 12-inch, 15-inch, and 18-inch models. These sizes also have 2-Ohm and 4-Ohm Dual audio variants.
The Sundown SA v.2 series provides you with a greater variety of models while providing dual-audio variants of those models. It’s clear that you can find a greater variety of subwoofers with Sundown to fit your car audio needs.
Build Quality
The Kicker L7 series and Sundown SA v.2 series are both constructed from high-quality materials. The latter opts for traditional metals like aluminum and copper while the former includes polypropylene and rubber castings.
The Kicker L7 series consists of an ultra-rigid aluminum basket that houses the one-piece square cone. The cone itself is made from injection-molded polypropylene which works with tough Santoprene rubber. The subwoofers have either a dual 2-Ohm or 4-Ohm coil, rated for 375 watts of RMS power each.
The polypropylene construction allows for a precision-built motor structure that helps withstand high bass.
The Sundown SA v.2 series includes a black aluminum voice coil former for optimal heat dissipation. It also includes a large aluminum faraday ring and a high-strength cast aluminum frame. The core of the subwoofer is the high-temperature copper voice coil wire.
The Sundown SA v.2 also includes a voice coil cooling system. This allows for the traditional 2.75-inch coil to match and even exceed the thermal performance of a standard 3-inch coil.
Video review
In the video below you can see these two brands compared but in the Sundown case, it’s the U Series.
Sound
You could go either way and still end up with the clearest and loudest sound in a car subwoofer. The Kicker L7 series and Sundown SA v.2 series are both rated for powerful audio.
If you’re looking for raw power and bass at every size then the Sundown SA v.2 series is your best bet. All the subwoofers are rated for 1000 watts RMS. The motor in these subwoofers also includes a large magnet ID shorting ring. This is a faraday ring that helps to reduce distortion from inductance and inductance variation over stroke.
As mentioned above there is a state-of-the-art voice coil cooling system that improves thermal performance. That means you can turn up the volume for long drives without a care in the world.
However, the Kicker L7 Series subwoofers aren’t slouched either. They have a more progressive RMS rating system. The smallest 8-inch subwoofers are rated for 500 watts RMS. However, the largest 15-inch subwoofers are rated for 1200 watts RMS.
Price
The Kicker L7 series starts off more expensive here. It starts from $190 for the 8-inch models. However, it goes up to $350 for the 15 inches. This is about the same that you can expect to be charged for the Sundown SA v.2 series. At the same time, the company only gives you a 1-year warranty from the date of the original purchase for the L7 series.
The Sundown SA v.2 series starts at $140 for the 8-inch models and ranges up to $430 for the 18-inches. With each model, you get great power and premium materials and finishes. Also, Sundown’s SA v.2 series gives you a 2-year limited warranty if you purchase from an authorized dealer. The warranty covers material defects and workmanship. While not an insurance policy, it at least gives you peace of mind that you will be covered.
Final Verdict
The Sundown SA v.2 series takes this one pretty easily. Not only does it have many more choices, but it also gives you more bang for your buck. You get a 2-year warranty along with your purchase and a max RMS rating of 1200 watts.
However, if you’re looking for raw power in a small package, then the L7 series may be better. You can get the same 1000 watts RMS in an 8-inch package as with an 18-inch model.
Other articles to consider:
Skar Audio vs Sundown Audio
CT Sound vs Sundown Audio
Orion vs Sundown Audio
Resilient Sounds vs Sundown
JL Audio vs. Sundown
