# OMFG UFB!!!one1! JL8IB4 vs. Oz 200L



## tRidiot (Jun 29, 2006)

*UP FRONT BASS...*

It's what it's all about to me, as of late. 


*JL Audio 8IB4 8" midbasses*
So I've had my JL 8IB4s running in my damped doors for a couple of months now. They're 8 ohm speakers, and designed to run IB, so I've had them running off a bridged Blaupunkt VA4100, probably receiving about 150RMS each (it's rated for 300W into 4 ohms bridged). They were each mounted on essentially a 1.5" baffle of Baltic Birch plywood. A .5" baffle attached to the door, and then dual .5" rings mounted to that.

The JLs were crossed over with the onboard crossover on the amp, low-passed at 250Hz. They've been playing the low end for my CDT ES-04/ES-01 comp set. And doing a damn fine job, I might add. 

Midbass was clean and moderately loud, I felt. If I turned off my subs, I still had plenty of good midbass, but it was lacking somewhat in the sub-50Hz area, I felt. I generally ran them either steep-slope HPF at 40Hz, or with no LPF at all, kinda depending on my listening tastes and material at the time. If listening to rap/R&B/hip-hop, etc., I'd usually raise my HPF to protect them a bit from overexcursion. Sometimes even 50Hz, but rarely did I need to raise it any higher than that. 

I'm a tweakhead, and I like to adjust my crossovers on the fly as I change music, to get the most performance out of my speakers.

So last night I swapped the 8IB4s out for:

*Oz Audio 200H 8" free-air subwoofers*

OMG. Wow, what a difference. As I said above, the performance from the JL 8IB4s was pretty good, overall. I didn't have much complaint, but I would have liked a little more output. Well, these Oz 8s certainly solved that problem!!!

Now, to be fair, I did replace the speaker rings with MDF, as the Oz were considerably bigger than the JLs. So, I pulled the 1" of birch rings and replaced it with a 3/4" MDF baffle. I used some silicone caulking material on the back of the ring to make a better seal between the MDF and the remaining 1/2" birch baffle.

The Oz are also 4 ohms each, so they are receiving 300RMS per sub from my Blaupunkt VA4100. Now, according to information on this site, the difference in sensitivity ratings going from 4 ohms to 8 ohms should make up for any real difference in actual power availability... or so I believe. I'm not 100% clear on the matter, but I am willing to take the word of my betters, since I'm not well-versed in the more esoteric areas of such things. 

But, bottom line is, these Oz 200Hs have WAAAAAY more output than my 8IB4s did. I'm serious, the difference was night and day, and it is AMAZING to *FINALLY* have that up-front bass I've been looking for! MY GOODNESS! I'm so excited (can you tell???).

The Oz seem to be comparable to the JL in terms of clarity, perhaps even a bit moreso. I noticed NO muddiness or overbearing qualities to the midbass. In actuality, I think the Oz probably sound slightly more natural or blend better than the JLs did. Someone in a previous thread mentioned the JLs might sound slightly 'thicker', which is a surprisingly accurate description. With the subs turned off, my JLs didn't sound all that great to me, although they did have good midbass kick and blended well with my subs, which usually are crossed over steeply at 40Hz or 50Hz. The JLs did play low enough to draw that bass up front, and you could close your eyes and usually (if I didn't have the subs playing at extreme volumes) imagine that the subwoofers were only in front of you.

As for the Oz, that effect is seriously improved now! I don't know if it's a function of simply greater output in the very low frequencies or what, but when overlapping the subs and midbass (no LPF on the midbass, remember), even at moderately-high volume, the sub blends quite well, adds more impact to the already-considerable amount of bass drum kicks, and really seems to be located in the front. I can't tell you how pleased I am with this. I still have some rattles to clean up in the back and such, but overall, the illusion is VERY well achieved. The Oz have GREAT output in the sub-50Hz range, and even in the sub-40Hz range... I just can't get over it. Impact is very very nice, and I seriously had trouble a couple of times (at highway speed, to be fair) remembering if my subs were even ON. I had to check my headunit (880-PRS) to make sure my sub outputs weren't muted! Not because there was no bass, but because it sounded *SO *convincingly up-front to me!

I initially took off this morning for my 1.5-hour commute playing Candlebox's self-titled debut album. Now, this album is a hard-rock offering with serious midbass on multiple tracks. This is particularly true on tracks #8 (Rain) and #10 (Cover Me) and #11 (He Calls Home). The band's style is very drum-heavy and the metal/hard rock guitar lends itself to headbanging throughout. I especially like the interplay of drums and guitar on tracks #1 (Don't You), #3 (You), and #7 (Arrow). I have only a couple of songs on this album I don't like, and I listened to a large portion of the album at extremely high levels, enjoying the massive impact of my new kickbasses the whole time.

I am unbelievably happy that I've finally found the missing element in my system, that thing that has finally provided the true ENJOYMENT rather than just musical reproduction.

I've got to head out now to take my son to the circus, but tune in later on for more evaluation with artists Jonny Lang, Tim Rice & Elton John's AIDA, Ian Moore, Santana, some hip-hop from Shaggy and Sean Paul. You'll also hear how I overdrove and nearly killed my Blaupunkt VA4100.  But don't worry, she's alright!


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

Pics?


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## tRidiot (Jun 29, 2006)

DREAM ON! 

My **** looks so bad, I don't think I'll ever put pics up.


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## tyroneshoes (Mar 21, 2006)

Maybe finish it off right with some matching oz 130 (5.25) midbasses and matching oz 100 cotton/silk tweeters and of course an oz 300L (12). 


Whats this..I have them all for sale..look at that. 

Ive been praising oz's older stuff for ever and I have never been unhappy with an install I did using them. I still use them to this day in installs because I can get them nos and they are still great by any means. The 6.5 not so much but when someone wants a 5.25 comp set, I find it hard to beat them especially for what it costs me for NOS stuff.

For what its worth, Im not convinced either about the 8-4 ohm thing after trying some 8 ohm seas. Had to switch amps for them to sound right.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

tRdoc said:


> DREAM ON!
> 
> My **** looks so bad, I don't think I'll ever put pics up.


I'll post a pic of my hatch monday if you post a pic of your 8"s


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## AudioBob (May 21, 2007)

I had a pair of OZ seat subs in my Mustang LX that had 200ls, which were an 8" woofer. They added just the right amount of midbass to my system, and were tight and clean. I would not hesitate to put an 8" OZ under my front seats to bring up the midbass.

IMO solid sub bass is what separates a good system from a great one!!!


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

tyroneshoes said:


> I still use them to this day in installs because I can get them nos and they are still great by any means.


can you now...pm coming.


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## chadillac3 (Feb 3, 2006)

Holy crap; someone else listens to Candlebox. "You" is one of my favorite songs.


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## AudioBob (May 21, 2007)

Candlebox did a nice HD concert in Atlanta that you can see on RAVE from time-to-time. They are fine musicians that can really perform. I would imagine that you can find the concert on DVD, but I have never looked.


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## tRidiot (Jun 29, 2006)

chad said:


> I'll post a pic of my hatch monday if you post a pic of your 8"s


Haha.... as bad as my 8s in the doors look, my hatch is 10x *worse*!!! 



AudioBob said:


> I had a pair of OZ seat subs in my Mustang LX that had 200ls, which were an 8" woofer. They added just the right amount of midbass to my system, and were tight and clean. I would not hesitate to put an 8" OZ under my front seats to bring up the midbass.


I've got a set of 200Ls in the closet, too.  I had a set a few years ago that I left at a friend's house, unused, never to be seen again... now I've got another set, unused, sitting in my closet. 

I went with the 200Hs because they are designed for free-air, but I'm seriously thinking of making some enclosures for the Ls, to see if they sound even better.


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## tRidiot (Jun 29, 2006)

So anyways, the stupid circus went too long, and I've got to get up early to teach tomorrow, so I'll have to find time tomorrow night to post the rest of my adventures. Sorry.

On a better note, I should have some more stuff to talk about tomorrow, after another 3 hours of driving time.


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## tRidiot (Jun 29, 2006)

Oops, I just realized that I put 200*L* in my title, when in fact, I meant to say the 200*H*, which is what I put in my doors.


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## SouthSyde (Dec 25, 2006)

interesting... ive led to believe it would be the opposite, but glad u like em!!


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## azngotskills (Feb 24, 2006)

Im glad your enjoying them  how about some Dyn MW170s now with the midrange and tweeter (360 set)


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## tRidiot (Jun 29, 2006)

Yeah... someday. I tried to buy a Dyn set on here a few months ago, but someone else got it.  So that's how I ended up here...

But oh well, I'm happy... for now!  I think I'ma pull out my dash someday and put a pair of 12s up there.


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## bobditts (Jul 19, 2006)

tRdoc said:


> I think I'ma pull out my dash someday and put a pair of 12s up there.


That would be sweet. And put a pair of morel 9"s in the doors!


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## Infinity (Jun 28, 2005)

Aren't these older OZ's (with the "diamond" offset logo) very similar to CDT's offerings? I'm familiar with the old OZ's, and dearly loved them. I had a 4" comp set and a single 10 (250L ??) that was incredible sounding in a Fiero.


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## tyroneshoes (Mar 21, 2006)

Infinity said:


> Aren't these older OZ's (with the "diamond" offset logo) very similar to CDT's offerings? I'm familiar with the old OZ's, and dearly loved them. I had a 4" comp set and a single 10 (250L ??) that was incredible sounding in a Fiero.


No relation to cdt. When these Oz's were out (superman logo) CDT was cliff designs.


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## KAP (Mar 18, 2007)

tyroneshoes said:


> Maybe finish it off right with some matching oz 130 (5.25) midbasses and matching oz 100 cotton/silk tweeters and of course an oz 300L (12).
> 
> 
> Whats this..I have them all for sale..look at that.
> ...


an you get the 4 inch set.


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## tyroneshoes (Mar 21, 2006)

I can get you BNIB 4 inch mids if thats what you want. No passives and I have some lightly used matching oz tweeters.

I think someone is selling the 4s in the fs section along with passives if you want a great deal. Also check with kuztim as I sold him some nos 4" oz mids but he just bought my er18rnx so he might want to sell them as well.


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## KAP (Mar 18, 2007)

tyroneshoes said:


> I can get you BNIB 4 inch mids if thats what you want. No passives and I have some lightly used matching oz tweeters.
> 
> I think someone is selling the 4s in the fs section along with passives if you want a great deal. Also check with kuztim as I sold him some nos 4" oz mids but he just bought my er18rnx so he might want to sell them as well.


Thanks , I will let you know.


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## drake78 (May 27, 2007)

tRdoc said:


> DREAM ON!
> 
> My **** looks so bad, I don't think I'll ever put pics up.


Don't worry we won't laugh.


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## dBassHz (Nov 2, 2005)

I'm glad you're enjoying the Oz 200Hs. What is the outside diameter of the woofers? I was looking for a pair a couple of years back.


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## tRidiot (Jun 29, 2006)

I'll try to measure them and let you know.

Unfortunately they're just a HAIR too large for the 8" grill sets I bought from Parts Express.  I'm gonna toss those grills you sent with the on, but I don't know how well they are gonna stay on. We shall see....


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## JayBee (Oct 6, 2006)

chadillac3 said:


> Holy crap; someone else listens to Candlebox. "You" is one of my favorite songs.


candlebox puts on a hell of a show. They play the Houston area quite a bit.


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## less (Nov 30, 2006)

chadillac3 said:


> Holy crap; someone else listens to Candlebox. "You" is one of my favorite songs.


Hahahhhahahha! Exactly what I was thinking. It's funny that the self titled album is th eonly I have ever heard - and I really LOVE it! But, I believe they have a lot of other music out... I think someone told me their other stuff wasn't good...

That one is pretty much cover to cover goodness though... great midbass as you mention and also a couple of lower pitch "brown" guitar solos that are pretty lovable.

Less
ALSO - Please tell me wth NOS means... its killing me seeing that one daily and not having a clue. Thanks


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## tRidiot (Jun 29, 2006)

JayBee said:


> candlebox puts on a hell of a show. They play the Houston area quite a bit.



I saw them back in... what, '95? Was with Suicidal Tendencies and Metallica on their Black tour. One helluva good show.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

That's incredible...would have thought it would have been the other way around though. Glad you like the speakers...they are a rare find on the market for a reason- everyone wants them.


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## tyroneshoes (Mar 21, 2006)

less said:


> Hahahhhahahha!
> ALSO - Please tell me wth NOS means... its killing me seeing that one daily and not having a clue. Thanks


New Old Stock


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