What’s in a brand? Why JL Audio over MTX (or anyone else)?
For those of you who have visited our exceptional showroom here in West Palm Beach Florida, you’ve noticed that we support and display JL Audio car products quite heavily.
Our philosophy has always been- whether home or car components- to try, test, compare and provide products that support what Ask the Advisors is all about.
-Quality, Value, Performance and Reputation.
I always get asked either why we don’t carry this or that- or why we only offer the products we offer, and my answer is always the same.
“We only carry what we’ve found to be the best products available in the market that provide the best performance, reliability and features.”
Remember, we have over 27 years doing this kind of stuff!
I’ve been in the A/V industry for over 20 years – with nearly 17 of those years spent either under a dashboard installing, selling, or designing some high performance car audio systems. I’ve had the opportunity during this time to be able to sell some real great car audio gear- and run into some real crappy gear as well. There’s nothing like the old car audio sale at the Fairgrounds or Flea Market to knock you back into reality and make you realize that for every good brand out there, you’ll easily find 20 worthy of the trash can.
One of the big misconceptions I run across on a daily basis is that consumers think the “old school“ gear is pretty much the same is it was back in the day. I’m sorry to say this is no longer the case. Those once proud names including Rockford, Orion, PPI, Soundstream, MB Quart, Boston and MTX are now shadows of their former selves- bought out by a larger entity which has “cheapified” the line or given the deadly Chinese influence.
After you sift through the rubble of crap, you’ll find that some brands- such as Alpine, Eclipse, JL Audio, Tru Technologies, Kenwood, and Morel are still true to their individual design and manufacturing philosophies- THEY STILL MAKE GOOD STUFF.
What makes a good company?
I’m going to take time here to do some comparisons and maybe even a little “bus-rolling”, in the hopes that you’ll see why it’s important to select one brand over another when buying car audio components. The good company usually has a long standing history, handles most if not all of it’s manufacturing, selects its own raw materials for construction and retains control over QC even if it must acquire some of its components from outside suppliers. The good company usually has patents for its unique technologies used and a host of awards and solid reviews from the pros and consumers alike.
Click here to see JL Audio’s factory pictures.
The half-ass company usually tries to flood the market with cheaply manufactured, non-reliable products that are almost always manufactured overseas in places like China and Taiwan and pounds the trade magazines with print advertising making them seem like the real deal. I usually compare this to (and if I offend some of you beer drinkers, forgive me) comparing a good beer like Becks or Sam Adams to Coors Light or Bud.
-You notice less effort trying to get you to buy a better product that speaks for itself rather than the surly one pounding the airwaves every Sunday on TV.
So, let’s look at a comparison of two companies here; JL Audio and MTX.
JL Audio vs. MTX
JL Audio is a company founded over 20 years ago in Florida and has consistently provided a solid line of car audio amplifiers, speakers and subwoofers.
The company has received numerous patents (32) for its amplifier and subwoofer design along with numerous awards from agencies including IASCA, AVI and others.
JL Audio Competition vehicles have taken home more awards in
performance categories than I can count, too!MTX, once a solid American company, has resorted to offshore manufacturing of many of its products, which results in lower QC and reliability. JL Audio prides itself on being a local company at the forefront of car audio technology and is always looking for ways to improve already stellar gear. Another big plus is that this company actually designs AND builds over sixty (60) percent of its products in its Miramar, Florida facility- where MTX and many other companies simply go overseas to the Chinese and then slap their nameplate on the product. Not much for local support here, huh?
In addition, JL has recently taken its top-notch car audio subwoofer/ amplifier prowess into the home subwoofer arena- with very impressive home subwoofers that use the familiar W7 Woofer technology.
In amplifier technology, JL prides itself on patented amp designs that provide stable, reliable performance year after year. The company has continued to improve its award winning Slash Series car amps with patented designs including its R.I.P.S. (Regulated Intelligent Power Supply) technology, which provides consistent power regardless of impedance or voltage level. The company has implemented this technology into its latest award-winning line of HD Series amps that provide remarkable performance in a smaller, more efficient design.
MTX (and many other companies) have continued to provide- for the most part- technology used for years. Unregulated power supplies matched with lower end components. These enable product at a lower price point, but with diminished performance.
Check out JL Audio’s Slash v2: Technologies
Woofer versus woofer:
Take time when you shop for a subwoofer- whether home or car. Things to look for include the basket design, voice coil configuration, thermal handling, cone construction and of course, reputation and reliability.
Most of the car woofers out there are generally manufactured by only a few sources and then stamped with the brand that purchased these raw drivers. (I’m not going to mention any names, but when you look closely at cheaper woofers, they all mysteriously look the same!) JL Audio builds the W3, W6, TW5, W7 and Marine subwoofer lines in its Miramar Facility including all of its heralded Stealthboxes and enclosures- compared to many other companies which either receive the woofers from overseas or simply perform assembly in their headquarters with parts they get from overseas- with little if any QC. (Quality Control)
JL Audio’s Award Winning Patented W7 Woofers
Lastly, I can’t stress patents and awards. These speak for themselves!
Ask Chuck about Satellite Radio
Leave your response!