Don't get me wrong i've heard lvl 3's. I've owned a pair of lvl 4 12's and I still own the RF power HX2 10's. I do like the HX2's over the lvl 3's for sound quality, but the lvl 3's hit hard as hell. The lvl 4's are on a completely different level compared to the hx2's. You cant compare 10+ year old sub woofers with the new spl woofers such as lvl 4's. The "nut hugger" comment is amusing to me because if you like something better than something else that doesn't necessarily mean its better, its just your opinion.