even though the 15 is louder i think you would probably be happier with the 12. if the 15 is really loud then you will overpower all of the other parts of your music and with my experience not with l5's or l7's but in general speakers i found the the comfort level of the 12 is alot wider than that of the 15. i have both a 12 and 15 in my car. a kicker cv-r 15 and a audiopipe eye candy series 12. also sound depends alot on box type and size but for l5's and l7's they make mostly specialty boxes just for them. just my 2 cents.