the PLV-7 is not that much bigger than the PLV-5...the space you lose is worth the bang you get. The shop I got my PLV-7 installed at installed a PLV-5 after they did mine and said that the PLV-5 sounds more like 1 10" instead of 2. Plus I think the difference in price is not that much, so it's worth it to get the PLV-7. You can always turn down bass, but you can't turn it up if you want more. The only issues I have with the PLV-7 is that it doesn't hit the really deep bass (below 30hz) and the bass knob is very sensitive in that it's either all the way on or off; it's hard to tune it in between. Maybe they installed the wrong bass knob But for the price and the space you save compared to a comparable system (and the fact that you don't have to worry about where to mount the amp), it's worth getting the PLV-7.