First post, question about a JL setup

[bballfreak150]

Hi all,

New to the forum and I am coming with a request for some help.

I just had a JL Audio JX500/1D amp installed today that is powering 2 JL 8w1v2's. They are 4ohms and are running at the 300rms the JX500 is rated at. It sounds ok, but I am wondering if upgrading my subs would be better....

I am thinking about looking for a used JL 12w6 with the dual 4 ohm voice coils. To my understanding, that sub can be set up in parallel for a 2ohm load. So with the JX500, a single 12w6 would be running 500rms.

My main question is.... would the 12w6 at 500rms sound better than the 2 8w1's at 300rms. And if so, in what ways?

Ive seen used 12w6's for 200-250, so I am just trying to decide if it is worth spending a little more.

I just want something that wont take up too much room, hit HARD and have excelent SQ.

Thank you!!

Click to read more...

 

[Villeza1 10+ year member]

Hi all,New to the forum and I am coming with a request for some help.

I just had a JL Audio JX500/1D amp installed today that is powering 2 JL 8w1v2's. They are 4ohms and are running at the 300rms the JX500 is rated at. It sounds ok, but I am wondering if upgrading my subs would be better....

I am thinking about looking for a used JL 12w6 with the dual 4 ohm voice coils. To my understanding, that sub can be set up in parallel for a 2ohm load. So with the JX500, a single 12w6 would be running 500rms.

My main question is.... would the 12w6 at 500rms sound better than the 2 8w1's at 300rms. And if so, in what ways?

Ive seen used 12w6's for 200-250, so I am just trying to decide if it is worth spending a little more.

I just want something that wont take up too much room, hit HARD and have excelent SQ.

Thank you!!

Your nominal impedance is 2 ohms not 4 so the amp's output is about 500 watt (hypothetically speaking since imp rise and voltage drop is unknown).

You wont gain much (if any) going from 2 8" (100.48 cone area in sqin) subwoofers receiving roughly 500 watts vs 1 12" (113.04 cone area in sqin) receiving the same amount.

There are better subs to be had in the $200-$250 price range. If you are not a true Audiophile looking for real SQ, then don't worry too much about how good it'll sound. You most likely won't be able to tell the difference anyway.

With proper vehicle preparation and a properly designed and tuned system will yield SQ.

 

[Villeza1 10+ year member]

Stick with what you got for now and play with different enclosures.

I'm assuming you have them in a very small sealed enclosure? You'll gain more output going with a properly built ported enclosure.

Also, try to re-tune all your settings properly (use the search function on how to tune an amplifier, head unit (H/U), etc.) you can also gain with proper adjustments. You don't necessarily have to change your whole setup to gain output.

 

[bballfreak150]

Awesome! Ill look into tuning the amp and into enclosures.

I appreciate the help.

 

[SomeGuyDude 10+ year member]

You wont gain much (if any) going from 2 8" (100.48 cone area in sqin) subwoofers receiving roughly 500 watts vs 1 12" (113.04 cone area in sqin) receiving the same amount.

You'll gain a LOT going from a pair of w1's to a w6 though. The difference between a w1 and a w3 is pretty significant, let alone 1 to 6. I'm also fairly sure that the w3 is the lowest level of JLs that are still made on US soil, the 1 and 0 lines being shipped off overseas.

 

[Villeza1 10+ year member]

You'll gain a LOT going from a pair of w1's to a w6 though. The difference between a w1 and a w3 is pretty significant, let alone 1 to 6. I'm also fairly sure that the w3 is the lowest level of JLs that are still made on US soil, the 1 and 0 lines being shipped off overseas.

Not on the same amount of power. It wont be enough of a gain to be noticeable. Like I said, he wont gain much. He would have to get the 12w6 and double the power to be noticeable.

Simply readjusting H/U and amplifier settings (correctly) will gain more output as well as changing to a more efficient/ported enclosure.

 

[SomeGuyDude 10+ year member]

I'll defer to you there, but I'll say that I listened to a 12w1 next to a 12w3 off the same amount of power and there was an audible difference to me. To me, anyway.

And can I sort of derail this to ask why people seem to think that "try different enclosures" is a viable solution for most people? Box design and building isn't the kind of thing most people can just do over and over again like trial and error.