Anyone with experience with the JL 8w3v3?

[mac336 10+ year member]

Looking at the 8" w3v3 "mirosub" by JL in the ported enclosure. (I dont care about price). This fits perfectly in my car and I'm switching from a sealed 8" w1v2. My concern is will the w3v3 in ported still keep the punchiness and sq that I had with the sealed w1v2? My only issue with the w1v2 was low frequency performance (it would just die off to low volumes when getting below midbass frequencies), but I loved the midbass and higher sq. I'm hoping there wont be too much tradeoff with the ported 8w3v3, was hoping anyone who owns or has used this sub could give me some insight as to what I can expect from it

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[09civic 5,000+ posts]

Depending on what the enclosure is tuned to, it should give you the lower end that you missed with the other 8".

 

[mac336 10+ year member]

yes but how much punchiness or how tight will the sub be with the ported enclosure. I expect it to be not as tight as the sealed w1v2, but how big of a trade off am I looking at?

 

[Why So Cereal? 5,000+ posts]

It'll still be tight and punchy in a good box.

 

[mac336 10+ year member]

I plan on going with the JL ported powerwedge box for either the 6" or 8" w3v3. Anyone know how the 2" size difference would sound?

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

You should try moving your sub box around to different positions in the trunk with it facing the trunk lid. You're probably getting the low end but there may be cancellation that's making it inaudible over the mid and treble. Ported alignments are fine until around the port tuning frequency, but sealed is the way to go for really low bass.

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

You should try moving your sub box around to different positions in the trunk with it facing the trunk lid. You're probably getting the low end but there may be cancellation that's making it inaudible over the mid and treble. Ported alignments are fine until around the port tuning frequency, but sealed is the way to go for really low bass.

Not really for his case, especially in his situation with a small single woofer. Ported is going simply have more output and with correct size and tuning should play whatever frequencies you want it to, while still being punchy. SQ is kind of sacrificed, but I think the gain in output will outweigh the loss.

What kind of music do you listen to OP?

 

[infamous_e46 5,000+ posts]

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[Kangaroux 5,000+ posts]

Not really for his case, especially in his situation with a small single woofer. Ported is going simply have more output and with correct size and tuning should play whatever frequencies you want it to, while still being punchy. SQ is kind of sacrificed, but I think the gain in output will outweigh the loss.
What kind of music do you listen to OP?

For those really low low notes sealed is actually the better way to go. I don't feel like explaining too much of it cause I'm tired and want to go to bed lol but basically the output for a ported enclosure drops off a lot harder than a sealed enclosure below the tuning. Because a sealed enclosure doesn't really run into this unloading issue you can play the lower notes and feel them a bit more than you can with the ported (I'm talking like mid 20's and down, course it depends on your tuning as well)

 

[mac336 10+ year member]

I listen to rock, alternative, and rap. My current 8w1v2 is in a sealed box that is about 12" H, 11"W, 8" depth top/10" depth bottom. I really do love this sub for pretty much everything except when there is a hard bass hit with a strong roll off into the lower frequencies the sub gets quiet about 3/4 the way through the roll (not even real low frequencies either; it chokes around the lower end of midbass frequency range). IDK if its because the box is a bad design; because the 8w1v2 cant maintain the spl into lower freq; or because i have improper settings on my amp.

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

For those really low low notes sealed is actually the better way to go. I don't feel like explaining too much of it cause I'm tired and want to go to bed lol but basically the output for a ported enclosure drops off a lot harder than a sealed enclosure below the tuning. Because a sealed enclosure doesn't really run into this unloading issue you can play the lower notes and feel them a bit more than you can with the ported (I'm talking like mid 20's and down, course it depends on your tuning as well)

Ok my point is that woofer probably won't have very much output in a sealed box, especially not playing in the twenties. Proper box design for ported can control the roll off. I don't think he wants sealed.

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

I assume the lows start missing when you play rap?

 

[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

If you can notice it dropping off below midbass frequencies, which the sub really shouldn't be playing anyways, then a ported box will definitely give you a noticeable difference in output in the 30-60hz area. To get high output at lower frequencies in a sealed box, it's a simple as how much air can the sub displace. You need twice the cone movement to maintain spl while dropping the frequency one octave. But with a ported box you have the port helping you out as you get closer and closer to the tuning frequency, adding more radiating surface area.