Disappointed with out of W3...

[simpsonbuck 10+ year member]

I have a single 12" JL W3V-4 powered by a alpine mrp-650 which does 400wrms@4ohms. I have it in a sealed box which is built to 1.25 cubic ft after displacement. At first I had it firing toward the rear and found out if I fire it up it sounds alot better. I'm still not getting the output I want. It seems to do well in the 45-70hz range but and lower you can barley hear it unless you crank the volume to max. This makes everything sound like crap.

What can I do to improve my setup? Should I build a new box or just buy a sub that I can wire to 2ohms and keep it in the same box. I just want it to thump more but not get really boomy.

It's in a 08 spectra hatchback.

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[Notloud00 10+ year member]

make a new box. i would imagine 2.25 cubes at like 35 hz would be sufficient. around 24 sq. in. of port.

 

[comp2007 10+ year member]

are you using the w3v3?

 

[Rich B 5,000+ posts]

Try ported?

Heres JL's recommended enclosure page-

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_subs_enclusure.php?series_id=25

 

[bonesninja 5,000+ posts]

no wonder....you're using a non-existant sub. As far as JL Audio knows they only have a V3.

For real tho, the newer W3's don't seem to ahve near the output as the V2's. I've heard a few setups and all of them disappoint me

 

[comp2007 10+ year member]

Would his setup be louder at 2ohm maybe?

 

[bonesninja 5,000+ posts]

Would his setup be louder at 2ohm maybe?

maybe until he cooks the coils for running too much power to it. He has plenty of power going to the sub

 

[iamamp3pimp 5,000+ posts]

its not like you can just change the ohms.....lol

you need another sub to do that.

 

[comp2007 10+ year member]

im saying if he would have got the 2ohm 12w3v3 instead since hes only running 1 sub

 

[bonesninja 5,000+ posts]

no.... 2 ohm or 4 ohm with same amount of power would probably sound identical to the human ear

 

[SSS 18734 5,000+ posts]

The first thing I would do is try a low-tuned ported setup. That may give you the low-end output that you want.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Even with the slightly increased power from the amp at 2 ohms the difference isn't going to be dramatic. The amp is giving that sub a workout as it is. JL isn't meant to get loud. Anyone who actually knows what they're talking about could have told you that (not the morons who think that JL is just the best, period). An excellent sub isn't always a loud sub. Getting the correct sub for the application is hugely important. Properly enclosing the sub to get it to do what you want is even more important.

If you want to stick with that sub either go with a bigger sealed box and watch the power that you send to it or go with a ported box. The ported box will give you more output (significantly) in the region that most people consider low bass.

 

[bonesninja 5,000+ posts]

If you really want to improve the sound switch to a W6 12" stay sealed and give it around its rms

 

[comp2007 10+ year member]

the 12w3v3 is rated at 500rms, so it can be pushed harder

 

[bonesninja 5,000+ posts]

the 12w3v3 is rated at 500rms, so it can be pushed harder

i just realized that it was rated for 500, i think i was thinking of the W1. Still 400watts should be enough.