JL 8W3-D6 Wiring and Amp

[jrwalte 10+ year member]

I have 3 x JL 8W3 D6 in a sealed box. I'm looking to upgrade from my current MTX Blue Thunder Pro 752 amp which does 150 RMS at 4 ohm.

There 'optimum' rated zone is 125 RMS per sub. Does this mean I should find an amp that does 375 RMS or should I find one slightly higher, about 450-500 RMS, and turn the amp down, so as to not max out the amp to run the subs (as a friend suggested)?

Also, I have a question on the sub wiring. It is currently wired in the 'series' setup. If I'm reading the manual correctly, I believe this means the subs run in 4 ohm since my subs are the W3-D6. But if I run the wiring in parallel, the subs run at 1 ohm.

What's the difference? Am I better off finding a mono 4 ohm amp or rewiring my subs and finding a 1 ohm amp?

Thanks!

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[skadude016 5,000+ posts]

you could just get a 500rms amp. and set your gains accordingly. with 3 d6's wired in parallel you would see a 1 ohm load. so find a 1 ohm stable amp at around 500rms and you will be fine. or wire in a series for a 4 ohm load amp. and find an amp that will do 500rms at 4ohm

 

[jrwalte 10+ year member]

Is there any sound quality difference from 1 ohm and 4 ohm? The only thing I can tell is 1 ohm has a higher THD than 4 ohm on an amp. Does this matter?

 

[skadude016 5,000+ posts]

Is there any sound quality difference from 1 ohm and 4 ohm? The only thing I can tell is 1 ohm has a higher THD than 4 ohm on an amp. Does this matter?

your not gonna hear a difference. efficiency will be different though

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

300-400w will be more than enough for those subs. Huge fan of those little buggers.