Jl sub upgrade question. Help appreciated

[fjmonroe 10+ year member]

I currently have a alpine Pdx 1.1000 mono amp hooked up to 2 12" Kicker comp subs. Because I used to have a stock radio they are hooked up to my new aftermarket radio through a converter to the speaker line instead of to the sub outs. I was wondering how much the sound of my system would improve if I got better matched subs for my amp such as jl w3s and got them hooked up to the sub outs. Does that help the sound a lot. And finally, what ohm version of the jl w3s would I want to match with that thousand watt amp if I wanted to have two of them.

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[murph 10+ year member]

two svc 2ohms and jl w3's will have good sq but probably less output than your kickers

 

[fjmonroe 10+ year member]

My amp gain is set all the way down and my kickers are pretty loud. Just don't like the quality of them. Will hooking new subs up to the sub outs instead of through the converter help the sound quality a lot? And Im looking for punchy tight bass. I like it loud but nothing overpowering

 

[itsblown 10+ year member]

Im not really sure what you mean by the subs out? if you mean the pre outs on the back of the headunit then yes the sound quality should improve drastically.

 

[fjmonroe 10+ year member]

Yeah they're pre outs. They're just called sub outs on the hu because they correspond to those controls

 

[speakerdude123 10+ year member]

I have mine tapped into the rear speakers with a LOC, and they bang hard/ sound fine. Don't know how much of a difference the HU would make, but I doubt it would be that drastic.

If you want to have the worst speakers on the block then by all means by JL. Get some quality subs like Audioques or Sundowns.

JL = pile of dog poo:nono:

 

[kramer_212 10+ year member]

My amp gain is set all the way down and my kickers are pretty loud. Just don't like the quality of them. Will hooking new subs up to the sub outs instead of through the converter help the sound quality a lot? And Im looking for punchy tight bass. I like it loud but nothing overpowering

If i read your post right personally since that pdx is only 2 and 4 ohms stable i would personally get two svc 4 ohm woofers, also find how to correctly set gains, using a ddm if you don't own a oscilloscope, reason being the level the gain is at really means nothing having it all the way down defiantly helps against the likely hood of sending a clipped signal. also using the sub pre out just sets it so you can adjust the lpf separably, and usually cuts the higher freqs off.

good luck.

 

---------- Post added at 09:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:48 PM ----------

 

I have mine tapped into the rear speakers with a LOC, and they bang hard/ sound fine. Don't know how much of a difference the HU would make, but I doubt it would be that drastic.
If you want to have the worst speakers on the block then by all means by JL. Get some quality subs like Audioques or Sundowns.

JL = pile of dog poo//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/nono.gif.eca61d170185779e0921b0faa9704973.gif

this is a bold statement have any reasoning behind it? ( not saying i agree or disagree)

 

[carlosg_313 10+ year member]

question, how much are you paying for the JL subs btw?

 

[fjmonroe 10+ year member]

Thanks for the help so far. My kickers seem to pick up a lot of high frequencies and just don't sound very clean. I am looking to clean up my overall sound and maybe just need someone to tune my system. I can get two 12" jl w3s for 260 and have even told that these would suit my amp much better. Also I was told getting rid of the line converter and going to the pre outs would improve the clarity a lot

 

[kramer_212 10+ year member]

Thanks for the help so far. My kickers seem to pick up a lot of high frequencies and just don't sound very clean. I am looking to clean up my overall sound and maybe just need someone to tune my system. I can get two 12" jl w3s for 260 and have even told that these would suit my amp much better. Also I was told getting rid of the line converter and going to the pre outs would improve the clarity a lot

kicker isn't know to sound great (sounds like amp, stereo settings though, could also be box tuning? along with many other things. personally since you have abouth 1200wrms at 2 ohms ready, i would look at the sundown audio sa 12 D2 models then you can do a series parralel wiring to a final 2 ohm load on the amplifier(in case you didn't know). they are known to get loud, and have good sq, also affordable. i used to run 2 12 w3s and they are a great sub if you have them set up right but if i had to choose knowing what i know now i would go with the sa 12s

good luck

 

[JoshGuy 10+ year member]

Personally your gonna pay big bucks for those jl's. why not get a pair of sundowns or skars instead?

 

[TheUnderFighter 10+ year member]

Meh, I had a long response typed up but there was a server error so.... cliffs

Sounds like poor tuning: check your low-pass filter and set gains correctly

Enclosure error?: It's like a pre-fab yes? Is it sealed or ported?

Kicker aren't know for SQ, but they shouldn't be that bad if installed and tuned correctly.

JL is a waste of cash paying for the name. If new subs were insisted upon, I'd go with these Daytons all day: Dayton Audio RSS265HO-4 10" Reference HO Subwoofer 4 Ohm 295-462

Saying those subs "suit your amp better" sounds very foolish and I'd quit listening to whoever said that.

 

[speakerdude123 10+ year member]

this is a bold statement have any reasoning behind it? ( not saying i agree or disagree)

TheUnderFighter pretty much says it....you pay way to much for the "name" JL for what they're actually worth. If you look at an $800 dollar sub and then look at a JL at the same price a blind man could see which one is the better deal.

"suit your amp better"

^^Have to agree with theunderfighter on this one too. Sounds like you got advice form a cartoys employee.

 

[fjmonroe 10+ year member]

Sealed box pre fab. This stuff is making me really think I should get it hooked up to the pre outs and then tuned properly. Is there somewhere I could take it to get it all tuned or could I do that myself. Really don't know where to set gains or filter or anything. All I know is right now my subs are very inconsistent and haven't been sounding very good. Any advice on tuning myself or should I take it to a shop

 

[VWBobby 10+ year member]

Tuning your LPF on your amp is more of a personal taste type of setting to me. Some people like to cut everything off around 60hz, some like it up around 80hz, some even higher than that. Start around 60-80hz and tweak from there until it sounds right to you.

The gains must be set correctly or you could damage your subs, or if its too low, you will never reach the full output of your system.

How to Set Your Gains

http://forum.sounddomain.com/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/65167/page/1

You could also take your system to a well respected local shop and have them tune it and set the gains. At least if you do it yourself, and do it correctly, you know it is done right.

90% is install 10% is equipment. You can make a ****** subwoofer sound great in the right enclosure with the right tuning and power. JL equipment is pretty good stuff, sounds great but is overpriced and not needed in your situation, imho. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif