Single 12w3 and unmatched amp... help!

[Hundreth 10+ year member]

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif Okay, So I'm creating my first system and I carelessly bought some stuff... and now I think they won't work so well together. So heres the part i'm worried about:

I got

ONE JL AUDIO 12w3-D4 (Not the v2!) anddd

the Audiobahn A8000T amp...

So check it out... the 12w3 is a dual voice coil 4 ohm that is capable of 250 watts RMS... and the Audiobahn A8000T amp is capable of 400 watts RMS at 4 ohms, and 800 watts RMS at 2 ohms... So since i got the 12w3 dual voice coil 4 ohms... i would be stuck to either a 2 ohm or 8 ohm configuration... which would leave me at:

800 watts at 2 ohms... OR

200 watts at 8 ohms =(

Do you think that 200 watts would be enough to use the w3s capabilities? Or should I be brave and put it at 2 ohms. I've read that if I just put the gain down on the amp and make sure no distortion gets through... I would be fine... I don't want to blow the sub in a week and I want to get some performance... So any advice would be appreciated... Thanks!

Also,

Do you think one 12W3 would do anything for me? I have a big *** car (Mercury Sable)... The reason I got such a powerful amp (Even if the numbers are a bit exaggerated)... is because I'm planning to get a 12W6v2 later on when I get the cash... Any other suggestions? Thanks.

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[nosaj070 10+ year member]

Run it at 2 ohms, just you will have the gain set extremely low. How big of a box is it in? And 12W6V2's turn me on....

 

[Hundreth 10+ year member]

Thanks for the advice... I ordered this stuff from E-bay since everything is cheaper there... and have not ordered a box or decided which type I want. I plan to goto this car audio store around here where this guy I know works, and have them install it for me so I don't screw it up. So while I'm there, I'll just buy a box, I don't feel like paying shipping for a box. What do you think would go best with a single 12W3? probably a bandpass enclosure I would think.

Is the kind of box and its exact dimensions even that important? I've heard it is... but a specifically designed box will cost much more than a standard 12" box and I'm trying to be cost effective... of course if its a big difference I will take the smarter route and get a good box.

I have another question that maybe you guys can help me with..

I have a Pioneer DEH-P4600MP Head Unit thats powering my 4 regular component speakers.. However, this Head Unit doesn't have sub out... so I can't control my subwoofer's output and component speaker's output seperately. My problem is that my component speakers are pretty crappy, and i don't want much bass going to them since they sound pretty bad and get damaged... So I'd like for all the bass to goto the sub, while all the mids and highs goto the component speakers..

I understand that If i put the bass levels down on the Head Unit, I will have to raise the gain on the amp or add some bass boost to compensate for that... I don't want to have to do this... so what options do I have to prevent bass from getting to my speakers?

So far I think my options are to get a seperate amp for the speakers with a high pass filter, install bass blockers, get better speakers, or get a new receiver with sub out...

So, should I do one of these or just put the bass boost up?

Thanks... and sorry for all the questions... I'm a newb when it comes to this stuff, so correct me if any of my assumptions are wrong.

 

[rx7vert 10+ year member]

youd be better off building your own box. if you have the tools...

 

[Norcalracer283 10+ year member]

I have the JL w3's.....such shitty build quality and the sound is ok.

 

[nosaj070 10+ year member]

Thanks for the advice... I ordered this stuff from E-bay since everything is cheaper there... and have not ordered a box or decided which type I want. I plan to goto this car audio store around here where this guy I know works, and have them install it for me so I don't screw it up. So while I'm there, I'll just buy a box, I don't feel like paying shipping for a box. What do you think would go best with a single 12W3? probably a bandpass enclosure I would think.
Is the kind of box and its exact dimensions even that important? I've heard it is... but a specifically designed box will cost much more than a standard 12" box and I'm trying to be cost effective... of course if its a big difference I will take the smarter route and get a good box.

I have another question that maybe you guys can help me with..

I have a Pioneer DEH-P4600MP Head Unit thats powering my 4 regular component speakers.. However, this Head Unit doesn't have sub out... so I can't control my subwoofer's output and component speaker's output seperately. My problem is that my component speakers are pretty crappy, and i don't want much bass going to them since they sound pretty bad and get damaged... So I'd like for all the bass to goto the sub, while all the mids and highs goto the component speakers..

I understand that If i put the bass levels down on the Head Unit, I will have to raise the gain on the amp or add some bass boost to compensate for that... I don't want to have to do this... so what options do I have to prevent bass from getting to my speakers?

So far I think my options are to get a seperate amp for the speakers with a high pass filter, install bass blockers, get better speakers, or get a new receiver with sub out...

So, should I do one of these or just put the bass boost up?

Thanks... and sorry for all the questions... I'm a newb when it comes to this stuff, so correct me if any of my assumptions are wrong.

Alright, first you do not want a bandpass enclosure, very few people do. You either want sealed or ported. Your music choice, and your trunk space are determining factors in that. Ported theoretically has a 3db advantage over sealed (twice as loud). I would personally recomend you build your own box, or have a friend who has the tools and any sort of woodworking skills do it. It won't set you back more than 40 bucks, much less than even a prefab would cost.

Next, i'm not 100% familiar with your HU, but I believe your best option would be just get bass blockers. Obviously an amp would be a better option, but more expensive, and for all intents and purposes, you may not have enough of a reason to pay the money. You also want to avoid bass boost, especially when you have a sub like a w3 and an amp that puts out quite a bit over its thermal and mechanical handling levels. You could very quickly blow that sub into oblivion if you aren't cautious.

 

[Hundreth 10+ year member]

Thanks for the advice guys.. I'll try build my own ported enclosure..

Anyways... norcalracer... do you mean you're w3 is shitty build quality or the box you used?

Is the 12W3 really built so bad? I figured by buying a JL sub... I would have some relief... but oh well.

Any other suggestions to any of the above questions?

If the w3 is so bad should i not bother with it and get something else? I want a single 12" sub that pounds hard so that i still have trunk space. I was thinking something along the lines of an Adire Shiva since i heard they go for pretty cheap.. Maybe that would also utilize my amp better and eat the W3 up... Would that be a better choice? Or should I just not bother getting rid of the W3... and wait until I have the money for a W6? Any advice would be appreciated...

Thanks.

 

[B&R Innovation2 10+ year member]

Awhile back I owned some w3's and they never once made me feel bad for owning them. Got loud with the right power and box and sounded good doing it. I've ran 400rms to them and they loved it for over a year. Recently the newest owner gave them about 500wrms and finally popped one. It was only a matter of time.

But after 4 years with some real abuse...they stood the test of time.

 

[Hundreth 10+ year member]

Do you think one W3 would do anything for me?

 

[g30ffr3y 10+ year member]

i have two 12" JL W3v2's currently and think

the build quality is ok... and the sound is pretty

**** good actually...

im coming off some three year old buy one

get one subs though so i guess the SQ is

relative... but ive heard that the SQ on the

W3 is pretty good overall...

if you really want pounding i dont think

one of these is going to do it for you though...

 

[Hundreth 10+ year member]

I have a question about how amps work in general. I'm not exactly quite sure how the gain control works. I understand that it is not a volume knob and that it works on the voltage the head unit supplies... but lets say i have my amp that pushes 800 watts rms at 2 ohms... if i put the gain only half way... would that be 400 watts? or still 800 watts but something else changing..?

Anyways... if lowering the gain doesn't change the amount of watts being pushed into the subwoofer... it doesn't matter how low the gain is because the woofer is still using all of its thermal capabilities... thats my basic understanding...

If there are any other variables I am not including or if my basic knowledge is incorrect... please correct me... because I was advised at the top of this thread to set the gains very low... but if setting the gains low with 800 watts rms still going into a 250 watt sub... i doubt it will last very long.

Thanks

 

[nosaj070 10+ year member]

Well sort of yes, and no. Alright the gain is used to match the input voltage from the HU. Basically if your HU has 1v outputs, and you set your amp at 1v, the amp will directly correspond to the volume of the HU with out clipping. If you have 4v outputs and you set your amp on 1v, the amp would never technically get louder properly, it would simply have the oppurtunity to clip (which is very bad). Lowering the gain can limit the output because the amp will never reach its full output if it is turned down. A 1000watt amp rarely puts out 1000 watts, it simply has the ability to, listening to 1000 watts would mean you have your volume all the way up before clipping, it would be quite loud.

 

[Hundreth 10+ year member]

I thought rms meant continuous power... as in not rarely... but always...

Sorry for the dumb question, but what do you mean it wouldn't get louder properly and have the ability to clip... wouldn't setting the amp to 1V instead of 4V eliminate the chances of clipping provided the sub can handle it?

 

[nosaj070 10+ year member]

Yes, RMS is continuous power, you simply do not need all 1000 watts all the time, so when your volume is all the way up you will get 1000, but at 50%, you will only get 500 watts, get my drift?

Setting the gain has nothing to do with whether the sub can handle it or not, unless you are limiting the amp by lowering the gain. Keep in mind that 1v is less output from the HU than 4v, so the amp needs to work harder (that isn't exactly right, but only way i could think of saying it) to get the same amount of power out. Basically if you want to limit it, you set the amp at like 4v, so the amp is expecting more volume out of the HU, when it has no more to give, so it could possibly limit the amp at about 50% of its power.

http://www.bcae1.com, read up there, should clear up everything that I **** at explaining.

 

[Hundreth 10+ year member]

Thanks man, you've been the most help.