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2 jl12w3's vs jl 12w7


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skee-weezy 
Copper - Posts: 177
Copper spacespace
Joined: March 08, 2008
Location: Michigan, United States
Posted: March 21, 2008 at 9:53 PM / IP Logged  

alrite everyone... my mind has been stuck in limbo for quite some time...... i don't know which set up to roll with... first thing u should know is that i plan to power either set up with a 500/1v2.... second thing u should know is that i listen to all types of music short of country and hard rock..... so i need some help making up my mind... this will go into an extended cab pickup..... part of me wants sq.. the other part wants to bang..... i would gladly appreciate any input that anyone is willing to provide... but honestly this is driving me crazy.. i will make my determination off the opinions of this site....

one thing is for certain.. i will definitely roll with jl... so only comment on this matchup only... no outside subs please...

thanks in advance......

there can be only one.......
sedate 
Silver - Posts: 1,173
Silver spacespace
Joined: July 03, 2004
Location: Colorado, United States
Posted: March 21, 2008 at 11:21 PM / IP Logged  

500 watts to a single 12w7 isn't going to be very impressive.  I think I talk louder than that.

I'd take the w3's - more efficiency, way more output . . .

"I'm finished!" - Daniel Plainview
skee-weezy 
Copper - Posts: 177
Copper spacespace
Joined: March 08, 2008
Location: Michigan, United States
Posted: March 22, 2008 at 1:30 PM / IP Logged  
i was thinking that too.. thanks for the input... anyone else?????
there can be only one.......
sedate 
Silver - Posts: 1,173
Silver spacespace
Joined: July 03, 2004
Location: Colorado, United States
Posted: March 23, 2008 at 6:01 AM / IP Logged  

skee-weezy wrote:
part of me wants sq.. the other part wants to bang..... i would gladly appreciate any input that anyone is willing to provide... but honestly this is driving me crazy..

I actually had lots more to say but was in a hurry

I have to tell ya man - the w6 and w7 series of subwoofers are exceptional sounding stuff - I ran a 13w6 for sometime and I have to tell ya that in a PROPER enclosure - JL's recommendations aren't the most helpful here - it was an impressive SQ subwoofer.

However - I was never 100% happy with it - even with 800 watts and a nice big port - the thing just didn't have the *spank* I expected from a woofer than ran me $500.

After running some CDT's for awhile, I've actually switched to a pair of - that's right - 12w3's.

'll tell ya - they lack the *perfect* tonality the w6 had - but at some ~5.5 ~6db louder at the same power level in a box that was easier to build - I'm very happy with the switch.  And that isn't the say the w3 is a SQ slouch at all - outstanding transients and articulation in thier own right!

Nevermind the PAIR of w3's cost 2/3 of what the w6 did.

Remember dude, don't get thrown off looking at the size of the speaker or thinking how "powerful" it is - the bigger the magnets, surround, all that - the the part of the woofer that makes noise is the radiating diaphram - the pair of12w3's probably has 215% of the surface area of what the 12w7 has (after that surround is taken into account) and that w7 cone is going need way more power to get motivated.

With a single 500/1 available - your choice is clear.

"I'm finished!" - Daniel Plainview
pbguy 
Member - Posts: 17
Member spacespace
Joined: April 27, 2007
Posted: March 23, 2008 at 12:13 PM / IP Logged  
sedate wrote:

500 watts to a single 12w7 isn't going to be very impressive.  I think I talk louder than that.

I'd take the w3's - more efficiency, way more output . . .

First off I must say sedate is dearly wrong about a 500/1 on a 12w7. I have a 500/1  and a 12w7 ported to jl's specs and that sub is so insanely loud. I can testify for your exact situation because my good friend has 2 12w3's on a 500/1 in a ported pro box. Between both set ups its very close I'd say. You could choose the w3's and have cone area or the w7 and have more excursion and better sq. Ether way both sets ups your torn between will be close, but the w3's could be louder.

sedate 
Silver - Posts: 1,173
Silver spacespace
Joined: July 03, 2004
Location: Colorado, United States
Posted: March 23, 2008 at 3:31 PM / IP Logged  
pbguy wrote:

First off I must say sedate is dearly wrong about a 500/1 on a 12w7. I have a 500/1  and a 12w7 ported to jl's specs and that sub is so insanely loud. I can testify for your exact situation because my good friend has 2 12w3's on a 500/1 in a ported pro box. Between both set ups its very close I'd say. You could choose the w3's and have cone area or the w7 and have more excursion and better sq. Ether way both sets ups your torn between will be close, but the w3's could be louder.

YOU would say that both setups are "very close"? 

I can assure you that I am precisely correct - while you are juxtaposing different vehicles and then talking about YOUR end experience - hate to tell ya - ur not a computerized microphone comparing the woofer system in an anechoic chamber.

If you did take a computer and model each woofer against each other - you'd find the w3's would be a bit under 6db louder @ the same power level in the same box. 

This isn't my opinion - this is WinISD.

https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp~TID~74558~PN~1

http://www.linearteam.dk/

"I'm finished!" - Daniel Plainview
collyn eastham 
Member - Posts: 27
Member spacespace
Joined: November 08, 2007
Location: Texas, United States
Posted: March 23, 2008 at 6:41 PM / IP Logged  
I work for an authorized JL dealer and I have had the chance to get excited about...then let down by W6's and W7's for years. I totally agree with "sedate"...the 12W3 choice is easily the best choice....hands down. I have yet to find out just what, exactly, JL was thinking when they built the W6 and W7. The woofers are over priced and substantially underachieving. They sound great....just very ineffecient and they are not much more accurate than the W3.
Collyn Eastham
a.k.a. 300MBQuart
08 HHR Panel
sedate 
Silver - Posts: 1,173
Silver spacespace
Joined: July 03, 2004
Location: Colorado, United States
Posted: March 24, 2008 at 4:02 AM / IP Logged  

collyn wrote:
I have yet to find out just what, exactly, JL was thinking when they built the W6 and W7. The woofers are over priced and substantially underachieving. They sound great....just very ineffecient

Yup!  The w6 and w7 series are not so much bad woofers - just bad CAR woofers - too much power, too big a box, WAYY to much money.  "Ineffecienct" is the name of the game here.

These woofers are *very* difficult to deal with - particularly when the end result doesn't offer any more output and not much more SQ over more reasonably sized and priced woofers.

"I have yet to find out just what, exactly, JL was thinking . . ." - they were thinking they'd build a no-compromise subwoofer.  The problem is that the vehicular environment REQUIRES compromise - in this case far more compromises than the diminishing returns of top-shelf audio gear is going to make up for. . . the w6 and w7's really seem like they'd be much more at home in a HT - not a car.

So in that sense, I'd rather listen to the w6 or w7 series of subs - except I'd need 2000 or 3000 watts and at least 3 or 4 cubic feet to do it properly.

"I'm finished!" - Daniel Plainview
skee-weezy 
Copper - Posts: 177
Copper spacespace
Joined: March 08, 2008
Location: Michigan, United States
Posted: March 24, 2008 at 6:55 AM / IP Logged  

here ye.. here ye.... everybody calm down.... lol... thanks for the help everyone.... my heart has been taking me to the 2 12 w3's for about 2 weeks now... i too work at a jl dealer..... i deeply saddened that there are those out there that feel the w7 and w6 are overpriced and useless woofers....lol.... but i feel that way sometimes too.... some kid comes in with a couple grand of daddy's money.. says gimme that w7.... we put it all in and it bangs... but he's gotta change half his car around to make it bang rite..... i am about 80 percent going with the w3's at this point..... i may only in the instance of if i can get it a lil cheaper... do a '10' w7 just out of a space concern.....

but anyway... thanks a million... nice to see there are those of us out there that are still 'passionate' about the long raging super woofer debate........

there can be only one.......
coppellstereo 
Silver - Posts: 785
Silver spacespace
Joined: November 21, 2005
Location: United States
Posted: March 24, 2008 at 4:34 PM / IP Logged  
I'm running a 500/1 and a 12W7 and I love it. Although I am not looking for sheer output here. I'd choose the W3s if I wanted loudness. I love those woofers.

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