Which is the Better Sub?

Definitely go with the JL it’s a much better sub and can move a lot more air.

I would probably disagree with bberman1 on this one, Me personally I wold go with the kicker.live & die 4 tha luv of BASS!!!!

this is what I was told about the Adire Tempest vs. the JL W3

"all depends on what you wanna do.  i would have to side with the jl as far as box size requirements.  the tempest will definitly be cheaper and will have much better sound quality.  i'm not quite sure about which one will hit harder.  now since one coil of the tempest has a higher rms rating than both coils combined of the jl, that would allow to the tempest to have more spl.

i'm doing a simple A/B of the t/s parameters.  the tempest has a much lower qts, meaning the motor will be MUCH more accurate (better sq).  the jl will need a smaller box than the adire to get the same response.  the tempest is given a better efficiency rating."

The more air you move the more bass you will get which gives you a higher SPL.  What determines how much air a sub will move is called its Xmas. The Xmas is the cone excursion, which means how far out the cone can realistically move before distortion or damage to the speaker occurs. The JL has a Xmas of 17.1 mm, The Kicker VR 12.75mm Tempest Xmas 16.4 (all Xmas are one way)  so the JL and the Tempest will be able to produce a much higher SPL than the Kicker VR. As far as The Tempest and the JL they are pretty close the JL has a higher Xmas But the Tempest dose have a better Qts 0.38 VS JL Qts 0.410 which will give a little better SQ. The JL leaves you with more wiring options since it is a DVC.  I don’t really know that much about the Tempest and have never heard it to compare it to the JL so cant really tell you which one sounds better to me.  My advice to you would be to try to listen to all your options and get what sounds best to you. But both subs are very close and the Tempest will save you some money.

I would definately go for the 15w3.  i ahve heard this sub many a times and it is one of the cleanest sounding 15's i have ever heard. 

The Tempest is also a DVC, how do JL W3's retail for?

I would go with the Kicker Comp VR because I have heard the JL's and they can't really handle a lot of power. They pop like they are going to blow. But, those Kicker VR's can take that power and last.

If the Jl W3 or any sub for that manner was setup correctly it would not be popping

Doesn't the JL W3 retail for upward of $300, I think $375 that would be $225 for .60mm of Xmax