Amp and Sub options

[1Canuck2]

After some more Boxing Day browsing, I have found the following bargains. I am looking for opinions on what to do:

SUB:
Brand new JL 10W0-4 - $129CAN (~$98US)
Lightly used JL 12W3 v1 (not new style) - $170 CAN (~$130US)

What will $30 more buy me in a sealed enclosure. I am shooting for small, so the 10" would be better for enclosure size, but if the extra for the 12W3 v1 is worth it, I can probably make room!

AMP:
JL e1200 - $235 CAN (~$180 US)
Alpine MRPM350 - $275 CAN (~$212 US)
Phoenix Gold T200.2 - $279 CAN (~$214 US)

I am off to research some specs and reviews, but I thought I'd post up here for some opinions as well.

The W3 won't last long so I have to move if I want it, so quick opinions would help.

Enclosure would go from 0.75 to 1.25 which is a biggish jump for a guy with a wife who wants a trunk. As long as some of you experts know I'll be happy with the 10W0, I'll go for it. Then I need opinions on the amp. I am leaning towards the JL amp as well as it seems a sweet deal.

Thanks

 

[1Canuck2]

sorry to bump, I got an hour and a half before store closing and I'd like to get the deal today!

 

[parks853]

If you just have the stock speakers in your car and you just want to add some bass I would just go with the ten. If you really want to bump shake the trunk and all that i would get a ED A series or a 12W6v2. If you get one of these subs you will have ot get a bigger amp (specially the ED). This will cost more money. And you will prob have a bigger box.

I would get the JL amp if you are going with the 10in W0. The sub calls for 125Wrms and the amp outputs 120Wrms @ 4ohms. That woudl be a close match, I would like ot have alittle more power.

 

[parks853]

The old series W6 was not bad. I think they are dual 6ohm. I just dont like buying used stuff (never know what it has been through). The W6 (the old series is still going to require more power then the W0).

Sorry forgot to add that

 

[1Canuck2]

Thanks for the reply.

I am pretty sure I am going to go with the 10W0-4 as my wife won't appreciate anything bigger. I just need to match it with the best amp.

The JL e1200 is 120W RMS
The Alpine MRP-M350 is 200W RMS
The PG T200/2 has no speaker level inputs so is off the list

I am leaning towards the Alpine, but is 200W too much for a single 10W0-4? Its at the high-end of the recommended range.

The JL e1200 is only 120W, which as parks said is lower than ideal.

Basically, if the Alpine isn't going to blow the speaker, I'll go for that I think. I can't find many reviews or any threads on the e1200 amp (I assume its JL's cheaper amp line) which makes me a little leary. There is some mention of the MRP-M350, but not paired with the 10W0.

Thanks

 

[parks853]

I have 500 JL watts on my W6 which calls for 400Wrms. The 200Wrms will work good to power the W0.

 

[servoeyes]

Yeah...I'd go with the Alpine, but the JL is nice as well..it's a bit underpowered, but it's also a bit underrated. The 10w0 wants 125W recommended, which is just a matter of turning up the gain a little on the JL, which should be able to handle that just fine. Also the JL's 120W is rated at 12.5V...the Alpine's 200W is rated at 14.4V.

 

[1Canuck2]

bump

Any more opinions? 1st? Got wake?

I didn't buy it today, I'm a go pick it up tomorrow. Hoping t get a good fuse thrown into the deal.

 

[1sty]

After some more Boxing Day browsing, I have found the following bargains. I am looking for opinions on what to do:

SUB:
Brand new JL 10W0-4 - $129CAN (~$98US)
Lightly used JL 12W3 v1 (not new style) - $170 CAN (~$130US)

What will $30 more buy me in a sealed enclosure. I am shooting for small, so the 10" would be better for enclosure size, but if the extra for the 12W3 v1 is worth it, I can probably make room!

AMP:
JL e1200 - $235 CAN (~$180 US)
Alpine MRPM350 - $275 CAN (~$212 US)
Phoenix Gold T200.2 - $279 CAN (~$214 US)

I am off to research some specs and reviews, but I thought I'd post up here for some opinions as well.

The W3 won't last long so I have to move if I want it, so quick opinions would help.

Enclosure would go from 0.75 to 1.25 which is a biggish jump for a guy with a wife who wants a trunk. As long as some of you experts know I'll be happy with the 10W0, I'll go for it. Then I need opinions on the amp. I am leaning towards the JL amp as well as it seems a sweet deal.

Thanks

A 10W0 and a 12W3 are entirely different subs, did you listen to them?
What type of music do you listen too?

$30 CAN for a box won't buy much but cardboard.

I havent't used the JL or the PG but I have used the alpine and it is a friggen power house. The Alpine was actualy an OOOPS according to an alpine employee. They accidently gave it more power then even the MRD-M300 V12 series amp. I used it to power 3 10W08's in a Range that would knock the filling out of your teeth

I would feel save with the JL or PG though. They are both good manufacturers. I am not sure of there power and application though. The JL e2150 would be better used with a single 10W04 though. For the W3 I would use the alpine, the e1200 would be at a disadvatage.

 

[1Canuck2]

Thanks for the reply 1st

I didn't mean I was spending $30 on the enclosure, I meant it will cost me $30 (US) more to get the W3 v1 over the 10W0 based on the deals I saw today. When using either sub in a sealed enclosure, what more will I get from the W3? As in, is it worth the extra $30. The enclosure at 1.25 cu ft is getting on the larger size of what I want to put in my trunk (or what my wife wants really). But I'd do it if there is a chance I'd be disapointed with 10W0 in a .75 cu ft sealed enclosure. I basically want to eat up as little trunk space as possible, but still get a thumpy low end and not spend a lot of money. I don't want much do I?

I mostly listen to scratch DJ style hip hop. I am not a basshead though, I am looking for SQ over SPL and want to build a good sub that will have a bit of thump and round out the bottom. I want it to be an investment piece, such that when I get around to buying a replacement HU and amp for the fronts, it will still fit in to the system.

The JL e1200 is 120W RMS, not enough for the W3 for sure, and borderline for the 10W0 if what I read is right, but the specs imply better SQ.

The Alpine is 200W RMS, and I am concerned it is too much for the 10W0, can anyone else confirm or deny this? This is the Amp that is tempting me the most, I just need some reassuring that it is a good match with the 10W0-4.

 

[servoeyes]

I can help here, maybe...for 30$ more, the W3 is the one to get.

you'll get better low end extension and higher SPL (sound pressure level). Then the Alpine would be the perfect amp to match up to it so long as you can get it the sub to present a 2ohm load. You'll just have to adjust the gains so that you don't over power the sub (it's rated at 250W and at 2 ohms the Alpine can drop 350W). Your other option would be to get two of the 10w0d4s and wire them in parallel. That'll make the box a bit bigger, but that mates perfectly with the Alpine amp.

Or like you said...one 10w0 and the Alpine at 4ohms, but you'd have to turn the gains down a little there as well. Personally I'd go with the W3 as it'll be a better "Investment piece" I think.

 

[1Canuck2]

I have been calculating box dimensions and going with the 12 is just too big. I have to face the wife if more than a quarter of the trunk is taken up by the addition.

Right now I am thinking of the 10W0 with the alpine amp in a box that is:

15" high by 12.25" wide by ~11" deep.

It will fit behind the smaller of the two folding seats quite nicely and I should be able to mount the amp on top of the box with the gain/eq/lp filter controls facing towards the back of the car (so I can get at them).

What do you think of this design?

 

[1Canuck2]

Okay, I bought the 10W0 and the Alpine amp. I got an even better deal, cos they had a demo amp from the board that had never actually been plugged in. He knocked $25 off the already discounted price. So I got the amp for $250CAN. The 10W0 was $129CAN. I also picked up a fuse holder with 60A fuse, 60 feet of speaker wire, a dual banana post cup, some spade connectors and 6 feet of 4 guage ground wire for $18!

All told it cost me $460 with tax, which is about $350 US.

All I need is the 3/4" MDF, which I think I have enough of, and ~15 feet of 4 guage wire for power, which I may have left over from my ground wire install.

I am interested in opinions on my planned box dimensions listed in the post above.

I am sure I will have some questions once I start actually building the box as I have never built a car sub enclosure (I built a huge HT sub though). What a good Xmas vacation project!

 

[servoeyes]

Check the box dimensions posted on JL's website.

They list 18"x11"x10.25"...those being the external dimensions. So long as yours match the total volume of those, you'll be all set.

Actually...since you have more power to throw at it, going smaller won't be bad at all. If you have up to 200W (you can turn the gains down). Basically, more power, and smaller box would be fine, I think. 200W to the 10w0 is still not in the warranty void range, so putting it in a .5CF-.6CF Net box should be fine.

 

[1Canuck2]

Thanks servo.

Can you school me on what changes when I add more power and/or put it in a smaller box. Cos yes, even smaller would be good, but not if I sacrifice performance.

To come up with the dimensions I basically did the following:

18 x 11 x 10.25 = 2029.5

15 x 12.25 x 11.04 = 2029.5

So internal volume should be the same, right? I was going to look for a free bassbox pro-like program and plug the actual numbers into that and see how it came out. Any sw recomendations? I have an old version of BassBox 5 but it crashes and won't let me save anything.

 

[1Canuck2]

Servo? Anyone?

What do I gain from more power in a smaller box?

I am hoping to start building my box today. If I can gain something by adjusting the size down, that would be fine with me.

But I understand what servo was saying. I am not familiar with sealed enclosures, I made a ported HT sub and understood the combination of port size, port length and volume. For sealed, I don't really know much beyond go with what the manuf. recommends.

 

[servoeyes]

Their box volume is .79, with a net of .75...that means that you need .4CF consideration for the sub at all times.

If you make a box that's .65 CF gross, it'll be .61CF net...that'd probably be fine.

See...if you use a smaller sealed box the sub will have to work harder to move the air behind it (since it'll compress it more easily). That's why you can throw a little more power at it. The problem with using a smaller box is that your response changes. You can get a little "boomy" at times depending on how much smaller you go. I think that .75CF is a bit much for the w0 if you ask me, but that makes the response very flat, but is also why it only require 125W to get louder.

Basically, since I don't have too much experience with the w0 in a smaller box than recommended, I can only give you my opinions on it. JL may suggest that size box for a certain purpose, but I can't see how dropping down the size by .1-.15CF would really hurt.

 

[1Canuck2]

Thanks, I think I understand a little better.

So is it going to go lower, be louder, or a bit of both. By "working harder" does that mean that it will lower the lifespan of the driver?

Would it be safe to say that because I am throwing more power at it that 125W I SHOULD make it smaller to compensate, or is it just something that I have the option to do.

Minor clarification: the specs for the sub say it displaces 0.05, not 0.04. That's what I have been going on in my calculations.

 

[servoeyes]

Power being equal, the smaller box will get less low-end, better power handling, louder, and less of a flat response curve. However, power is not equal...you have 75 more watts to play with.

If you make the box smaller you you can still get those low notes, you just need more power to do it...the smaller box lets you do that. A smaller box will actually be louder as well in this case. When I say boomy, I mean that the bass will get that type of sound to it, rater than a natural response...I don't think that you'd be making the box undersized for that sub, so it really shouldn't get boomy at all.

 

[BlueMP5Dave]

I have a JL 10w3 D4 version that is 7 months old. It was in my last car and I am not going to use it again. It is in perfect condition, if you are interested please PM we can make a deal. I had a Alpine Mrd-M500 driving it and it sounded teeth rattling good.