Sorry to sound like an idiot, but audio stuff is not my expertise. right now I have an alpine deck, infinity kappa 6.5" + CMMD tweeters front ,6x9" rear...and for the bumpity bump, I have a JL 10w3 and a RF 200w punch. Unfortunately I got the box real cheap as well as the amp, and I have been told this is a really good sub. How much of a difference would I hear from a better box and a more powerful amp? the box is a wedge style, for going behind a pickup truck seat, and I have a civic hatch. Thanks alot, sorry this is a stupid question. I'm not looking to spend a lot of money, but I know that this sub is capable of more/better sound. I can post up some pics of the box if needed, but you get the idea I think
~james

 

A proper enclosure is way more important than the amount of power going to the sub.

Get your box sorted, then at that point you;ll know if you need more juice or not.

 

any suggestions on good/cheap boxes? How much power is this sub going to be happy with?

 

build your box to the Subs specs, or buy one that is as close as possible to it.
you are able to build a box that is way better than any pre p.o.s. out there.

for the power, Id say at least the RMS rating for the sub.

 

sorry, but as I said, I'm a newb to this, I don't really have the time/experience to build the box..any shape/size/port suggestions? Also, do you know what the RMS rating is for a 10w3? Thanks for all the help

 

is the truck extended cab or regular? if it's regular there's no way you can get the proper dimensions for that bad boy behind the seat, the w3 is a badass sub, i gotta 12w3 in my lude and i'm so in love with it, all i can fit in my trunk though custom ported box, it's an amazing subwoofer .... good choice on that , but the amp wont really matter as much as the enclosure, the rms of the 10w3 i think is 400-500

 

it's not a truck dude, it's a civic hatch. Do I want ported or not ported? I almost bought just a big square box today, but there was one that was ported, one that wasn't the ported one was an extra $40, so I didn't buy either. Also, should I be running more like 400w?

 

port or not ported, its up to you whether you want more output from your sub or not. i'm not going to explain sealed and ported box and which is what. i'll leave that to vteg as he's the guy who loves to ramble on about it..

instead..i will say that which ever box you buy, make sure its the right size or else it will sound bad ported or not ported.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by GSteg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">port or not ported, its up to you whether you want more output from your sub or not. i'm not going to explain sealed and ported box and which is what. i'll leave that to vteg as he's the guy who loves to ramble on about it..

instead..i will say that which ever box you buy, make sure its the right size or else it will sound bad ported or not ported.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I have not rambled lately. I got into car audio because I had to power my subs with something

Anyway, if you are going to get a prefab box, just get a sealed box. They are much more forgiving if not sized right. Ported boxes will be louder, but can sound very bad if not designed around your sub, and you risk destruction of your sub.

Here is a crash course for you http://www.diysubwoofers.org

 

what about the amp question? Would this sub be better off with more power? i was thinking the components would sound better amped too. A buddy has a 1000w x 4..one channel to the front, one to the rears, and 2 bridged to the sub, I was thinking something like tha twould be good?

 

Please don't wire your system that way. You would have to sit sideways to get the stereo effect. Typically with a 4-channel amp, front and rear speakers and a sub you would connect channels 1 and 2 to the front and rear speakers and bridge 3 and 4 for the sub.

Personally, I would ditch the rear speakers and just focus on the front set and the sub (channels 1 and 2 for the front, bridge 3 and 4 for the sub). BTW, what kind of amp is it (i.e. brand and model)?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HondaDriver4Life &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Typically with a 4-channel amp, front and rear speakers and a sub you would connect channels 1 and 2 to the front and rear speakers and bridge 3 and 4 for the sub.
</TD></TR></TABLE> Isn't that what I said? If not, that's what I meant to say.

Anyway, right now I only have a 200w x 1 going to the sub, and I'm guessing that a 10w3 would like some more power. I was thinking of getting a 1000w x 4 or something like that, but I'm looking for suggestions

 

I just found somewhere that the RMS for the 10w3 is 250w...in which case is it bad to run more than that amount? I think I'm going to stick with the previous advice, and focus on the box, the RF 200w punch was actually like 240w anyway, would amping the compenents be a good idea? if so, how much power? Thanks for all the advice.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SleepyEG &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">...in which case is it bad to run more than that amount? </TD></TR></TABLE>

No. more is better than not enough. the only way you will hurt it with too much is if you drive the sub in to distortion. When it starts to sound crappy, just turn it down a bit.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nOOber &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

No. more is better than not enough. the only way you will hurt it with too much is if you drive the sub in to distortion. When it starts to sound crappy, just turn it down a bit.</TD></TR></TABLE>

oh boy..here we go again..

**flame suit on**

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SleepyEG &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Isn't that what I said? If not, that's what I meant to say.

Anyway, right now I only have a 200w x 1 going to the sub, and I'm guessing that a 10w3 would like some more power. I was thinking of getting a 1000w x 4 or something like that, but I'm looking for suggestions</TD></TR></TABLE>

Holy Moly you going to be towing a nuclear reactor behind you to power that beast.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">oh boy..here we go again..

**flame suit on** </TD></TR></TABLE>
Naa ignorence is bliss

 

yeah, I meant to say 1000w x 1 (250w x 4) look at the thread title! anyways, still haven't really gotten any straight answers, but I think I'm just going to get a new box, and keep saving for turbo parts, instead of buying a new amp

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by GSteg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

oh boy..here we go again..

**flame suit on** </TD></TR></TABLE>

Do you smell what the amp is cooking? Proabably voice coils

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SleepyEG &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yeah, I meant to say 1000w x 1 (250w x 4) look at the thread title! anyways, still haven't really gotten any straight answers, but I think I'm just going to get a new box, and keep saving for turbo parts, instead of buying a new amp
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Sorry not to respond to your direct question but you should do a little searching on your own before you ask questions. Exspecially when it is so easy to with the internet. We were just getting a few laughs from your post.

You can get the recommended power from here for that speaker. You can also get box sizes as well from the same website. I would recommend going with a ported enclosure to the specs listed on there site since you have the room. It really sounds like you have the speaker in the wrong type of enclosure.

 

how do I know if I have the 10w3 or the 10w3v2??

 

OK, I'm starting to get somewhere, I took the sub out and looked at it, to discover two things. It's a 10w3-D4, it's not a v2....which I guess is bad...Also, it's wired in series. so it's 8ohms. I don't at all understand what series vs. parallel means to me. I know that I'm talking about 8ohms vs. 2 ohms, but what does that mean? I did search, and also goto jlaudio's tutorials, but they only say how to wire, not what each means. Thanks for any help. Also, I'm going to try to build my own ported box this weekend, any suggestions on where to buy plywood or whatever I should use? Also, on JL's pages, I noticed for some subs (10w3v2) they suggest a big slot for a port, where for the 10w3 they suggest a tube style...what are the differences?


Modified by SleepyEG at 9:50 AM 7/25/2003

 

A 2ohm load is a larger load for your amp. If it can handle it then I would recommend wiring it this way. You will get more power out of the amplifier this way. What exact model amplifier do you have again? If your amplifier is rated at 200WX1 at 4 0hms your 8ohm load is only getting 100W.

Port shape should not make that much of a difference. The correct port volume is what you should be concerned with, (i.e. correct length and size).

For wood I would use 3/4" MDF not plywood.

 

well holy ****!!! thanks to your response + some more research, I just realized that not only am I wired in series for some dumb reason, but my amp is rated for 200w x 1 @ 2ohm...which means at the 8ohm I'm at..it's getting 50w???? and it's in a pickup truck enclosure?? Holy crap I suck. I'm now dying in anticipation of wiring it in parallel and building a new box. It's going to sound like a whole new system!! Thanks so much for all the help. You all kick alot of ***!

 

Just remember if you go ported dimensions are critical. Port size is critical. Do it wrong and you toast your speaker. Do it right and you will have an excellent sounding speaker.

 

well I'm a mechanical engineer, and I'm O.C.D. so I follow directions very well, I was planning on using the ported box plans from the owners manual, using 3/4" MDF, and PVC piping for the port?? PVC is the best I could think of, although I'm not sure how I'm going to attach it to the MDF. Any suggestions other than follow the JL directions?? Thanks for all the help guys!
~James