Rep Power: 320

My current set-up is a JL Audio 12w3 in a sealed box running a little alpine monoblock amp (d series 350 something). Moral of the story: doesnt power the sub worth ****.

I go and talk to Hifi Buys (ala Tweeter) today about some stuff and to get a sub grille. We get to talking and he says that a JL Audio 250/1 would work really good and hit really nice. So im thinking alright thats cool, then the manager offers to buy my amp back (which I purchased from them in December of 03) for $150 (I paid $199).

I have been thinking of adding another 12w3 anyways- so if I did that, then buy a 500/1 instead of the 250/1. He said he would work with me on price on what I buy (and it helps to buy more). So now Im thinking of buying another 12w3, a 500/1, and then a dual box I guess.

I also bought an Eclipse headunit today from them for my Dad's birthday, got a killer deal on that (they stopped seling Eclipse last month and he was able to track one down at another store that was brand new).

Sorry so long- So should I sell my amp back since it sucks anyways, then buy another 12w3 and 500/1, OR just buy a 250/1 and bump the one sub?

THANKS!

 
Rep Power: 0

i have a ported 12w3 with a ppi pcx1250 amp.... thatz 250watts.... my buddy has a 250/1 and 10w3.... i think the freakin sound quality is soo much better with a JL amp/sub.

go with 2 12w3s

 
Rep Power: 786

yeah go with 2, you'll love it

 
Rep Power: 320

Thanks guys- keep the opinions coming...

If I have the funds I will go with 2 no doubt , I leave for college in a couple weeks so I should be saving money but Ive been spending it on car **** all summer (hey i work full time why not have fun ya know!?!). Tuesday is my birthday also, so hoping that will help cover a little bit.

 
Rep Power: 786

Dude I totally hear ya, I'm back in school and September and SHOULD be saving money, but I seem to be just dumping more and more into my car. My theory is to make myself happy now and worry about being broke later instead of save now and not be able to bring myself to spend the money later

 
Rep Power: 320

Yeah pretty much- im making pretty good money right now working full time so im just like, let me get my car up to where I want it to be...

Now do I build a custom rear trunk set-up or just buy a dual sub box and not worry about it...Im worried with custom I wont be able to use my trunk which I use quite often...

 
Rep Power: 786

hehehe you sound just like me I always think I'm done with my car, but I've still got so much to do. I'm going to TRY and get a set of rims on my car, but I think that will be it until I am finished with school next April...

As for your box, you can do either, personally I build my own, and if you are comfortable with some light woodwork, you can build a box quite easily that you can design and tune to your own personal preference. Home made boxes are generally better quality anyway, and you have the satisfaction of a job well done.

 
Rep Power: 0

It might just be the version of the 12w3 you have.

The Alpine M350 is a great little amp. It does 350rms/700max, but at 2 ohms. You need the 12w3-D4 wired in parallel to work well on that amp. Otherwise, if you have the 12w3-D2 version, the amp will only put about 150 watts rms to that sub.

Honestly that amp should push that one 12 w/o any trouble what-so-ever.

 
Rep Power: 320

I have the 12w3D4...

 
Rep Power: 0

def do 2 subs one is definitly not enough and that 500/1 mono amp will pound those subs if you set it up right.

 
Rep Power: 0

Are you sure something else isn't wrong. That setup should be pretty loud.

 
Rep Power: 0

i don't think the setup would be very loud if it was then it would probably have horable distortion

 
Rep Power: 0

I suppose "very loud" is subjective, but that amp is pretty well matched to the sub. And the 12w3 is not really a weak sub...

 
Rep Power: 0

Thats what I'm getting at. That amp should be able to push that sub to it's limits quite well. It should also be pretty loud. At least in the high 120's if not louder. Good enough to shake the whole car and stuff nicely. I'm just going off of what my single Eclipse Aluminum on a Kicker 400.1 can do. I'd think they are comparable.

 
Rep Power: 0

acctually i'm pushing more power to my sub then it is suppose to be getting. i ahev two polk momo subs they handle 500 RMS each the amp i'm using is pushing 800 RMS this is so the sub gets a really nice pound out of it and the gain is all the way down almost so it is very clear.

 
Rep Power: 0

I'm not sure what this has to do with the thread, but as it's here I might as well point out here that your amp's gain affects how much power it is giving. So if the gain is almost all the way down, it is most definitely not giving the subs more power than they are supposed to get (Not to mention the fact that the amp is rated at 800, and the subs are rated at 1000 (total).)

 
Rep Power: 320

So maybe something else is wrong???

Hmmmm....maybe Ill pay someone to install my next setup cause I know my setup now if kinda ghetto rigged (not ghetto, but not the most incredible install)

 
Rep Power: 0

gain doesn't handle all the power if you have it down all the way it's not only putting out 20 or 30 watts theres other things that control how much power your amp is pushing, and to clarify i gave the specs in RMS the peak power for the subs is only 1000 and the amp is 1600 peak, so re-read things and know what your talking about before you post anything

 
Rep Power: 0

I think you have the wrong idea about RMS power.

RMS doesn't mean thats how much power the amp is constantly putting out. RMS simply means this is the amount of power the amp CAN output, or the sub CAN take all day long. Likewise the MAX is a rating of the maximum amount of power the amp CAN output or the sub CAN take in very short bursts.

In realitly the amp will output 0 watts to as many watts as it needs to generate the appropriate note at the given volume. This number is constantly changing along w/ the music. If the amp is a 1000 watt amp and the amp needs to output 1200 watts to make the note at a certain volume, this is when the amp goes into clipping.

Now the gain doesn't change the rms or max numbers. It can't. They are simply ratings anyway. What it changes is the relationship w/ how quickly that power is achieved off a given volume. It simply helps match a HU, amp, and sub. You can set the gains so the sub maxes out at 10, 20, 50, 60, etc .... anywhere you want on the HU volume scale.

 
Rep Power: 328

Now lets get back on topic. That Alpine amp *should* be great for your sub, so there may just be some settings that need to be tweaked, or you could have wired your sub wrong. Your not runnin an 8ohm load are you?

As far as two 12W3's (also, i'm assuming these are the v2's) on a 500/1, would sound great. I ran that for a long time before moving to 4 W3's and two 500/1's. It pounds.

 
Rep Power: 0

How much bass do you want? I have a JL Audio 12w3v2 in a ported box with an Alpine M300 300W RMS amplifier, actually it is rated at 350RMS. This setup hits pretty hard and it has plenty of bass for rap and rock, whatever you listen to. There are alot of people like me that don't want to have a sub that pounds extremely hard, but goes together nicely with their mids and highs. I have JL Audio XR components amped in the front and stock speakers run in the back with my Alpine 7893 HU. It all goes perfectly together in my opinion, with the subwoofer not over overpowering the rest of my system, but still being loud enough to get me pulled over because the cop said his car was shaking.

 
Rep Power: 320

So i ended up buying my stuff today-

Ended up buying JL Audio 250/1 and then switch to a ported box... The guy recommended this over a second 12w3 and a JL 500/1. Said it would be just as effective and cost me alot less...

MUCH BETTER