JL Audio Subs

[Spiffyfast]

Wow, I was a huge fan of JL when I used to do car audio shows and I just heard they started doing home theater subs too. They look amazing heres a link.

http://www.jlaudio.com/HT/index.html

I know what they can do with car audio and I hope they get heavy into home theater but not at those prices yikes... 2400 for a single 12" sub and 7500 for a dual 13", I bet they pound like no other though. Hopefully they'll come out with a more budget minded line, but if the money permited I would love to have that dual 13 setup. Just curious what others thought about them.

 

[WmAx]

Wow, I was a huge fan of JL when I used to do car audio shows and I just heard they started doing home theater subs too. They look amazing heres a link.

http://www.jlaudio.com/HT/index.html

I know what they can do with car audio and I hope they get heavy into home theater but not at those prices yikes... 2400 for a single 12" sub and 7500 for a dual 13", I bet they pound like no other though. Hopefully they'll come out with a more budget minded line, but if the money permited I would love to have that dual 13 setup. Just curious what others thought about them.

Just buy the raw drivers, a P.A. amp, and build your own boxes. Fraction of the cost. Same mind-blowing performance.

-Chris

 

[Spiffyfast]

Yeah, actually when I was back in High School I did that, had a pair of 12" JL subs that I took outa my car when I sold it, hooked it up to a 200 watt stereo amp. Amazing bass, but unfortunately would knock down pretty much everything hanging on the walls in our house so it didnt last for long, but was amazing

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Wow, I was a huge fan of JL when I used to do car audio shows and I just heard they started doing home theater subs too. They look amazing heres a link.

http://www.jlaudio.com/HT/index.html

I know what they can do with car audio and I hope they get heavy into home theater but not at those prices yikes... 2400 for a single 12" sub and 7500 for a dual 13", I bet they pound like no other though. Hopefully they'll come out with a more budget minded line, but if the money permited I would love to have that dual 13 setup. Just curious what others thought about them.

It is pretty amazing. Looks a little like Martin Logan's Descent, but a lot heavier, with a lot more power. The ML has triple powered 10's and sounds fantastic. The drivers they use are very expensive, so building it yourself would still run you quite a bit of change. Price out JL's top W7. Even on ebay, they are $$$.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=39776&item=5783449284&rd=1

 

[Privateer]

Just buy the raw drivers, a P.A. amp, and build your own boxes. Fraction of the cost. Same mind-blowing performance.

So you think they up the price for no reason?

 

[RLA]

Wow, I was a huge fan of JL when I used to do car audio shows and I just heard they started doing home theater subs too. They look amazing heres a link.

About 7 or 8 years ago I built an IB for a custom HT using (12) 6 per side
JL 15 W6 (FS 16.3Hz) powered by (4) QSC USA 950 amps that thing would blow your face off

I still have (2) JL-15W6's mounted in custom cabinets that I use in one of my Home Theaters built about 6 years ago. The cabinets weigh 155lbs each and have 1-1/2" thick enclosures with lots of tressel internal bracing. I tuned the enclosures for
My old HT room that had a dip at 35-44Hz. The vents are made from thick ABS plastic pipe and are baffled. They will play into the teens with authority I can float my ceiling tiles with them
I finished this enclosure to match the color and texture of my walls and installed marble on the tops they have casters so I can move them around.
sorry about the photo I didn't want to lug them outside

 

[Tom Andry]

Sign me up for one.....they're like $100 right?

 

[WmAx]

So you think they up the price for no reason?

I don't know what you are referring to. I don't know why(or care to speculate) why they price things they way they do.

You can buy the same W7 drivers for $500 each. You can buy a suitable P.A. amp for $300. Factor in cost of wood and materials, and you can build the single driver 12" version for about $1000 as opposed to the $2400 for the pre-fabbed version.

-Chris

 

[Spiffyfast]

About 7 or 8 years ago I built an IB for a custom HT using (12) 6 per side
JL 15 W6 (FS 16.3Hz) powered by (4) QSC USA 950 amps that thing would blow your face off

I still have (2) JL-15W6's mounted in custom cabinets that I use in one of my Home Theaters built about 6 years ago. The cabinets weigh 155lbs each and have 1-1/2" thick enclosures with lots of tressel internal bracing. I tuned the enclosures for
My old HT room that had a dip at 35-44Hz. The vents are made from thick ABS plastic pipe and are baffled. They will play into the teens with authority I can float my ceiling tiles with them
I finished this enclosure to match the color and texture of my walls and installed marble on the tops they have casters so I can move them around.
sorry about the photo I didn't want to lug them outside

Wow, mine were only 12's, I couldnt imagine two 15's my neighbors would hate me Very nice looking cabinet by the way and I wish I could have heard that 12 sub monster, it woulda been like going to a rock concert, I had 4 JL 12w3's In a Mitsubishi Eclipe that I used to have, SPL was so high ur start to tear up b/c of the pressure in the car, I bet those 12 15's would have about the same effect inside a house, if ya didnt blow the windows out, but how cool would that be to see on video tape...

 

[Privateer]

I don't know what you are referring to. I don't know why(or care to speculate) why they price things they way they do. You can buy the same W7 drivers for $500 each. You can buy a suitable P.A. amp for $300. Factor in cost of wood and materials, and you can build the single driver 12" version for about $1000 as opposed to the $2400 for the pre-fabbed version.

For starters you are using an inferior amp and an inferior crossover, there is nothing on the site that states they are using the same drivers as there car audio. Just because they look the same does not mean they are. If they are the same driver then the W7 is worth more than $500 each, just because you can buy some used piece of junk off ebay does not mean you should. I am sure your thrown together box that you could build would be suitable. If you want to try and save some money and end up with a jimmy rigged product that will perform 1/2 of what it should then go ahead.

 

[mulester7]

For starters you are using an inferior amp and an inferior crossover, there is nothing on the site that states they are using the same drivers as there car audio. Just because they look the same does not mean they are. If they are the same driver then the W7 is worth more than $500 each, just because you can buy some used piece of junk off ebay does not mean you should. I am sure your thrown together box that you could build would be suitable. If you want to try and save some money and end up with a jimmy rigged product that will perform 1/2 of what it should then go ahead.

.....quite possibly true, Privateer/Mr. Tactfulness....buying audio equipment sight-unseen, with the ears not getting any opportunity to get into the mix, is like the forward pass in football....the majority of the possible outcomes stand to be not good....

 

[RLA]

Wow, mine were only 12's, I couldnt imagine two 15's

We constructed the IB with 12each 15W6's for a clinet that owned a
high end car audio shop at that time SPL drag racing was all the rage and he
wanted to use the JL's I was so impressed with them I purchaced two for myself There were many great drivers but my all time favorite had to have been the NHT 1259

you want to try and save some money and end up with a jimmy rigged product that will perform 1/2 of what it should then go ahead.

Hello
IMOHO many DIY subs that I have seen are better built than mass-produced models there are several examples of this on many sites around the Internet
It's typical to find cabinets with 1-2" thick enclosures finished with exotic
Material. These DIY sub drivers can approach exceed $700 alone
Here is one of many examples With the correct box constrution and subwoofer CAD software results can be outstanding Box Plot,Perfect box and BLA Box were pretty good.


http://www.acoustic-visions.com/~acoustic/products/subwoofer_drivers/adire_tumult_15/

 

[WmAx]

For starters you are using an inferior amp and an inferior crossover,

Inferior amp? In what way is a P.A. amp inferior? I did not even specify a particular model, just a price range, so you've automaticly assumed that pro amps are 'inferior'. Please specify in what way they are inferior. As for a crossover, such a thing is very simple, especially for a subwoofer. In reality, you can do much better than the JL sub's included crossover: just get a DCX2496[jaxvon, you were right! hehe]. It has not only any crossover type you could want, but has long delays, parameteric filtering(for reducing room modes) and dynamic equalizers(which can extend linearity of the subwoofer into high excursion/incursion situations) and compressors(to safeguard limits). It also has shelving filters, of which you can use to extend or reduce the bandwidth/slope of the subwoofer response to obtain a transient response of your custom preference(s).

there is nothing on the site that states they are using the same drivers as there car audio. Just because they look the same does not mean they are.

It's the same W7 technology and size. Even if it's a different driver, by some small detail(s), then it does not matter, as the car version models just fine in software simulation.

If they are the same driver then the W7 is worth more than $500 each, just because you can buy some used piece of junk off ebay does not mean you should.

Actually, the subwoofer sells new for $500 from many sellers on ebay, if you cared to actually search for the model instead of looking at just the link provided by a previous poster.

I am sure your thrown together box that you could build would be suitable. If you want to try and save some money and end up with a jimmy rigged product that will perform 1/2 of what it should then go ahead.

You have not made a tangible case for your objection(s) yet.

-Chris

 

[jaxvon]

Just for reference, the drivers used in Fantom and Gotham are modified for their new in-home application. I'm not sure how much, probably just more optimized to the environment.

 

[Spiffyfast]

I just know they are the best subs I ever heard with car audio, highest spl and the clearest sound. I can't wait to hear what their new home speakers will sound like. It'll probably be amazing, I just wish they were within my budget. Just for the info, anyone know of a place to get high quality plate amps for subs, not the no name brand u can find at discount places, but some nice ones if I did think about trying a DIY sub, or would just a stereo amp work and make the subs passive?

 

[Privateer]

WmAx

The next thing you will be telling me is that for half the price you can produce a full range speaker the can compete with the Mcintosh XRT28. Hell all the crossovers in the audio world all sound the same and perform the same. Why did I spend all my money on higher end audio equipment when I could have just made my own for a fraction of the price. I give up arguing with people who do not have the funds to put together a decent system.

Do not let me stand in your way because if the JBL subs perform to what the specs make them out to be I will purchase a Gotham and then we can compare what sounds better mine or you home made jimmy rigger sub.

 

[WmAx]

The next thing you will be telling me is that for half the price you can produce a full range speaker the can compete with the Mcintosh XRT28. Hell all the crossovers in the audio world all sound the same and perform the same. Why did I spend all my money on higher end audio equipment when I could have just made my own for a fraction of the price. I give up arguing with people who do not have the funds to put together a decent system.

Privateer, since you have not actually debated on any technical merit, I don't have a direct reply for you, in response to such.

Why are you debating in a thread, in response to a specific topic, of which you know little?

Note: If your next reply consists of more petty insults, I'll not reply to you, as these do not deserve to be addressed.

-Chris

 

[Privateer]

Just buy the raw drivers, a P.A. amp, and build your own boxes. Fraction of the cost. Same mind-blowing performance.

In your first post on this thread you tried a pathetic attempt to make some stupid comment.

Privateer, since you have not actually debated on any technical merit, I don't have a direct reply for you, in response to such.

Hey I know lets be like you, buy a bunch of equipment, slap it together and then say it will sound the same as a certain product just because we can buy the same basic driver!

Why are you debating in a thread, in response to a specific topic, of which you know little?

You go out and find a amp that can output 3800 watts RMS. What do you run for a sub?

 

[WmAx]

In your first post on this thread you tried a pathetic attempt to make some stupid comment.

Still no technical argument? But I'll reply to just one of your questions that happens to not be a petty insult:

You go out and find a amp that can output 3800 watts RMS. What do you run for a sub?

1. The amplifier rating of the subwoofers is peak outpout(not continous). So, the number they give is meaningless, except for marketing.

2. A 20 amp 120V house line, can at maximum, output 2400 watts. Assuming the amplifier used is a digital switching amplifier, that's about 90 percent efficient. So, at potential in best case scenario, 2160 continous watts of output power, on a dedicated line to the subwoofer.

3. The subwoofer voice coils are not even rated for 1000W, continuos thermal.

4. JL's own recommendations are for 500-800 watts, to safely operate the subwoofers. More power for anything more than an instant will overheat and damage the voice coils.

5. QSC makes a $300 pro amp that outputs over 800 watts continous in mono.

6. 400 watts would be plenty of power, so no need to even buy the 800 watt output amplifier. Double the power results only in 3dB of SPL gain.

7. I was referring to the single driver 12" sub, so the one I was referring to does not even boast the[artificial] 3800 watt power specification, but an[artificial] 1500 watts.

8. Why are you interested in what I run for a sub? It may be that I have only my AM/FM clock radio to provide myself with audio enjoyment. It's irrelevant to the discussion, if I can even hear.

So far, it appears that the entire premise of your argument[which is void of any technical reasoning], is that no one can make a subwoofer just as good, but for lesser money, than one can buy something pre-fabricated from retail. Because, you say so. I wonder if, based on your logic, that you also would consider the Linkwitz Orion to be a mediocre speaker, that is not true hi-end quality, because it is not very expensive and can be built by anyone with some basic woodworking skills?

-Chris

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Chris,

Interesting site. The Phoenix dipole subwoofer is quite the design. Just reading some of his equations makes me dizzy. "Audio Savant."
http://www.linkwitzlab.com/woofer.htm