hey, i need suggesions for subs. i know jls are good, but what do you guys think about the audiobahn alums? they seem inexpensive and very powerful. let me know. thanks.

 

I would take JL over audiobahn anyday.
...Unless I needed a 3 foot sub, I havent seen if JL has one of those
Brian

 

which jls are you reffering to? w7s are to expensive, w6s are still outa my range. i had infinity kappas, but i just put them in my friends car, they were nice! any other subs?

 

I would take ANY JL over audiobahn. I think if you were to get W3s you would be very happy. Off the subject of JL. My buddy has two alpine type r 10s powered by a alpine MRD500. He is pushing 125-150 rms to each sub at 4 ohms and they out do his boss with an audiobahn flame q 12 with 900rms of audiobahn power pushing it. Just something to think about.

Brian

 

i dont know what it is, i just dont like alpine. i dont know why, but thats a good point to think about. i think ill just go with jls. what amp would you recommend to go with the 2 12w3s? something not to pricey.

 

anybodyhave any other suggestions for subs? i want them hitting hard!

 

cant go wrong with a JBL 600.1
Adire subs are really nice too, but more expensive. Not too much though.
Brian

 

I don't think this is a fair comparison. Just about anything with a boos amp isn't going to sound good. I'm not a fan of audiobahn (never heard one) but don't think that is a very good comparison. The alpines had good equipment all around.

 

I have the JBL 600.1 on my 2 JL 12W3's and they pound really hard and the sound quality is amazing for such a hard hitting sub. They are a very loud sub for so little power needed to run them. Thats why i bought them because i didn't have the money to buy a really high power amp.

 

how would you guys rate the 12w3v2s compared to infinity kappas, both being powered by a pretty good quality amp.

 

12w3s will kill kappas. Perfects are pretty nice though, but pricey.

Brian

 

http://www.audiomobileinc.com/main.htm
:lala:

 

I think those might be a little more than he wants to spend.

Brian

 

thanks, but id rather stick to the name jl.

 

Look into some of the less well-known brands. The audiomobile link posted above is a good suggestion, as well as Adire, Resonante Engineering, and Elemental Designs. All of them make some subs that have a very, very good reputation for sound quality and SPL, and because they don't **** millions into advertising, they are a lot cheaper.

Personally, if you're on a budget, I'd look into the Adire Shivas.

 

ampmanaudio has the new mark 3 shivas for $125 shipped for 12s. That is an awesome price for 12s.

Brian

 

where can i find that? how would you compare those to 12w3v2s?

 

ampmanaudio.com
I dont really know how they compair. Adires are super nice thought, very loud and clean. Jim would probably know more about them. They eat up more power though. 650 each sub.

Brian

 

see, i theres a good point. i know jls produce a lot of sound, for less power.

 

but at the same time you can get a JBL 600.1 for the JLs and it runs $195 and I think JL12w3s are like around $350 a pair. So that setup would be $545
JBL 1200.1 is $275 and the adire shivas are $250 a pair. That setup would be $525 $20 less.

Brian

 

it would cost be under $300 for a pair of 12w3v2s. and i trust the name jl over most others.

 

wouldnt it make more sense to hook up a single jbl 1200.1 amp to two 12w3v2s?

 

Those JLs only handle like 300rms if you were to push 740rms you would kill them. Ya, you can turn down the gain, but the 600.1 would probably be much better for them.

Brian

 

that doesnt make send to me because a 600.1 can only offer 600 watts max, thats 300 watts rms, which is 150 watts rms each sub. i want 300 watts rms to each sub, the 1200.1 will do that for me... correct me if im wrong???

 

the 600.1 puts out somewhere around 700rms and the 1200.1 puts out somewhere around 1400-1500rms. they are very underrated.
Brian

 

you have to look at the ohm ratings. the 600.1 puts out the 700ish watts (rms btw) into 2 ohms, but only half that into 4.. same thing with the 1200.1, it puts out the most power into 2 ohms. so, if you are going with the w3s, wire them up into a 2 ohm load and you'll be getting 400 watts a piece. however, keep in mind that you're getting much less value with the jls than, say, going with the adire shivas, because you are paying a LOT for the brand. im sure you recognize that, but you could have a better system going with the adires.

 

All i got to say is Eclipse Titanim Series, or JL W7's, either way you're lookin at bout 600$ ea, and your gonna need one helluva amp to move em

 

about those mark 3s, the reviews sound very convincing. does anyone have any pics of the subs alone, and installed? i read that they are great for home audio, are they just as good for car applications?

 

i know w7s and titaniums are very expensive, and for my needs, i think they will be overkill.

 

glad to see someone else is finally endorsing shivas around here . but for quality subs for cheap: element, alpine type r, blueprint, and adire shivas cant be beat. all are under $200 and all are great sq subs. audiobahn is all about looks; not much for sound quality.

 

Just because they can HANDLE that much doesn't mean that they need that much to get loud. If there's one drawback to the Shivas it's that they need a large box. 1.7 sealed, and even bigger if you go ported, but in a ported box they should be able to get plenty loud with just 200 or 300 watts.

I doubt that the JL's are much more efficient than the Shivas, although they probably (just a pure guess here) have better cooling capacity, which might result in less dynamic compression which could result in more overall SPL with high power, but that really has very little to do with how they compare with modest power.

 

How do the W3's compare to other subs that are of high quality is sound quality and output. Like for example the W7 and Titaniums. I know they are better but just how much better. I never listened to them before.... I bought the best i could get from our local audio store. I know that some subs like Rockford Power HX2's and stuff are big and power hungry that really put out are great but i would like to now how they sound compared to my JL 12W3's

 

I was saying between the two if you are going to max them out it will cost more to power the shivas.

I personally dont think the W7s are worth the money. I think the W3 are great subs. They dont require alot of power and they POUND and are very clean(as all JLs are). I have not heard the Shivas but I would take Jims word on it.

Brian

 

if you think w7s are worth the money, adire brahmas are a spectacular value

 

I should make it clear that I haven't heard them either. I'm basing my comment purely on second-hand information that I've gathered through my own research. I'm not usually one to reccomend something unless I have personal experience, but the Adire subs have an incredible reputation in the car audio community among people whose opinions I trust. I'm planning on buying a Brahma for my IROC and I think there's a good chance that I may sell my Rockford subs in the GTA/Jimmy in favor of a couple Shivas so I can play with them.

 

Guys, i just put in an Audiobahn AW1206Q 12" wub with 350w continuous bazooka amp. I have a friend with 2 JL W3s in a JL box running 400w continuous. By far, i have more interior bass, and farther reaching bass. His W3s aren't bad in any way, but my Audiobahn is easily pulling 5-7 more db's than his. And guess what, im running a sealed enclolsure :P as bad as Audiobahn doesn't want you to, but i will be porting it, and showing pics on a seperate page shortly. Key here, I'd go with Audiobahn.

 

two words DIAMOND AUDIO

Go for diamonds man there fialry cheep and very copmprable to a JL. The Diamond M3's are equivalent to a JL W3.

Look here www.diamondaudio.com

or look at kicker L7's to there decent as well.

 

A buddy of mine has an M5 and it sounds very nice. Another friend has a Mac Daddy and it sounds even better. I haven't heard the M3, but I like the rest of the diamond stuff, so I'm willing to bet I'd like that too. Diamond might be a tad pricey, but it's good stuff.

The L7 can sound good if you put it in a HUGE box. It can sound good, but because of the size requirements, it makes it tough to fit into a thirdgen.