Well I bought my new JL's a while ago and then I finally purchased a new amp, I had it wired at 2 ohms which makes the amp use full power of 1000 RMS, the JL's are rated to handle 250RMS each making it 500 RMS.. as we all know JL's can handle more than what they are rated for.. I was told by a JL audio tech that I emailed and others that the subs should handle the amp with no problem...

About a month ago I had my gain up prob a little above half and the bass was at about three quaters.. the CD I had in was extremely bassy, I wasnt cranking it really loud but it was up there, and one of the subwoofers blew out (smoke slowly drifting from the port hole and all).. If the zeb ever gets the subwoofer back to me (they say it hasnt come back from JL yet and I shipped it out over a month ago now) I'm afraid to hook it back up.. Anyone else have an opinion on this? I don't wanna blow it again beacuse I can't afford nor do I wish to spend any more money on my stereo, I need it for other things.. thanks!

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1991 Camaro Z28
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CURRENT MODS:
350 TPI, Automatic, Edelbrock Headers, Edelbrock Runners, Edelbrock Intake, Flowmaster Exhaust, MSD 8.5mm wires, Autolite Double Platinum Plugs, MSD Cap/Rotar, Random Technology high flow cat, Hypertech Power Chip (160 Deg Thermo), K&N Filterchargers
STEREO MODS:
Pioneer DEH-P6000, 2 JL Audio 12W3 subwoofers in custom hatch enclosure,
Rockford BD1000.1 Amp, Infinity Kappa 4x6" plates & 6x9's
WEBMASTER: www.thirdgenfbodies.com

I know the W6's can take that much power, so you could go to those, but you don't want to spend any more money, so that's probably not a valid option. I'm guessing the W3 blew because of one of two things:

either your box isn't to JL spec,

or you were feeding them a distorted signal.

If you run a clipped signal to any speaker you could damage it without necessarily overpowering it.

yet another possibility is you were giving them a full 500 watts each at too low a frequency. According to JL's website, a subwoofer can handle more wattage at a higher freq. For instance a W3 might be able to play a 45hz note all day with 500 watts RMS, but if suddenly that freq drops down to 20hz (unlikely but possible) it could exceed it's mechanical limits.

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'91 RS 3.1
SSM SFC's
Energy Susp. Hyper-flex kit
GTA Sway bars
Clarion, Phoenix Gold, JL Audio, etc.
Quote "If you can't beat them, arrange to have them beaten."
- George Carlin

yea, I agree with REZN8. You can blow anmost anything by playing a clipped/distorted signal through it. Also another thing is that you mentioned a port in the box. With ported boxes you have to be carfull not to play music with notes lower that the tuning frequency. It will cause to sub to overextend itself and toast the suspension or even the voice coil. I have seen competition vehicles with a rockford 1100A2 running to each speaker in the system subs, 6" mids and even the tweeters!! There is no such thing as too much power, in stereo's and in engines

Well I can say one thing, the subs sounded as clear as day, they hit hard as hell and the bass was clear and smooth. I'm not exactly sure what the ports are tuned for but at the time it was a pretty bassy CD which I rarely ever listen to (really fast techno type CD with constant rapid booms) but in fact it wasn't just that that blew the subwoofer.. Ever since the day I installed the amp I was smelling something funky and I wasn't quite sure what it was, until the subwoofer blew then I really smelled it.. I had just dropped my car off to the mechanic the day prior and he ususally is all greasy and smells like **** basically, so I figured what I was smelling the odor of a mechanic and itd go away.. unfortunally I was wrong and I guess it blew over time? That happen to change anything could the speaker have been defective? Only one of them blew out instead of both..

Sure, if you play a distorted signal through it it won't blow instantly. but it will over time> I've done it with one of my friends subs before. It might be that there was a defect in the sub. You should try to get the sub fixed under warranty. When subs get very loud it is hard to tell wether they are getting a distorted signal or not, also not helped by the fact that a sub is normally playing with about 10% distortion all the time.

How could I tell if I was running a clipped/distorted singal though? The speakers sounded great and I didnt hear and distortion in them.. I already have the speaker out for warranty but I shipped it out well over a month now and they dont even know when JL is gonna send it back to them.. I'm just afraid it may blow again then they wont warranty it again, and if they do then im gonna have to wait yet another 2 months or however much longer its going to take before I can have my system working again..

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1991 Camaro Z28
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CURRENT MODS:
350 TPI, Automatic, Edelbrock Headers, Edelbrock Runners, Edelbrock Intake, Flowmaster Exhaust, MSD 8.5mm wires, Autolite Double Platinum Plugs, MSD Cap/Rotar, Random Technology high flow cat, Hypertech Power Chip (160 Deg Thermo), K&N Filterchargers
STEREO MODS:
Pioneer DEH-P6000, 2 JL Audio 12W3 subwoofers in custom hatch enclosure,
Rockford BD1000.1 Amp, Infinity Kappa 4x6" plates & 6x9's
WEBMASTER: www.thirdgenfbodies.com