JL Audio subs

[Pribilof]

I have never used JL Audio subs before. They seem to have a pretty good reputation. I was thinking of 2x 12w6v2 subs powered by an Alpine MRV-1507 amp. Will I be underpowering these subs?

[JL Tech]

There is no such thing as "under powering" speakers. If this was a problem we would blow woofers everytime we turn the volume down....and that doesn't happen. PM me with any questions you may have about JL Audio products.

[Automaton]

Yes there is such thing as underpowering. Why would you say that? Underpowering is when someone with power hungry subs tries to crank the volume up too high with an amp that can't provide enough power. The result is a clipped signal that can damage the speakers.

[SQ GT-S]

Originally posted by Automaton
Yes there is such thing as underpowering. Why would you say that?

Yeah, I agree that you can underpower speakers and damage them.

JLTech, the way you state it makes it sound like I could run 50-watts to a 13W7 and not damage the speaker. Umm?? :confused: Am I missing something here?

Curt

[JL Tech]

Originally posted by Automaton
Yes there is such thing as underpowering. Why would you say that? Underpowering is when someone with power hungry subs tries to crank the volume up too high with an amp that can't provide enough power. The result is a clipped signal that can damage the speakers.
I guess you are one of those people who blow speakers when the volume is down...too little power.
What makes a woofer "power hungry"?
How can you possibly over power a woofer with an amp that doesn't have enough power?
A clipped amplifier produces very little DC current (not enough to worry about) and distortion. Harmonic distortion shows up as high frequency noise. A woofer has a voice coil that is comprised of a lot of wire windings. Where else do you find a bunch or wire windings? In x-overs perhaps? What does the inductor do in the x-over? Filter high frequency perhaps? There is enough inductance in a woofer's voice coil to destroy any high frequency noise. So clipping does not destroy woofers, excessive power over time does.
If someone is clipping the hell out of a small amp, they are not going to stop simply because they are given more power. You just increase the amount of damage an abusive person can cause.
This is among the top ten "Myths of Car Audio". I just did a training at MERA KnowledgeFest and this was one of the topics.

[JL Tech]

Originally posted by SQ GT-S
Yeah, I agree that you can underpower speakers and damage them.

JLTech, the way you state it makes it sound like I could run 50-watts to a 13W7 and not damage the speaker. Umm?? :confused: Am I missing something here?

Curt
How can something rated for 50 Watts hurt something that is rated for 1000 Watts? Keeping in mind that that power spec is based upon thermal power handling.
An amplifier that is severely clipped will double it's output. Your example would have a hammer head driving around with 100 Watts going to his 13W7 (rated for 1000 Watts). He can beat the hell out of that woofer all he wants and never blow it.
When I was a kid, we never blew woofers because we tried to get output from displacement not power. My first subwoofer system was two 12" woofers with a Sound Stream D60. No one had a 1000 Watt amp and when they did arrive, no one could possibly afford it.
You were king of the block back in 1993 with three 12W6's and an A600 (600 Watts to a 900 Watt rated sytem) and no one ever roasted a woofer and it was crazy loud.
As I have stated, under-powering is not a problem. Elements of "School of Sound" can be found in the tutorials section of our site soon.

[ARSJD]

Actually the only type speaker I know of that you can damage from underpowering are servo driven speakers . But you will not find these in the auto market but rarely. However , the speakers will not have the get up and go you want with too little power . Keep in mind, most decent discrete drivers are inefficient for the most part and need more power to get to operating levels you would like.

[JL Tech]

Originally posted by ARSJD
Actually the only type speaker I know of that you can damage from underpowering are servo driven speakers . But you will not find these in the auto market but rarely. However , the speakers will not have the get up and go you want with too little power . Keep in mind, most decent discrete drivers are inefficient for the most part and need more power to get to operating levels you would like.
This is very true, adding more power will increase output. The greater the amount of power the hotter the voice coil will get faster. As a power device, the best speakers out there are about 10% efficient. This means when I put 1000 Watts to a woofer, 100 Watts makes sound and the rest is heat (900 Watts). Think about that the next time you feel how hot a 100 Watt bulb gets!
http://www.jlaudio.com/subwoofers/images/RP_Chart.jpg

Green (MINIMUM):
From a reliability standpoint, this zone represents a very comfortable operating power range for each driver. This level of power will not stress the woofer but will not extract all of its performance potential, either.
Use of less than the minimum power level will not damage the woofer, but may result in unsatisfactory performance.
Yellow (OPTIMUM):
This zone represents the best compromise between long-term reliability, high-output and low-distortion performance and is centered on each woofer's continuous power rating (as published in its specifications). In this zone, you will be taking full advantage of the woofer's optimum, low-distortion performance range without undue risk of failure.
Red (DANGER ZONE):
Low-distortion output and long-term reliability will be compromised (especially by an aggressive user). Slightly more SPL might be gained by pushing the power into this zone, but typically not more than 2 dB, when compared to the yellow zone. The closer you are to the black zone, the higher the likelihood of driver failure. Operate with caution: burnt voice coils are not covered under warranty.
Black (WARRANTY VOID):
We do not recommend operating woofers at this level of power. In this zone, there is a very high probability that the driver will fail due to excessive heat and/or mechanical stress.
Subwoofer drivers operated at these levels of power are NOT covered under warranty.

[Pribilof]

Wow, thanks for the answers. I didn't mean to start a fight here. It looks like I'll be fine with the 1507 amp and these w6v2's

[SQ GT-S]

Originally posted by Pribilof
I didn't mean to start a fight here.

Don't worry, we argue all the time. I'll actually be seeing JLTech at SBN in a week, so if he has any grudges, we can have a fist fight. :gap: :eslap:

Curt

[JL Tech]

Originally posted by Pribilof
Wow, thanks for the answers. I didn't mean to start a fight here. It looks like I'll be fine with the 1507 amp and these w6v2's
There's no fight...Nothin' but love. Yes, you will be fine.

[Sh!nobi]

W7=:bowdown:

[oneflyasianguy]

you should run the RMS wattage of your sub to hear its potential, imo overpriced + overhyped = JL audio, there are beter subs out there for a more reasonable price *cough* IDmax *cough* try sounddomain.com there forum boards are very informative