Car Sub Brands - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Artsemis · 06-27-2006, 05:17 PM

I had a 12" JL sub (250W) with a 200W "Menace" amp. The system was actually great, sounded very good.

However, recently my sub started to tear around the lining, destroying the preassure I assume as well as creating a "flapping" sound. But I've had that sub for 7 or 8 years now, so I got tons of good use from it.

Now, I'm looking to get a replacement sub. I still have my box for a single 12" (grey fuzzy-like lining) so I'd like to go with another 12". However, I always see cheap speakers by companies like Hollywood and such that are like 1000W or something. From what I've heard, the quality on such speakers are very sub-par. Is this true? If so, how do you tell how loud or how good the quality is?

I was always under the impression that watts was just the 'loudness' being the power but I dont think this can be completely true.

Thanks!

Artsemis · 06-29-2006, 03:43 PM

Well since it's been a couple days and nobody knows, I'll just go with JL. Does anyone have a good website to order speakers from?

skinnymofo · 06-30-2006, 10:01 AM

watts is the amount of power the sub can take before blowing
if you have a 200watt sub and a 500 watt amp you need to turn down the amp or you will blow your sub
the nicer the speaker usually the more "tight" sounding the bass is, less boomyness. if you want another JL id look into the W7 if you have a few extra bucks to spend. but youd also need a larger amp for it.
just go to a car toys and have one of the sales men show you all the subs they have and you can decide which you like best.
Alpine are a good brand for the money conservative

3Z3VH · 06-30-2006, 05:57 PM

If you had a speaker box for the JL that was tuned for that speaker, you will have to make sure that the 'throw' of your new speaker is the same as the old one, or the box will no longer sound quite as good.

Brand doesn't matter so much as quality. I have seen brands that one model of speaker can be phenomenal, and another model can be crap. Best you can do is go out and listen to a bunch of them, and listen for what sounds the best, taking into account the throw distance of the speaker if you had a tuned box.

Another thing to look for is the material of the cone and the surround. A paper cone will give you a much more natural sound, but will be VERY hard to find nowadays, and if you tend to play your stereo so the entire town can hear it, you will blow a paper cone much easier. The next best thing is a Kevlar cone, which offers a nice tight sound, and resists being blown a lot better than paper. The lower end of the scale is your typical plastic cone.

Then you get to the surround. The surround should be a nice soft rubber when you touch it. If it feels too plastic, it will not give a very natural tone, and will make the bass sound a lot rougher. The surround should also be fairly hefty. If the surround is small, as in there is not much material between the cone and the metal cage, it will be MUCH easier to blow the speaker, and it will not push nearly as much air. A nice beefy surround is ideal.

The rest is all in the magnet, and the coil, which you will really only see if you listen to the speaker. Unless you are going for super high-end hand-wound coils, just looking at them will not tell you much, other than the fact that a larger magnet will tend to be much better than a smaller one.

DEI37 · 07-01-2006, 06:11 AM

JL Audio makes a good sub. I like Infinity stuff, so I would probably spring for an Infinity Perfect. Wattage doesn't mean much, as you'll never see the amp's max output anyways, if the system is set up properly. You'll blow speakers faster with not enough power than with too much.

06-27-2006, 05:17 PM	#1 (permalink)
Artsemis Insane Location: West Virginia	Car Sub Brands I had a 12" JL sub (250W) with a 200W "Menace" amp. The system was actually great, sounded very good. However, recently my sub started to tear around the lining, destroying the preassure I assume as well as creating a "flapping" sound. But I've had that sub for 7 or 8 years now, so I got tons of good use from it. Now, I'm looking to get a replacement sub. I still have my box for a single 12" (grey fuzzy-like lining) so I'd like to go with another 12". However, I always see cheap speakers by companies like Hollywood and such that are like 1000W or something. From what I've heard, the quality on such speakers are very sub-par. Is this true? If so, how do you tell how loud or how good the quality is? I was always under the impression that watts was just the 'loudness' being the power but I dont think this can be completely true. Thanks! __________________ - Artsemis ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There are two keys to being the best: 1.) Never tell everything you know

06-29-2006, 03:43 PM	#2 (permalink)
Artsemis Insane Location: West Virginia	Well since it's been a couple days and nobody knows, I'll just go with JL. Does anyone have a good website to order speakers from? __________________ - Artsemis ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There are two keys to being the best: 1.) Never tell everything you know

07-01-2006, 06:11 AM	#5 (permalink)
DEI37 Go faster! Location: Wisconsin	JL Audio makes a good sub. I like Infinity stuff, so I would probably spring for an Infinity Perfect. Wattage doesn't mean much, as you'll never see the amp's max output anyways, if the system is set up properly. You'll blow speakers faster with not enough power than with too much. __________________ Generally speaking, if you were to get what you really deserve, you might be unpleasantly surprised.

06-30-2006, 10:01 AM	#3 (permalink)
skinnymofo Addict ed to smack Location: Seattle	watts is the amount of power the sub can take before blowing if you have a 200watt sub and a 500 watt amp you need to turn down the amp or you will blow your sub the nicer the speaker usually the more "tight" sounding the bass is, less boomyness. if you want another JL id look into the W7 if you have a few extra bucks to spend. but youd also need a larger amp for it. just go to a car toys and have one of the sales men show you all the subs they have and you can decide which you like best. Alpine are a good brand for the money conservative

06-30-2006, 05:57 PM	#4 (permalink)
3Z3VH Tilted	If you had a speaker box for the JL that was tuned for that speaker, you will have to make sure that the 'throw' of your new speaker is the same as the old one, or the box will no longer sound quite as good. Brand doesn't matter so much as quality. I have seen brands that one model of speaker can be phenomenal, and another model can be crap. Best you can do is go out and listen to a bunch of them, and listen for what sounds the best, taking into account the throw distance of the speaker if you had a tuned box. Another thing to look for is the material of the cone and the surround. A paper cone will give you a much more natural sound, but will be VERY hard to find nowadays, and if you tend to play your stereo so the entire town can hear it, you will blow a paper cone much easier. The next best thing is a Kevlar cone, which offers a nice tight sound, and resists being blown a lot better than paper. The lower end of the scale is your typical plastic cone. Then you get to the surround. The surround should be a nice soft rubber when you touch it. If it feels too plastic, it will not give a very natural tone, and will make the bass sound a lot rougher. The surround should also be fairly hefty. If the surround is small, as in there is not much material between the cone and the metal cage, it will be MUCH easier to blow the speaker, and it will not push nearly as much air. A nice beefy surround is ideal. The rest is all in the magnet, and the coil, which you will really only see if you listen to the speaker. Unless you are going for super high-end hand-wound coils, just looking at them will not tell you much, other than the fact that a larger magnet will tend to be much better than a smaller one.