JL 3w3-12 experiences?

[jakmagic]

Looking at buying JL 3w3-12 2 ohm and pairing it with either JL 500 or 600 watt mono. Was looking at some nice 5 channel 100x4 + 500x1 but was looking for any suggestions. Read a lot of good reviews on that sub and it is closest to what I am looking for. Just haven't decided on the amp or amps yet.

[Aj11]

i use to love my w3s...then i heard good subs...use to love my jl 500/1 then i bought a good amp. for the money they cost you can get sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much better! id look into some fi bls, dc level 3s, ct sound stato v2s, crossfire, sq, sundown sa, id even recommended alpine type rs over the w3. sold my w3s after they blew(as always) bought type rs and not only are they way louder but sound better doing it. (same box same amp same car)

and as far as amps go used jl 500/1 go from $200-$300 and for that price you can get some sweet dc 1000w sq 2000w. And new the jl 600/1 go for $600 and for that price you can get some bad azzzzz amps.

in short do some research much better (much better) can be had for cheaper and allot better can be had for the same price!

let me say this before i go. i Just did a install in a firebird. 2 jl 500/1 and 2 w7 10s. my ct 1400 and two type rs slammed all over his. yes his box sucks! And mine Is decent. but his system is still (new) 4x what mine cost and he has a much smaller car. even if he had the best box for the subs still wouldn't happen. both stock alt cars 20amps apart

[ChrispyShimp]

It's the sad truth, I used to think JL was the shit, but it turns out they are just a higher priced player in this car audio retail world. Don't get me wrong, JL makes a good product, they have fairly efficient drivers, especially their W0 series, but they just aren't the top of the market. Their largest amp is the Slash 1200v3, and although it does more than rated power, it's also more than a dollar per watt at 1199$

Take that 1199$ to a DC retailer, and you get a stomping 3,500 watts for 1000$, or for a chunk more, a 5,000 watt RMS monster at 1450$ Also, the flagship W7 is woefully pricey, so if top notch fidelity and brand loyalty are your thing, then yeah, JL is a solid product, but if you want brutal, block shaking, engine bay rattling bass, there's brands out there with your needs in mind, and dollar per dollar JL is not the bang for the buck winner. Sundown is amazing, the SA-12 is 200 bucks, versus the 289$ W3v3 12", and everyone will tel you, the SA-12 will take 1000watts all day vs the W3 500 rms.

As for cheap, powerful amps, I've heard that the Hifonics Brutus Line does well, and the numbers seem legit. 2.4k RMS @ 1 ohm for 289$ (BRX2400.1)

I think Steve has an amp test Tuesday on a Brutus, I'm about to look that up again.

[Joe X]

Looking at buying JL 3w3-12 2 ohm and pairing it with either JL 500 or 600 watt mono. Was looking at some nice 5 channel 100x4 + 500x1 but was looking for any suggestions. Read a lot of good reviews on that sub and it is closest to what I am looking for. Just haven't decided on the amp or amps yet.

Other than the price they are nice, not the right tool for top loudness but good for a nice sounding moderately loud SQ setup if this is not what you want look for other options, go for a standalone 1000W mono amp rather than a multichannel + sub channel amp. Be clear about this any sub performance is highly dependent on the box don't buy prefab boxes, specially ported ones do your own or have someone do a custom box for you.

[Aj11]

I'm sorry but the whole w3 sq is a joke! my type rs sound better then the w3s. the only jl sub i owned that sounded better then my type rs was the w6. but it isn't loud! and the price? wtf? i got it used for $350 and instantly wanted my money back. had it for 2 weeks and sold it for what i bought it for. also had a ten inch w6 i got for partial trade. never hooked it up..wasnt worth my time.

the best part is i sold that w6 and bought a mtx 9500 12 for $275 what a huge difference! a better sub for cheaper...take that all damn day!

[moredbs]

i currently have 2 13w7 because years ago before i joined this forum i thought they were the best out there.dont get me wrong i have a bd2500 on them and they sound ok,but its almost spring time and I'm gonna start my new build with fi or dc. you can't beat the prices and performance you will get from these brands. glad i didn't pay full price for my jl stuff. i think you can buy a 13w7 for about 800 or 900 and you will get a sexy 1,500 rms woofer. dc level 5 18 bought 700 ish extra sexy 3,500 rms driver.fi team 18 4000 rms . don't waste your money like i did.

[Kyblack76]

JL has its place.

I myself, really like some of there amps.

(they arent used in some of the TOP SQ, World beaters for no reason)

But, i can NOT imagine paying a retail/shop price on a pair of jl subs, and nice jl amp.

I didnt pay for all of my subs for probably those in cost.

That said, JL does make a very fine product. Like RF, ... the cost, (actually, for some great reasons, some not so great) is just way to on the high level, when there are "other" players that have a very very fine product also.

(hell, IMHO, DC is way over priced, subs, for sure.... So, you see how that goes?)

[moredbs]

JL has its place.

I myself, really like some of there amps.

(they arent used in some of the TOP SQ, World beaters for no reason)

But, i can NOT imagine paying a retail/shop price on a pair of jl subs, and nice jl amp.

I didnt pay for all of my subs for probably those in cost.

That said, JL does make a very fine product. Like RF, ... the cost, (actually, for some great reasons, some not so great) is just way to on the high level, when there are "other" players that have a very very fine product also.

(hell, IMHO, DC is way over priced, subs, for sure.... So, you see how that goes?)

if i paid full price for my subs it would = 2,400. and i know for a fact following your build ,your sp4s are way more down right nasty! and cost less for 4 15s fuuuu...

[Aj11]

just couldn't imagine spending $1,100 on a 13w7 when i can get a dc level 6 for less. or 3 fi bls for that matter

[jakmagic]

I have been going to different places reading a lot of reviews, (which can be like of misleading if the person doing the review hasn't heard or had other subs to compare to) but I have only seen like 1 out of 25 giving the JL 3w3-12 a below average review. I see about a 60%-40% ratio of people giving a good / bad review on the Type-R's. I believe a lot of the people giving the negative Type R reviews are under powering their Alpine with a lower power amp. Like 500-600 watts or so. I believe those Aplines have a RMS @ around 1000w or so. I try to only read the ones that look like the reviewer is experienced. Most of the reviews I have read have been on Sonic and Crutch. I know the JL's only have an Max RMS around 500w so I figured feeding them 500 - 600w would be perfect. Another reason I am looking at the JL's is the accuracy reviews they have been getting, while still getting pretty loud. Prolly not as loud as a full powered Type-R but having better sound quality?