FlyingLow Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 Driving to work this morning my JL 12W3v2 sub quit playing all of a sudden. When I got to work I found that if I push on the face of the sub it will start to play again, but once I let go it quits playing. I hope to God this thing isn't blown for good....I'm not all about paying another 250 for a replacement . What are your thoughts? can it be repaired? Thanks, Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucas569 Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 sounds like the voicecoil is damaged.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingLow Posted June 30, 2006 Author Share Posted June 30, 2006 wonderful, just talked to tech support and they say since it's a discontinued model they cannot do any repairs on it and since it's out of warranty they cannot replace it. That really sucks. Buy a "top of the line" sub and it only lasts a little over 2 years with recommended power and not driving it hard?? I think JL just lost a customer... So now question is....what do I replace it with? My amp will do 300w x 1 @ 2ohms. Need a 12" driver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTsullyman Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 Id look at a 12" Alpine type R dual coil. They are a really strong sub Hits hard and will last forever from all accounts i have heard. I love the one i have in my Camaro. Also check out the Kappa series. 2007 DGM LGT 2003 Suzuki SV650S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 wonderful, just talked to tech support and they say since it's a discontinued model they cannot do any repairs on it and since it's out of warranty they cannot replace it. That really sucks. Buy a "top of the line" sub and it only lasts a little over 2 years with recommended power and not driving it hard?? I think JL just lost a customer... So now question is....what do I replace it with? My amp will do 300w x 1 @ 2ohms. Need a 12" driver. 12W3 is a $200 subwoofer. Hardly top of the line for JL, though the quality is top notch at all levels for them. Crap happens. Most shops offer extended warranties to supplement the factory warranty for this eventuality. Pull the driver out and inspect the leads to the cone/VC. Perhaps one has frayed and can be repaired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highlander Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 Like Dan said, It's either the voice coil leads or the coil itself. Also you have to consider a lot of other potential causes (e.g. clipping despite power rating, Voltage issues, VC cooling issues) Good luck. Vir Est Fatum Ut Perficio Concepta Suus Progenies. - Man is destined to fulfill the capacity of his lineage (i.e. Darwinism) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingLow Posted June 30, 2006 Author Share Posted June 30, 2006 Thanks for the comments guys....and sorry about the rant before haha....JL Audio is quality equip, I was just ripped that my sub isn't working. I called my local dealer and they are going to work out a trade/deal with me so I'm happy again now. JL just came out with a new line: W3v3?? He says it's good stuff...might just go ahead and upgrade to that. Anyone have any experience with this new model? In the mean time I have some crap subs at home that will suffice for the time being... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmith Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 Sorry about that, Flyinglow... It could be a lead wire issue (the silver wires that go from the terminals to the voice coil). A little bit of solder might fix that. The v3's are a significant upgrade over the v2's if you need to replace them. Better in every way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlrtime Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 The lead wire (Spider wire?) on my old cerwin vega 12" lost its solder contact during a road trip. I couldn't imaging going the rest of the way without low frequencies. So I pulled over took out the sub and rigged the coil back together with some other wire. Worked fine until I got back and was able to repair it professionally. It would take a lot to kill the sub if your amp is running properly, if it is a wire you can get it fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbanks21 Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 The V3's are WAY better than the V2's. Just make sure you get the 2Ohm if youre only running one sub Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seth1784 Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 personally id recommend an Image Dynamics sub.. i have their IDMAX and the thing kicks ass on everything i have heard and owned. sorry about your sub too... used to sell JL way back in the day (about two years) not a bad product at all... just seemed not to last terribly long for some reason. something you do need to take into STRONG consideration when shopping for a new sub if your sticking it in the same enclosure that you need to get a sub that has the same recomendations as far as box space. if its sealed its not as important but it still is. for instance my old Infinity green Kappa's loved 1.1 cubic foot while my Image Dynamics loves 1.3. so id look up how much space you have as well. personally i wouldnt recommend the Alpine Type-R subs... never cared a whole lot for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingLow Posted July 6, 2006 Author Share Posted July 6, 2006 Well, I had a set of 12" Type-R subs before and found that they were just power hungry. They used way more power than the JL's did and didn't come close to sound quality. I'd honestly rate them on par with the Comp VR's that I traded up for. For now I'm just running an old pos sub for filler because I just spent the money on a new set of Dunlops for the Ninja . So maybe in a few weeks I'll upgrade the sub. I'll do some research on the Image Dynamics. A friend of mine owns a car/home audio shop and specializes in Rockford Fosgate and I could get a good deal on a Rockford sub but I haven't really heard much about them. Anyone have any experience or recommendations that drives around 300W in a Rockford? I have both a sealed (~1.1ish ft^3) and ported (~pretty big, not sure of volume) enclosure ready for one round 12" sub so volume shouldn't really be a concern. Thanks a lot everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seth1784 Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 dont buy a Fosgate... thats about the worst line ever made. sold those too (i sold... JL, Focal, Fosgate, Alpine, Kenwood, Clarion) anyways... Fosgate is pretty much a big ass name brand a lot of people that dont know much on audio knows the name so they thing it will be a good product... well thats not exactally true. there are lots of names that few people know of that just totally kick ass. JL has always been a good product for the fact they stand behind everything they make and they have good service (from when i worked with them) rarely had things fail out of the box only had one return to just exchange, Fosgate was a totally different story... when i was selling them they released the crappiest amp i have seen from them. i think it was the VF series or something of that nature... had a silver body with color caps you were able to change out. we had two on the demo board one caught fire on the bored and we had numerous returns about them either frying or just flat out dying... it was a horrible product. 90% of the Fosgate stuff will not do what its rated to do... so honestly DO NOT go there lol. they sound like crap anyways... you would like your old JL a ton better as far as sound quality. the old old old Fosgate stuff was good from back in the 90s and what not... but nothing now is good. Image Dynamics is built for sound quality goodness, i have had great luck with mine so far. totally took me by surprise, i went off of what i had read about it and what not... and never had heard it when i purchased it. got it and it was a 32lb beast of a sub, put my old Infinity's to shame lol (which were 11lbs a pop). the lower end ID from what i read is out standing in tests, and hell its cheap as hell too... soo you cant really loose on it. (attached below is the review on it i read) another option i have had good luck with is Elemental Designs, they are a fairly new company that sells direct from the manufaturer sooooo you get a really good price. they have a WONDERFUL service department and if i recall correctly a 3 year warranty. a friend was searching for a sub kinda like what you need he went with one of theirs and loves it to death, it sounded very nice as well. (linked below too) Image Dynamics sub i'd recommend's site page: (their recommended power is the same as RMS fyi) Image Dynamics Image Dynamics sub review: (in a 10" version) Road Gear - Economy Class Act Elemental Designs sub page: (has a testemonials tab to get reviews) Elemental Designs - Product Info hope this helps... just what i would go to for subs anymore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnAWD Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 Bummer, man. I've got a jl 10w3 dvx which has been eating arond 600 watts for 5+ years. Awesome driver! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jigelow Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Sorry about that, Flyinglow... It could be a lead wire issue (the silver wires that go from the terminals to the voice coil). A little bit of solder might fix that. The v3's are a significant upgrade over the v2's if you need to replace them. Better in every way. Bingo. I'd say 2 to 1 that's what the problem is. I owned a lot of JLs and the wire lead from the terminal to the VC would burn, literally burn, after about five months. Not as bad as a VC, but definately a pain in the ass. JLs handle a lot of power, but at least back when I used them, and from when this model would be, that was their main weak point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aczwild Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Been rocking my 10" Eclipse Aluminum DVC for 5 years now and the baby can still kick some major ass JDM'd All to hell Thanks Jimmy @ Hkc-Speed.com! RIP Coxx & Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheatleya Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 Back in the day that eclipse was kick ass, well I guess it still is. Type R's are really power hungry, and I would also suggest Image Dynamics. Going with another JL would also be a good choice. Just make sure that what sub you buy fits your box, or it will never sound right. I personally think Type R's sound best in a barely smaller box than what they recomend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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