JL Audio 15W3, 18W3 User Manual

Congratulations on your purchase of a JL Audio subwoofer component. Your JL Audio subwoofer is a

precision loudspeaker which has been engineered to produce the highest quality sub-bass performance in

your vehicle. Authorized JL Audio dealers have extensive technical information for many different

applications of your new speaker. They also have the knowledge, skills and tools to build a high-quality

enclosure that will maximize the performance of your speaker. We highly recommend that you have

your enclosure built by an authorized JL Audio dealer.

Inside you will find specifications and two recommended enclosures for your speaker; one is a sealed

enclosure, the other is a ported design. Both types of enclosures will give you excellent sound quality and

low-frequency extension. The sealed enclosure is a better choice if space is extremely tight, but the ported

enclosure will produce 3dB more output at the same power if you have the extra space to work with.

If you decide to build one of these enclosures yourself, you must have the construction of the box

inspected and approved by your authorized JL Audio dealer in order for the 1 year limited warranty to

be valid. Please read the warranty information carefully.

15W3 18W3

Subwoofers

owner’s manual

AMPLIFIER

W3 VOICE COILS IN SERIES: W3 VOICE COILS IN PARALLEL:

W3-D4: 8.0Ω W3-D2: 4.0Ω

W3-D4: 4.0Ω W3-D2: 2.0Ω

W3-D4: 2.7Ω W3-D2: 1.3Ω

W3-D4: 2.0Ω W3-D2: 1.0Ω

W3-D4: 1.0Ω W3-D2: 0.5Ω

W3-D4: 0.7Ω W3-D2: 0.3Ω

2 JL AUDIO 15W3/18W3

SUBWOOFER: 15W3-D2 15W3-D4 18W3-D2 18W3-D4

Free Air Resonance (Fs): 21.3 Hz 21.8 Hz 19.0 Hz 19.7 Hz

Electrical “Q” (Qes): 0.4559 0.4302 0.4079 0.456

Mechanical “Q” (Qms): 8.854 8.854 8.7578 8.0183

Total Speaker “Q” (Qts): 0.434 0.41 0.39 0.432

Equiv. Compliance (Vas): 8.42 ft

8.42 ft

13.339 ft

238.5 litres 238.5 litres 377.1 litres 377.1 litres

One-way, Linear Excursion: 0.675 in 0.675 in 0.500 in 0.500 in

(Xmax)* 17.1 mm 17.1 mm 12.7 mm 12.7 mm

Efficiency (1W/1m)**: 88.8 dB 89.4 dB 89.8 dB 89.8 dB

Effective Piston Area (Sd): 127.5 in

127.5 in

186.1 in

0.0823 m

0.12009 m

DC Resistance (Re)***: 3.34Ω 6.66Ω 3.36Ω 6.54Ω

Nominal Impedance: Dual 2Ω Dual 4Ω Dual 2Ω Dual 4Ω

Power Handling (continuous): 400W 400W 500W 500W

Mounting Depth: 8.125 in 8.125 in 9.0625 in 9.0625 in

206 mm 206 mm 230 mm 230 mm

Mounting Hole Diameter: 13.875 in 13.875 in 16.5 in 16.5 in

352 mm 352 mm 419 mm 419 mm

Driver Displacement: 0.140 ft

0.140 ft

0.20 ft

3.9 litres 3.9 litres 5.6 litres 5.6 litres

*Xmax specifications are derived via one-way voice coil overhang method with no correction factors applied. **Efficiency (1W/1m) is not

an accurate indicator of a subwoofer’s output capability and should not be used as a comparison to other subwoofers to determine which one is “louder”. ***Re (DC resistance) is measured with the voice coils in series, for parallel-wired specification divide Re by 4. All other specifications remain the same.

SUBWOOFER SPECIFICATIONS

WIRING OPTIONS

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