JL Audio 8W3v2 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.

8W3v2

Subwoofers

owner’s manual

JL AUDIO LIMITED WARRANTY (USA)

Automotive Subwoofer Components

JL AUDIO warrants this speaker to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one (1) year from the original date of purchase, contingent

upon installation being performed or approved by an authorized JL AUDIO dealer,in writing, on the original sales receipt. If the preceding condition is not met,

the warranty term is limited to ninety (90) days from the original purchase date.

This warranty is not transferrable and applies only to the original purchaser of the product from an authorized JL AUDIO dealer. Should service be necessar y under this warranty for any reason due to manufacturing defect or malfunction, JL AUDIO will, at its discretion, repair or replace the defective product with new or remanufactured product at no charge.

Damage caused by the following is not covered under warranty: accident, misuse, abuse, product modification or neglect, failure to follow installation instructions, unauthorized repair attempts, misrepresentations by the seller. This warranty does not cover incidental or consequential damages and does not cover the cost of removing or reinstalling the unit(s). Cosmetic damage due to accident or normal wear and tear is not covered under warranty.

Any applicable implied warranties are limited in duration to the period of the express warranty as provided herein beginning with the date of the original purchase at retail, and no warranties, whether express or implied,shall apply to this product thereafter. Some states do not allow limitations on implied warranties, therefore these exclusions may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state .

If you need service on your JL AUDIO product:

All warranty returns should be sent to JL AUDIO freight prepaid through an authorized JL AUDIO dealer and must be accompanied by proof of purchase (a copy of the original sales receipt.) Direct returns from consumers or non-authorized dealers will be refused unless specifically authorized by JL AUDIO with a valid return authorization number. Warranty expiration on products returned without proof of purchase will be determined from the manufacturing date code. Coverage may be invalidated as this date is previous to purchase date. Return only defective components. Non-defective items received will be returned freightcollect. Customer is responsible for shipping charges and insurance in sending the product to JL AUDIO. Freight damage on returns is not covered under warranty. Always include proof of purchase (sales receipt).

For Service Information in the U.S.A. please call:

JL Audio customer service: (954) 443-1100 during normal business hours (Eastern Time)

JL Audio, Inc

10369 North Commerce Parkway, Miramar, FL 33025

International Warranties:

Products purchased outside the United States of America are covered only by that country’s distributor and not by JL Audio, Inc.

Printed in USA JL8W3v2-02-2003

MEDIUM GRAY (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.

LIGHT GRAY (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.

DARK GRAY (MAXIMUM):

In this zone, low-distortion output and long-term reliability will be compromised (especially by an aggressive user). Slightly more SPL will be gained by pushing the power into this zone, but typically not more than 2dB, compared to the light gray zone. The closer you are to the black zone, the higher the likelihood of driver failure. Operate with caution.

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.

JL Audio offers an extensive line of high-performance subwoofer drivers to fit a wide variety of enclosure and power applications. When designing systems with our drivers, it is very important to achieve a good power match between the subwoofer amplifier and the subwoofer driver's capabilities. The power levels listed in the above chart represent continuous (RMS) amplifier power per woofer and assume that the user will regularly make full use of that power without dr

astically

overdriving the amplifier(s). Make sure you factor system impedance and the total number of subwoofers into your calculations. Adhering to these power

recommendations will result in systems that are both reliable and enjoyable.

MINIMUM

OPTIMUM MAXIMUM

LEGEND:

WARRANTY VOID

30W 60W 125W 250W 500W 1000W

8W3v2

RECOMMENDED CONTINUOUS (RMS) POWER RANGE FOR ONE SUBWOOFER DRIVER:

• The enclosure recommendations listed above

are external dimensions which assume the use of 3/4" (19mm) thick material. If you are using

5/8" (16mm) thick material, subtract 1/4" (6.5mm) from each dimension. Do not use any material with a thickness of less than 5/8" (16mm) as this may compromise the rigidity of

the enclosure.

• All enclosure volumes listed above are net internal volumes! Driver displacement, por t

displacement and brace displacement must be added to obtain the final gross internal volume. All enclosure dimensions above have already taken this into acount.

• When using multiple subwoofers in a common enclosure you will need to recalculate the enclosure and port dimensions. For assistance please contact your authorized JL Audio dealer or JL Audio Technical Support at 954-443-1100.

• We recommend the use of this speaker in a

bi-amplified system using high-quality satellite speakers and a high-quality amplifier. We do not recommend the use of this subwoofer with a passive crossover (coil), as this type of device will adversely affect performance.

• All specifications are subject to change without notice.

WIRING OPTIONS

RECOMMENDED ENCLOSURES

2 JL AUDIO 8W3v2 JL AUDIO 8W3v2 3

SUBWOOFER: 8W3v2-D2 8W3v2-D4 8W3v2-D6

Free Air Resonance (Fs): 33.1 Hz 34.5 Hz 34.0 Hz

Electrical “Q” (Qes): 0.392 0.468 0.465

Mechanical “Q” (Qms): 7.84 7.84 7.84

Total Speaker “Q” (Qts): 0.373 0.441 0.439

Equiv. Compliance (Vas): 0.79 ft

0.79 ft

22.4 litres 22.4 litres 22.4 litres

One-way, Linear Excursion: 0.39 in 0.39 in 0.42 in

(Xmax)* 9.9 mm 9.9 mm 10.7 mm

Efficiency (1W/1m)**: 85.2 dB 85.0 dB 84.8 dB

Effective Piston Area (Sd): 33.2 in

33.2 in

0.0214 m

DC Resistance (Re)***: 3.35Ω 6.70Ω 10.31Ω

Nominal Impedance: Dual 2Ω Dual 4Ω Dual 6Ω

Power Handling (continuous): 125W 125W 125W

Mounting Depth: 4.31 in 4.31 in 4.31 in

109 mm 109 mm 109 mm

Mounting Hole Diameter: 7.0 in 7.0 in 7.0 in

178 mm 178 mm 178 mm

Driver Displacement: 0.035 ft

0.035 ft

0.99 litres 0.99 litres 0.99 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

AMPLIFIER

W3v2 VOICE COILS IN SERIES: W3v2 VOICE COILS IN PARALLEL:

W3v2-D6: 12.0Ω W3v2-D4: 8.0Ω W3v2-D2: 4.0Ω

W3v2-D6: 6.0Ω W3v2-D4: 4.0Ω W3v2-D2: 2.0Ω

W3v2-D6: 4.0Ω W3v2-D4: 2.7Ω W3v2-D2: 1.3Ω

W3v2-D6: 3.0Ω W3v2-D4: 2.0Ω W3v2-D2: 1.0Ω

W3v2-D6: 1.5Ω W3v2-D4: 1.0Ω W3v2-D2: 0.5Ω

W3v2-D6: 1.0Ω W3v2-D4: 0.7Ω W3v2-D2: 0.3Ω

If you would like to put protective grilles on your W3v2, please make sure they allow sufficient clearance for the suspension of the speaker to operate properly (many “universal” grilles do not).

One way to be sure is to use the grille mesh inserts engineered by JL Audio for your woofer. These sturdy steel mesh inser ts mount securely into the rubber gasket of the W3v2 and offer ample clearance for the suspension.

Ask your dealer for details and pricing.

GRILLE RECOMMENDATIONS

SUBWOOFER SEALED ENCLOSURE PORTED ENCLOSURE

Volume External Dimensions Volume External Dimensions Slot Port Int. Dimensions

(net int.) (Width x Height x Depth) (net int.) (Width x Height x Depth) (Slot Width x Slot Height x Slot Length)

0.33 ft

16" x 9" x 7.25" 0.75 ft

23" x 10" x 11.125" 1.125" x 8.5" x 25.75"

8W3v2-D2 9.4 litres 406mm x 229mm x 184mm 21.2 litres 584mm x 254mm x 283mm 29mm x 216mm x 654mm

Fc: 61.0 Hz F3: 63.1 Hz Qtc: 0.69 Recommended Port Tuning: 34.9 Hz

0.375 ft

16" x 9" x 8" 0.75 ft

23" x 10" x 11.125" 1.125" x 8.5" x 24.125"

8W3v2-D4 10.6 litres 406mm x 229mm x 203mm 21.2 litres 584mm x 254mm x 283mm 29mm x 216mm x 613mm

Fc: 60.8 Hz F3: 55.7 Hz Qtc: 0.78 Recommended Port Tuning: 35.9 Hz

0.375 ft

16" x 9" x 8" 0.75 ft

23" x 10" x 11.125" 1.125" x 8.5" x 24.5"

8W3v2-D6 10.6 litres 406mm x 229mm x 203mm 21.2 litres 584mm x 254mm x 283mm 29mm x 216mm x 622mm

Fc: 60.0 Hz F3: 55.3 Hz Qtc: 0.77 Recommended Port Tuning: 35.7 Hz

“EL” (Port Extension Length):

8W3v2-D2: 14.625" (371mm)

8W3v2-D4: 13" (330mm)

8W3v2-D6: 13.375" (339mm)

CAUTION

Prolonged exposure to sound pressure levels in excess of 100dB can cause permanent hearing loss. This high-performance speaker can exceed this level. Please exercise restraint in its operation in order to preserve your ability to enjoy its fidelity.

When installing a subwoofer in your vehicle, it is extremely important to secure the enclosure firmly.We recommend bolting the enclosure through the metal of the floorpan or the frame of the vehicle with large diameter washers for reinforcement. If an enclosure is not firmly attached, it can become a projectile in a collision. This is particular ly important in a hatchback, station wagon, sports utility vehicle, or van.