do you think that 1 12" JL W6v2 would be better than my 2 12" Alpine Type-E subs that are now about 1.5 yrs old?

(I have an Alpine amp that gives 300x1@2ohm)

 

You will lose a lot of SPL going from two subs to one, esp. since it is a W6. I would consider a W3, that amp isn't really enough to push a W6. Hell it's barely enough to push a W3. I have the same amp on a W3, trust me. Sometimes I wish I had two subs, or a 500x1 amp. But only sometimes.

 

why do you want new subs? change?

 

If you are working with 300w then you could get 2 of Elemental Designs' new 12s for a really good price and that would work out

 

thats what im doing. but with 150 going to each he might want the 10's.... or 1 15".

 

2 subs have more SPL than 1 sub? Even if it's still about 600 watts but just divided into 2 subs?

 

surface area...

 

The W6v2 is an awesome sub IMO. As is the W3 so im not going to make further comments on the sub(s)

As far as the power goes, IF that sub is going into a sealed box then its probably not going to enough power, ill agree on that. Its still going to get the sub moving to make for a very nice SQ setup. If however the sub is going into a ported box, thats more then enough power to get that thing loud.

Its all in the install

 

thanks for the opinions. i'll probably just keep the alpines

 

Yup, otherwise there would be no advantage to going with more than one sub.

You must double the power to increase a sub's output by 3 db (or something like that, I forget exactly). So if you halve the power to one sub you only decrease it's output by 3 db. So for example say one sub at 300 rms puts out 90 db. So now put two subs on the same amp. At 150 rms one sub puts out 87 db, but then you are doing 2 subs at 87 db so combined it is louder than the original 90 db (I don't know exactly how they add up).

I know the math isn't right but you get the idea: switching from two subs to one will lose some SPL. That's why the big systems have like 4+ subs instead of just one with a ton of power. Or another example would be concerts. They have like 30 sets of speakers so they can power them with less power and get greater output.

Maybe someone can chime in with the correct math.

 

The math is correct.
Every time you 2x the power, your gain about 3db. Every time your SPL is increased by 6db, its basically 2x as loud. You'd have to increase the power 4x to get it 2x as loud. Thats why I say power is overrated, its all about the install.

 

That makes sense. Thanks for the explanation.