What wattage amp would I need for a single 12" JL Audio W3 Sub?

Heres the specs on the JL12W3...
http://www.jlaudio.com/subwoofers/12w3.html

Thanks,
-Nick

 

For a single 12...I'd do about 300W. They'll take a crap load more, but 300 is a nice round number. I'm gonna throw a pair of 12W3's in the back of my Max and give them roughly 750W total, which is about 375W a piece. I would suggest that if you are going to give them a lot of power that you go with a sealed box, rather than a ported. If you are gonna give them around 250-300 go for the port. Just a few thought. Anyone else?

 

Since RMS is at 250 watts, I would go no higher, unless I was going to turn down the gain some. I would think that 200 to 225 would be more than enough. My wife has a 10W0 and it's running at 75 watts(it can handle 125 RMS) and it pounds like hell.

 

The specs say it can handle 250 Watts of power, anything under that will be good. I would go for at least 150-175 Watts.

 

The number quoted on the spec sheet is the RMS power, which does not, I repeat, does not mean the peak power. JL subs are designed to take just about as many watts as you want to give them. I have heard stories of guys giving the W6's upwards of 500W a piece. Now, I don't think that makes a whole lot of sense, but that is what they are designed to do. Since the RMS power is 250, that mean they can take 250W everyday, all day, and twice on Sundays. You can go a lot high, or you can go lower. Lower would not be suggested. If you want to give them less power, then step down into the W0's. The power handling on W0's are a bit less, therefore you can buy a smaller amp. Just my 2 biased cents. I love JL subs.

 

My brothers got a JL 15W6 running off of a Rockford Fosgate 100x2 amp...it's one of the older model Fosgates. His sub hits hard and goes deep.....it's blows mine away..and im running 2 12" MTX 8000's w/ the new punch 800a2...his by far kills mine. You made a good choice with the JL 12W3's. Like people have been saying, JL's can handle just about as much as you give them. I'm not sure about how much power, but I'd go with either a Rockford Fosgate amp or I've heard that Kicker amps work well with JL, but you're gonna pay quite a bit for these amps. But with your subs, I'd pay the extra money and get a good amp. Also, go sealed with your box. I think that's what my brother has and it sounds real nice.

 

How about the Kenwood KAC-728S? I think I'm gonna have a single 12" JL W3 with a Kenwood KAC-728S Amp. It runs 100W x 2 or 300W x 1.

What box should I use? Sealed or ported? What's the difference? I don't know that much about this kind of stuff.

Thanks,
-Nick

 

That would be a good setup. Put the sub into a 1.0cu.ft. sealed enclosure.