YELLOW (OPTIMUM):
This zone represents the best balance
between long-term reliability, high
output and low distortion performance.
In this zone, you will be taking full
advantage of the woofer's optimum,
low-distortion performance range
without undue risk of failure.
RED (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 yellow
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.
GREEN (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.
An Introduction
When designing systems with W7AE 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 drastically overdriving (clipping) 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.
RECOMMENDED CONTINUOUS (RMS) POWER RANGE FOR ONE SUBWOOFER DRIVER:
Please consult the input sensitivity setting information on page 14 of this book.
2 5 0 W
5 0 0 W
1 0 0 0 W
2 0 0 0 W
4 0 0 0 W
1 2 5 W
13W7AE
12W7AE
10W7AE
8W7AE
Thank you for purchasing a JL Audio W7AE subwoofer driver. The
W7AE embodies JL Audio’s commitment to pushing the envelope
of speaker technology, with eight patented technologies, a design
patent and a completely unique set of component parts. Each
W7AE model has been meticulously engineered to reproduce
sub-bass with extreme fidelity at any volume level, provided it
is installed and tuned properly. Please review the information in
this document carefully so as to maximize your enjoyment of the
W7AE’s capabilities.
Two enclosure recommendations are listed for each model,
one sealed and one ported. In most cases, the sealed enclosure
design will give you the best overall sound quality and take up the
least space in your vehicle. The ported enclosure design will deliver
additional output over the sealed enclosure (about 3 - 4 dB more)
and will also maintain excellent sound quality, but it will require
significantly more space to install. The recommended ported
enclosure is not designed for peaky “competition SPL” performance,
but rather for music listening. It will be very loud and sound
extremely good when set up properly.
In addition to the enclosure recommendations, we also
provide recommended amplifier settings for JL Audio amplifiers
commonly used with W7AE’s. Some of this information is also
applicable with other brands of amplifiers (like crossover points
and slopes), some is not (like the voltage levels specified for input
sensitivity settings). Please note that W7AE’s rarely require any
equalization to produce smooth frequency response. If you have
an equalizer in your system (or one is included in your head unit
or amplifier), defeat all bands below 125 Hz before dialing in your
new system settings.
For optimum sub-bass performance, the amplifier input
sensitivity must be adjusted to avoid excessive distortion (clipping)
of the amplifier output. Overly high input sensitivity settings
result in no additional clean output but will result in poor sound
quality and reduced speaker reliability. With W7AE subwoofers,
a clipped amplifier output may manifest itself audibly as a low-
level “mechanical” sound coming from the speakers. Proper input
sensitivity setting will avoid this problem.
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