# Is Upgrading from JL Audio 13TW5v2 to 12W6v3 Worth It?



## SinisterDodge (Feb 21, 2019)

Like the title says I wasn’t extremely happy with the performance of the 13TW5s they sound awesome but still feel like i could use some more bass! I don’t have room for W7s so I was wondering if the upgrade will be worth it! I will post the statistics below. My thought was that the W6 isn’t a slim line speaker so might perform better? Please correct me if I’m wrong!


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## dgage (Oct 1, 2013)

Check this out as it compares two shallow subs, which I think the 12TW3 is better than the 13TW5. This issue with the TW5 is that it is really shallow and able to fit in a 4” deep enclosure I think. However, to get there JL sacrificed excursion so the sub doesn’t move much air. The 12TW3 gives up some cone area but has more excursion. 

https://www.diymobileaudio.com/foru...ow-sub-comparison-jl-12tw3-vs-si-bm-mk-v.html

But if you can go fit a normal depth sub such as the W6, AF GB12, or SI RM12 then you’ll get much more bass. The SI RM12 has 30mm of excursion (XMAX) compared to 19mm for the AF GB12 and JL 12W6 but is a deeper sub. Any of these subs should have more output capability as the have the same surface area, can move a little more, and can handle more power than the shallow subs.


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## SinisterDodge (Feb 21, 2019)

dgage said:


> Check this out as it compares two shallow subs, which I think the 12TW3 is better than the 13TW5. This issue with the TW5 is that it is really shallow and able to fit in a 4” deep enclosure I think. However, to get there JL sacrificed excursion so the sub doesn’t move much air. The 12TW3 gives up some cone area but has more excursion.
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Thank you for the information brotha! That’s kind of what I was thinking.. probably going to pick up the W6s tomorrow!


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## gijoe (Mar 25, 2008)

Unless you add more power, there won't be a big difference. The W6 is technically slightly less sensitive, so it will take more power to get the W6 to the same SPL as the TW5. The difference is negligable, but given the same amount of power it won't be an increase in SPL. 

What dgage said is partially true, the W6 certainly has the potential to get louder, but watt for watt it won't be. You need more power. What is your plan for the enclosure? The box can make a pretty significant difference.


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## SinisterDodge (Feb 21, 2019)

gijoe said:


> Unless you add more power, there won't be a big difference. The W6 is technically slightly less sensitive, so it will take more power to get the W6 to the same SPL as the TW5. The difference is negligable, but given the same amount of power it won't be an increase in SPL.
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> What dgage said is partially true, the W6 certainly has the potential to get louder, but watt for watt it won't be. You need more power. What is your plan for the enclosure? The box can make a pretty significant difference.




I have the two TW5s hooked up to a 1500 watt JL Audio RD amplifier. I was planning on running the same amp I think they both call for 600 watts each. Would I still need a bigger amp? I plan on making a bigger box for the W6s! Also I want to look into some solid bracing


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## rob3980 (Jun 11, 2010)

I and a tw5 in a stealth box in my 15 f150 and absolutely hated it....... until it got tuned properly. After that the tw5 is one of my favorite subs. I have 2 that I’ll be running very soon in my 19 Ram. I have 800rms to give to each. 

I also had these tw5s in my 15 Escalade esv which is a huge vehicle and they pounded. I would just stick with them if you have them.


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## JMikeK (Jan 2, 2019)

Very curious about this. The 13tw5 has 100 sq in of piston vs only 75 for the 12w6. That's a big difference, however the 12w6 has almost double the xmax. So I guess the 12w6 can displace 56 cubic inches vs 40 cubic inches for the 13tw5.

I dunno ... I guess displacement is king if you want more output, but this seems like a lot of work and $$$ for not a ton of a difference (at least on paper). Do you not have the depth for the 13w7 (134 cubic in displacement ea)? I would think if you could deep-port a big W7, you'd get way more output than 2 12w6s and save a little cash.


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## JMikeK (Jan 2, 2019)

rob3980 said:


> I and a tw5 in a stealth box in my 15 f150 and absolutely hated it....... until it got tuned properly. After that the tw5 is one of my favorite subs. I have 2 that I’ll be running very soon in my 19 Ram. I have 800rms to give to each.
> 
> I also had these tw5s in my 15 Escalade esv which is a huge vehicle and they pounded. I would just stick with them if you have them.


Can you be more specific about what was tuned? Are you talking about EQ? Time alignment? Box size? Tuning frequency (if ported)?


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## rob3980 (Jun 11, 2010)

My installer did a tune when he installed it but he’s not my actual tuner. With the original tune he did on my complete system I didn’t like the sub. When my normal tuner retuned the whole system it brought that sub to life. I’m not the tuner so I can’t comment on what all he did.


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## dgage (Oct 1, 2013)

My understanding is that the OP was referring to output capability, not the sound quality since he stated they sound awesome. To me there is a big difference on paper. The 13TW5 has slightly more cone area than the 12W6 but the 12W6 has 19mm of excursion vs 11mm and those are 1-way numbers. So you're looking at 38mm of movement capability vs 22mm. So if you can fit the 12W6, I think it will be a huge OUTPUT difference.


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## SinisterDodge (Feb 21, 2019)

I don’t want to contradict myself I want SPL but NOT at the cost of SQ. SQ is my main goal here I have sound deadened the whole car I don’t know if that has any affect on the bass I’m just a noob but I feel like the bass could be a little bit heavier. I’ve already spent quite a bit of money on the system I just want to be 100% happy with it! Now another thing I don’t think I have mentioned is that it is not tuned yet I’m waiting for a new tweeter to be replaced due to a faulty capacitor before I tune. How much of a difference will that make on the subwoofer levels? Currently running a Digital signal out of my AMP Pro to my VXi 800/8 and using the pre outs to go to my RD 1500.


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## veleno (Sep 16, 2006)

Let me know if you want to sell the tw5, I'm in the market for one.


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## ackmandan (Aug 2, 2018)

Could multiple shallow mount subs sound just as good if you had space for multiple subs? Just curious


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## dgage (Oct 1, 2013)

ackmandan said:


> Could multiple shallow mount subs sound just as good if you had space for multiple subs? Just curious


Absolutely. The general rule is every time you double driver cone area, you add +3 dB. Every time you double amplifier power you add +3 dB. So if you do both, you add +6 dB. And remember volume is measured on a logarithmic scale so +6 dB is actually quite a large increase.


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## dgage (Oct 1, 2013)

SinisterDodge said:


> I don’t want to contradict myself I want SPL but NOT at the cost of SQ. SQ is my main goal here I have sound deadened the whole car I don’t know if that has any affect on the bass I’m just a noob but I feel like the bass could be a little bit heavier. I’ve already spent quite a bit of money on the system I just want to be 100% happy with it! Now another thing I don’t think I have mentioned is that it is not tuned yet I’m waiting for a new tweeter to be replaced due to a faulty capacitor before I tune. How much of a difference will that make on the subwoofer levels? Currently running a Digital signal out of my AMP Pro to my VXi 800/8 and using the pre outs to go to my RD 1500.


Considering the output difference we’ve already discussed between a normal sub and your shallow TW5, 38mm of excursion vs 22mm, I’m not surprised in the least that you don’t have enough output. I doubt a good tune will give you much additional output but it is possible so with the money involved, I’d recommend giving your tuner a chance but my guess is he won’t be able to miraculously wring more output from your system.

I have seen many people refer to the W6 as JL’s best sounding sub so I don’t think you will trade any sound quality. And you might even get better sound quality since you’ll have more output and may not need to push your sub system as hard. A speaker or sub that doesn’t have to play as loud will have better sound quality via less distortion.


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