# JL AUDIO 8W6



## divvide (Apr 4, 2009)

I can get a very good buy of (3 subs, dual6ohm) 8W6's for $240. I thought i would come and ask you guys how they stack up to today's subwoofer standards. They are the First generation subwoofers JL had made. Worth it?? I want to power them with a Memphis ST500D amplifier. Would this be a good SQ setup? Or should i go with a class A/B amplifier?


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Go for it!


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## buddhaV6 (Jun 14, 2009)

had two of these subs. they sounded tight and clean. great for an SQ setup. and i only had them hooked up to an alpine mrp-m350 so thats like 200W each. maybe not even. sounded awesome anyway


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## jimmys91 (Nov 28, 2009)

Back when they first came out i had 3 of them powered by a Adcom amp, no one belived they were 8's. They sounded so good, so low, and so loud in my CRX


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## Catman (Mar 18, 2008)

I hated the 8W6's I had ...they were in a Stealthbox for a Miata. I know there are a lot of JL fanbois on here ...but IMO JL is not a SQ sub. They are pretty good for SPL. JL makes a quality product ...just not a SQ product. I replaced the 8W6's with ID8s ...the IDs played lower and were a MUCH more musical sub than the JLs.

>^..^<


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## divvide (Apr 4, 2009)

what size enclosure's were you guys running? I have a very small car and i would love to experiment with other 8's, but time and money is a big issue. I plan to run a sealed enclosure.


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## TREETOP (Feb 11, 2009)

Be careful with the early W6s, make sure the surrounds haven't rotted. They were great subs but most of the ones I've seen recently have deteriorated surrounds.


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## schmiddr2 (Aug 10, 2009)

TREETOP said:


> Be careful with the early W6s, make sure the surrounds haven't rotted. They were great subs but most of the ones I've seen recently have deteriorated surrounds.


Also, they would get cracks along the outside edge of the foam surround if played hard and just normally over time. I would raise the ante to $300 and get 2 - IDQ12V2 or something else good.


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## jayhawker (Jun 24, 2008)

I had these in a trio and I thought they sounded great. I don't know if I would buy a sub this old.


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## lucas569 (Apr 17, 2007)

Catman said:


> I hated the 8W6's I had ...they were in a Stealthbox for a Miata. I know there are a lot of JL fanbois on here ...but IMO JL is not a SQ sub. They are pretty good for SPL. JL makes a quality product ...just not a SQ product. I replaced the 8W6's with ID8s ...the IDs played lower and were a MUCH more musical sub than the JLs.
> 
> >^..^<


i feel the same, overrated. 

Ive had 3 so far and got rid of them quick (8's,10's and 12's) im a glutton for punishment but i got them cheap, sold em and got back every penny i spent on them.


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## Problemhouston (Apr 2, 2009)

TREETOP said:


> Be careful with the early W6s, make sure the surrounds haven't rotted. They were great subs but most of the ones I've seen recently have deteriorated surrounds.


Yup!!!

Had an old threesome of these in my truck that I took forever building a dang box for only to have the surrounds on two of them crack and pull away from the cone. So much for that, now I have to start all over.

Great sounding sub for it's age but I am pretty sure you could find other/newer subs for around the same pricing and get the same if not better performance for about the same price.


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## divvide (Apr 4, 2009)

Problemhouston said:


> Yup!!!
> Great sounding sub for it's age but I am pretty sure you could find other/newer subs for around the same pricing and get the same if not better performance for about the same price.


so what would you guys recommend?? The guy i was going to buy the subs from had them in a custom enclosure made for a civic. seems like they are in immaculate condition. What else can i get for $250 (3 8's or 2 10's) that will give me sq par to 8W6's


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## peterpanonacid (Jun 28, 2009)

I had 3 in a slot port box tuned to 34.5hz and it was the best sounding 8in sub box ive ever eard still to this day

the 8s in a portedbox just salmed and they sounded like 3 12's amazing bass and sq


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## Ţĥıπģ₣ıѕђ (Dec 10, 2009)

I had one 8w6 in the hatch of a first gen RX7.. It was bliss.


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## WRX/Z28 (Feb 21, 2008)

I used a trio of the original 12w6's when I was more into SQL. Once I realized I didn't need the bass that three made, one was an excellent sound quality sub in the right vented enclosure, or even a proper airspace sealed enclosure.

I agree with everyone that says you should check the surrounds first. 

There are refoam kits out there, but depending on your level of skill, you may not want to attempt this yourself.


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## DS-21 (Apr 16, 2005)

Catman said:


> I hated the 8W6's I had ...they were in a Stealthbox for a Miata.


That's because the Miata Stealthbox puts them in a high-Q alignment. 

The old W6's aren't bad. I wouldn't run them instead of modern 8's (Peerless SLS8, Trio8, etc.) but "back in the day" I was quite happy with the low-Q sealed 15W6 I used at home. Not that I'm going to trade my current Aura or Exodus Maelstrom drivers for one, no way.


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## MACS (Oct 3, 2007)

I still have love for the old w6's. They are damn good subs and tough as nails if you don't over power them. 

I'm holding on to my trio of 15w6 .
Like DS-21, I had one of them on home theater duty for a while and it did a fine job. It has now been moved to my test bench.
My neighbors probably love hearing that thing blasting from the garage. :rockon:


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## pointman (Mar 12, 2011)

bring an old thread back. 

I picked up a few 8w6's for a song. as stated above the surrounds were gone to the point of tearing within a day when i hooked them up.
I finally got around to refoaming one to test the generic surround sizing and as of now i'm am more than pleased with the result. sounds just as i remember from my high school years  

i have 1 in a small .375 sealed cube and it is really nice. when i fix the other 2 i will build a nice ported box and jam to some snoop dogg or dre and reminisce with some old skool quality sound.

May not be the best choice these days but they will be the cheapest route to a nice bottom end and i can feel better for recycling old crap 

5 x 8w6 for $100
5 replacement surrounds $25 + shipping


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## tbomb (Nov 28, 2007)

old post i know but where can I find these kits? I see them for 12w6's but I have 8w3's (original) that I love and bro in law had store and ruined surrounds.


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## bigdwiz (Oct 7, 2010)

tbomb said:


> old post i know but where can I find these kits? I see them for 12w6's but I have 8w3's (original) that I love and bro in law had store and ruined surrounds.


I also picked up a trio of 8w6's recently and the surrounds are torn. Any info on these kits would be appreciated.


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## bigdwiz (Oct 7, 2010)

Maybe some 8" replacements from here?

DIY Speaker Repair Kits, Re-foam, Re-edge, New Foam Surrounds

I'll verify if the 8w6's need the angled or flat surrounds...


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## bigdwiz (Oct 7, 2010)

bigdwiz said:


> Maybe some 8" replacements from here?
> 
> DIY Speaker Repair Kits, Re-foam, Re-edge, New Foam Surrounds
> 
> I'll verify if the 8w6's need the angled or flat surrounds...


They are angle attach, but not sure these will work w/ the 8w6. I'll contact speakerworks and see what they say...

I'll post results incase anyone is looking for an answer in the future and finds this thread via a search (like I did).


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## bigdwiz (Oct 7, 2010)

I contacted Springfield Speaker and they were very prompt in returning my emails. I picked up (3) surrounds for the JL 8W6 and should have them in a few days. I'll post back once I verify they are the correct ones so people searching for this in the future will know...Heck, I may even do a timelapse video of me changing out the surrounds!

Also, I asked about using butyl rubber surrounds instead of foam and it was HIGHLY suggested to use foam as the originals used foam and changing to rubber would have negative effects to the sound of the speakers. Just an FYI...


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## ikoolguy (Oct 23, 2009)

update please!


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## bigdwiz (Oct 7, 2010)

Sorry, I got the surrounds in, but haven't had a chance to get them replaced yet. From what I can tell, they are the correct surrounds. I have the 8w6's and surrounds in a box in my car and will take them to a local speaker repair center today or tomorrow to have them replaced. I was gonna do it myself, but decided to save my first surround replacement for a 12" Rockford Z sub I have and not chance it on the JL's. 

I will update ASAP, as the owner of Springfield Speaker Repair also wants to know if these are the correct surrounds so he can sell them as a kit. I'm 99% sure they are correct, but give me a few days and I'll let you know for sure...


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Subscribed. Just got a hold of a pair that could use new surrounds as well.


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## bigdwiz (Oct 7, 2010)

The surrounds from Springfieldspeakerrepair.com worked great! They look factory to me. Will put them in the optimized box I got w/ the speakers and test them out soon...

I updated my YT channel showing off the subs. 

_Note: the speaker tech (local) who installed the new surrounds was not quite as careful as I would've been (you'll see what I mean when you watch the vid)...but there again, I didn't have to waste 3 hours doing the 3 subs myself!_

OldSchoolStereo Update

(I linked to the part about the JL subs above)


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Cool, I'll have to check it out when I get home tonight.


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## bigdwiz (Oct 7, 2010)

Here are some pics of the new surrounds:


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Do they come with the new cardboard gasket?


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## bigdwiz (Oct 7, 2010)

chithead said:


> Do they come with the new cardboard gasket?


Nope, just the surrounds, glue, brushes and instructions. The repair guy replaced one of the gaskets for me. I'm kind of particular and still not real happy w/ the glue showing on the new surrounds, but maybe I'll get over it once I hear the subs!

BTW, I'm guessing you picked up the pair of 8W6's on feebay? If so, you got a pretty good deal. I got mine locally for $60 for the trio (thank you, CL!)


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Actually a lady I work with said since I was into car audio, I should help her sell some items she got on trade for payment owed to her. She brought me a pair of 8W6's and a Memphis CA300-4 amplifier - I couldn't believe it! I made her an offer for everything... couldn't pass them up!


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## bigdwiz (Oct 7, 2010)

Don't cha just love those deals that fall right in your lap? I traded a kid a dual 10" speaker box (empty) I got for free for a JL Audio 15W3 D4 in a Q-Logic box a couple of months ago. The JL also needed a new surround, I had it repaired and have been testing it for the past few weeks. I think the box is undersized and the 15" is not as controlled as I like, but it sure does shake my little car! Can't wait to see how the trio of 8W6's compares!


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Ooooh... Yes definitely going to be an interesting comparison.


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## bigdwiz (Oct 7, 2010)

Got my trio of 8W6's in the optimized ported box...words can't describe the bliss...neither can pictures, but I'll show them anyway.

The trio is wired in the classic series / parallel config for a final load of 4 ohms

My initial testing has been using an Earthquake PA-2040c and it has been oh so nice


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## ikoolguy (Oct 23, 2009)

hey i'm planning to order from the website you ordered from. how much did 3 repair kit cost you? do i have to call them personally and request for it?


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## bigdwiz (Oct 7, 2010)

I purchased the 3 JL surrounds plus a 12" surround for an old Rockford Z sub for under $40 shipped. Just send them an email and they will give you a price and send a PP invoice if you agree.


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