# W7 in HT setup?



## LiquidClen (Dec 27, 2005)

Anyone ever do this before? What size enclosure did you use? How did you like it? How much power going to it? What did you mate it with?


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## BlueAc (May 19, 2007)

LiquidClen said:


> Anyone ever do this before? What size enclosure did you use? How did you like it? How much power going to it? What did you mate it with?


http://home.jlaudio.com/products_subs_pages.php?page_id=34


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## LiquidClen (Dec 27, 2005)

BlueAc said:


> http://home.jlaudio.com/products_subs_pages.php?page_id=34


While those look pretty awesome, I couldn't afford retail on them


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## BlueAc (May 19, 2007)

Lol... It's JL, few can  

But I posted that b/c they have some of the specs you were inquiring about, who knows better than the maker???


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## LiquidClen (Dec 27, 2005)

BlueAc said:


> Lol... It's JL, few can
> 
> But I posted that b/c they have some of the specs you were inquiring about, who knows better than the maker???


Are those both (essentially) W7's with their own enclosures and amps? The Gotham's amp is 3800W


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## evan (Dec 2, 2006)

The thing about home theater is that you generally don't have all the same size/space constraints that you do in a car, and once you get into the budget that would be required to include a w7 you can easily afford some larger speakers that are better suited to play much lower (below 20Hz).


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## Sex Cells (Jul 21, 2007)

Those drivers are slightly different than their mobile cousins so optimal specs would likely be different.


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## LiquidClen (Dec 27, 2005)

evan said:


> The thing about home theater is that you generally don't have all the same size/space constraints that you do in a car, and once you get into the budget that would be required to include a w7 you can easily afford some larger speakers that are better suited to play much lower (below 20Hz).


But I already have the W7 (technically... waiting for it to get here) And what would be the point of anything below 20hz? For the feeling? It makes sense, just clarifying


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## LiquidClen (Dec 27, 2005)

Sex Cells said:


> Those drivers are slightly different than their mobile cousins so optimal specs would likely be different.


Do you know in what ways?


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## adrianp89 (Oct 14, 2007)

LiquidClen said:


> But I already have the W7 (technically... waiting for it to get here) And what would be the point of anything below 20hz? For the feeling? It makes sense, just clarifying


The very low rumbles in movies, explosions, ect. (correct me if I am wrong)


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## kappa546 (Apr 11, 2005)

for a mobile version w7 i'd do 2-2.5cf sealed.


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## Brian_smith06 (Jan 31, 2008)

from what i understand its just to feel it basically. the sub in our ht supposedly will play down to like 16 hz if not lower not 100% sure but you cant hear that low but you sure can feel it. it actually rattles the house a bit too much imo and i find it annoying i wish that they would do some deadening in the basement or something of the sort. 

but to answer the question im assuming its for the full effect of an explosion which is why you would want it to play so low

correct me if im wrong though im here to learn


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## drake78 (May 27, 2007)

Those JL home subs are insane. I watched a video on manufacturing these subs in the JL plant. The fabrication is very extensive. The high end model use a $200 (one time use) cutter bit alone for each sub enclosure.


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## kappa546 (Apr 11, 2005)

they are VERY good subs. huge attention to detail in enclosure bracing, huge amp and auto eq. however, you can do all that yourself for much less.


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## havok20222 (Sep 5, 2007)

LiquidClen said:


> But I already have the W7 (technically... waiting for it to get here) And what would be the point of anything below 20hz? For the feeling? It makes sense, just clarifying


Clearly someone have never seen Jurassic Park.


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## Amish (Oct 2, 2006)

Most DIY home theater subs will be tuned below 20Hz, and a lot more movies are starting to contain info down there...............and even into the single digits! Automobile cabin geometry provides a ton of gain down low, this helps broaden the frequency response while allowing you to tune higher/use a smaller box. You don't get that in the house, therefore you need to tune lower/build bigger to get the same sort of response. Low is good!

In the end I agree with evan - while the W7 would make a fantastic home theater sub (really - give it a whirl if you've got it and the power!) with so many larger, less expensive, less power-needy subs available there are tons of other options I'd go with on the market at this time.

<= says Amish as his Adire Tumult patiently sits upstairs awaiting it's new enclosure


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## Mr Marv (Aug 19, 2005)

I'm going to use either a pair of 8W7's or a single 10W7 but my set up will be mainly for music. When I called JL they said the car sub was a bit different than the home version and the enclosure suggestion they gave me was much larger than what's suggested for the car.


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## LiquidClen (Dec 27, 2005)

Mr Marv said:


> I'm going to use either a pair of 8W7's or a single 10W7 but my set up will be mainly for music. When I called JL they said the car sub was a bit different than the home version and the enclosure suggestion they gave me was much larger than what's suggested for the car.


What was their enclosure suggestion? I may have another job for you when I get some money lol  

I was thinking about having the sub in a downfiring enclosure and have it double function as a table. How do you think that would work out?


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

LiquidClen said:


> Do you know in what ways?


The magnet on the home version is noticably larger for one and the cone has 4 inch stroke (dunno which home model though). This link is to a video that shows the stroke and a pic of the home and mobile version side by side. 

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8869
http://home.jlaudio.com/multimedia_pages.php?page_id=15#


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## Mr Marv (Aug 19, 2005)

LiquidClen said:


> What was their enclosure suggestion? I may have another job for you when I get some money lol
> 
> I was thinking about having the sub in a downfiring enclosure and have it double function as a table. How do you think that would work out?


 For the 8W7 it was 2.0 sealed but I can't remember off hand what it was on the 10W7 (I'll have to find my notes). If I do the pair of 8W7's they will be in towers with the Revelators but if I do the single 10W7 I'll build it into an ottoman or table.


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## Neil (Dec 9, 2005)

The Gotham and Fathom subs use a modified W7-esque subwoofer, with more power handling and higher BL^2/Re.

Still, the W7 will work just fine in a HT and it has the stroke for that low frequency output we all want. Familiar with the term LLT?


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=798657&highlight=w7


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## LiquidClen (Dec 27, 2005)

DevilDriver said:


> Still, the W7 will work just fine in a HT and it has the stroke for that low frequency output we all want. Familiar with the term LLT?


Not at all :blush:


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## OldOneEye (Jun 16, 2005)

A little more trivia. Krell supposedly had a powered sub they got the driver from JL. 

Also, the technology in those amps is similar I guess to the stuff in the new car audio amps (which I guess they have the exclusive license for).

Neat stuff. It seems the trend with home audio is either something like the JL subs if you don't have room, but if you have an attic or basement you can vent into, you can just buy a bunch of cheaper drivers and go free air. I'm tempted to do that latter just be cause I want to hide it.

Juan


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## Golden Ear (Oct 14, 2012)

Ok guys, it's been 6 years since this thread and I'm hoping someone on here has tried this. I have a 10w7 collecting dust and after reading about how good the JL ht subs are I'm dying to try it. I read the thread that Bikinpunk posted so I know it's a different driver than the one in the Fathom but I'd still like to try it if it will sound good. Someone posted on that forum about a Behringer amp to power it. I'm wondering if that's the best choice to power it and what would be the best enclosure for it? Thanx to anyone with any info.


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## Golden Ear (Oct 14, 2012)

I'm thinking about this amp https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-spa1000-1000w-subwoofer-plate-amplifier--300-809 but I'm wondering what size sealed enclosure I should use. I know car audio and ht are different so it should probably be quite a bit larger than spec for a car. Right?


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## msmith (Nov 27, 2007)

Sex Cells said:


> Those drivers are slightly different than their mobile cousins so optimal specs would likely be different.


The above is true, but what you also need to know is that there is a lot of low-frequency equalization in small, powered home subwoofers. This is done to get a flatter response than would otherwise be possible from such a small enclosure with that driver. This is also why so much power is used in the Fathoms, to deal with the EQ and overcome the tight air-spring.

Without the EQ, you would need a larger enclosure than the Fathom enclosures to make a good HT sub with a W7. It is certainly possible to do, and I know of several enthusiasts that have done so, with great success.

Best regards,

Manville Smith
JL Audio, Inc.


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## Golden Ear (Oct 14, 2012)

Thanks so much for the reply, Manville! Can you give me any more info? What size enclosure and if the amp I listed above would work? I'm not trying to cut Jl out by not buying a Fathom because I already have the 10w7 sitting here 

It sounds like I would also need an eq to tweak the sound, right? I'm using a Pioneer receiver with Audessy but I don't think that'll do the job of eq'ing the sub alone, just the system as a whole, I believe. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. 

And if anyone has seen it done somewhere a link would be much appreciated!


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## msmith (Nov 27, 2007)

Golden Ear said:


> Thanks so much for the reply, Manville! Can you give me any more info? What size enclosure and if the amp I listed above would work? I'm not trying to cut Jl out by not buying a Fathom because I already have the 10w7 sitting here
> 
> It sounds like I would also need an eq to tweak the sound, right? I'm using a Pioneer receiver with Audessy but I don't think that'll do the job of eq'ing the sub alone, just the system as a whole, I believe. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
> 
> And if anyone has seen it done somewhere a link would be much appreciated!


1000W should be plenty for a 10W7, but if you're willing to use an outboard amplifier, you can buy a very powerful Crown amp with built-in DSP for about $500 (XTi 1000). This would give you the ability to build a small box sub and EQ the low end. The amp's DSP also has a killer crossover and limiters that can come in very handy. It would give you a similar tool-set to what is used in a professionally designed compact sub.

The decision to use EQ or not will have a huge impact on the box volume. You can make it quite small, with EQ.


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## Golden Ear (Oct 14, 2012)

That Crown looks pretty sweet. The goal is to get as close to f110 performance with my 10w7 so I will take your advice on the Crown. That being said, what size enclosure should I build? I'm thinking of using 1" (Baltic?) birch. 

Thanks again!


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## msmith (Nov 27, 2007)

Golden Ear said:


> That Crown looks pretty sweet. The goal is to get as close to f110 performance with my 10w7 so I will take your advice on the Crown. That being said, what size enclosure should I build? I'm thinking of using 1" (Baltic?) birch.
> 
> Thanks again!


You can target 1 cu.ft. gross as a good place to start. This will require some lift on the bottom end with EQ and a moderate cut around 50 Hz. You should be able to get it nice and flat from about 25 Hz - 100 Hz with close mic'ing in free-field (outdoors). In-room response will extend a bit lower and may require a tweak to the low eq band. Once the curve is good, you will need to experiment with behavior at high power and set the limiter accordingly to prevent ugliness with high-energy material (movie explosions, and the like).

Have fun!


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## Golden Ear (Oct 14, 2012)

Thanks again! I'll try 1 cube then. I'm really looking forward to this. I'll post my results here when I've done it. Not sure how long it will be from now but I'm anxious to build it so hopefully I can get to it soon.


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## Jcharger13 (Jul 12, 2013)

Gotta say I'm anxious to hear how it turns out for you. I was contemplating a 12w7 HT sub build. Have one sitting here that I am planning for adding a 2nd in my car but was seriously thinking about using it for HT instead. 

Ended up buying one of the new SVS sealed subs which I'm happy with but still have the JL HT sub build in the back of my mind. It's a disease. Lol. 

Good luck!


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## cubdenno (Nov 10, 2007)

DIY Speakers and Subs

Start searching. Plenty of info


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## Jcharger13 (Jul 12, 2013)

Yea I've read lots before on the subject including the AVS forum and other forums. Thanks for the link though, may help others. 

More interested to hear how Golden ears turns out especially since Manville from JL Audio gave lots of input into the build which is very cool. IMO.


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