Car Audio Buff

First Look

The JL Audio 8W7 is a single voice coil, 3 ohm subwoofer. The cone is black plastic dish with a cool “W7” logo. When you first look at this subwoofer, you realize that it is something different and special. The most obvious are the dimensions. They are almost square. Even the 2.25 inch voice coil is out of the ordinary. From the front of the woofer you realize something is missing: the mounting flange. It’s hidden behind the oversized large surround.

Closer Look

Nine patents. In the world of “me too” engineering, JL Audio’s 8W7 has nine things unique enough to be granted patents. (Eight application patents and one design patent) The most obvious is the OverRoll™ surround (U.S. Patent #5,687,247 and #5,949,898). In most “large roll surround” woofers, the actual cone area is reduced to accommodate the huge surround. In the 8W7, the surround actually goes over the mounting flange right to the edge of the basket. The result is more cone area for a given size basket. The rest of the patents can be grouped into two different areas: structural reinforcement and thermal stability. Patents #6,496,590, #6,501,844 and #6,118,884 refer to the cone and spider assemblies and accounts for the excellent control the 8W7 has over its massive linear excursion (1.5 inches peak to peak linear excursion to be exact). Patents #6,243,479, #D472, 891, #6,219,431 and #6,229,902 refer to the pole piece and basket which maximizes the thermal power handling by directing cool air more effectively and efficiently over the voice coil. Detailed information about all the patents is available on the JL website.

Sound Quality and Performance

The enclosure used for testing is the recommend vented enclosure from the owner’s manual. The enclosure volume is a modest 1.0 cubic foot tuned to 32Hz. In a minivan, the 8W7 generated an impressive peak SPL of 106dB, 127.1dB and 129.2dB at 1 watt, 250 watts and 500 watts respectively. These performance figures are on par with most of the 12 inch subwoofers I have tested. (The 12 inch woofer enclosures were also about twice the size!) I then placed the subwoofer enclosure into my RX7 and, as you would expect, the numbers went up. The 8W7 delivered a whopping 107.6dB, 129dB and 131.3dB at 1 watt, 250 watts and 500 watts respectively. Most woofers I have tested do not gain any significant SPL between their “rms” and “peak” power ratings. This is not the case with the 8W7. In fact, the SPL was quite consistent 2dB increase between 250 watts and 500 watts. Did I say this was an eight inch woofer?

Don’t think the 8W7 is just a “one hit wonder.” In fact, the JL Audio is one of the better woofers I have heard. I listened to a variety of music on the JL Audio 8W7. No matter what type of music I played, the JL woofer accurately reproduced what was recorded. It did not color the sound in anyway. On one track, I had to check to see if the woofer was even on. It blended so smoothly with my front 3-way set-up it disappeared. Never did I think, “Not bad for an eight inch woofer.” The truth is the JL Audio 8W7 is a great woofer regardless of size.

Summary

Simply put, the JL Audio 8W7 is the best damn 8 inch subwoofer ever made. Yes it’s expensive, but who cares? What is so amazing is that it doesn’t sound like an eight inch woofer. In fact, it performs like a great sounding 10 to 12 inch woofer. It also has the performance numbers to back that up. If I could give any criticism, it would be the woofer is too accurate. Bass heads wont like that it doesn’t make everything sound like an SPL track. But, if you are looking for big audiophile sound in a package that requires a small amount of power and space, the JL Audio 8W7 isn’t a good choice, it’s the only choice.

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