Our Product Research Team
At Crutchfield, you'll get detailed, accurate information that's hard to find elsewhere.
That's because we have our own in-house Product Research team — they open the box,
verify contents, check the owner's manual, and record dimensions, features and specs.
We stay on top of new products and technologies to help people make informed choices.
Features
Enclosure Compatibility
Features
Thin-Line Design: The patented thin-line woofer technology compresses
the architecture of the JL Audio 13TW5-3 subwoofer and allows it to deliver
great bass performance in the tightest space applications that are only 2.5"
deep. Central to the technology is the "concentric tube" structure that supports
the oversized voice coil and the suspension attachments. This permits placing
the motor of the woofer much further forward in the speaker than with
conventional designs, while maintaining excellent linear excursion capability.
Equally important is the fact that the 13TW5-3 design is optimized for extremely
small box volume applications. Whereas a typical "small-box" 12-inch driver
operates in well over one cubic foot, the larger 13TW5-3 is optimum in only 0.80
cu.ft. (significantly less volume than any other JL Audio 13.5-inch woofer).
Concentric Tube Suspension: The challenge in any low-profile woofer
design is to permit enough mechanical clearance for the speaker to handle power
and generate good output at low frequencies. JL Audio's patented solution
employs a molded structure which spans over the edge of the motor system,
supporting the spider on the outside of the motor's boundaries and the large
diameter voice coil on the inside. The large voice coil permits the magnet to
sit inside it, rather than surrounding the coil as is typical in most woofers.
The concentric tube structure and the elimination of a conventional top-plate
helps JL Audio to place the motor system higher up into the cone body's space to
further compress depth, while still permitting excellent mechanical excursion.
Mica-Filled Polypropylene Woofer: The JL Audio 13TW5-3 subwoofer
features an injection-molded, mica-filled polypropylene cone woofer with a
santoprene rubber surround for added durability, woofer excursion and bass
response.
Dynamic Motor Analysis (DMA): DMA is JL Audio's proprietary method
aimed at improving dynamic motor behavior. As a result of DMA optimization, the
13TW-3 motors remain linear in motor force over a very long range of excursion,
and also maintain a highly stable fixed magnetic field in the gap over a wide
power range. The result is vastly reduced distortion, faithfully reproduced
transients, and tight, clean, articulate bass.
Floating Cone Attachment Method (FCAM): JL Audio's patented FCAM
technology is an innovative method of bonding the surround/cone assembly to the
voice coil/spider assembly. This assembly technique ensures proper surround
geometry in the assembled speaker for better excursion control and dynamic voice
coil alignment.
Extra Large Voice Coils: To counteract the efficiency tradeoff of
small box volumes, the 13TW5-3 is designed to handle very high power levels
thanks to the use of a very large 7-inch diameter voice coil.
Enclosure Compatibility
Recommended Sealed Box Volume: The sealed box size recommended by JL
Audio is 0.800 cu/ft. A diagram is provided in the owner's manual for a sealed
box with external dimensions of 19" W x 15" H x 7.75" D, assuming 3/4" thick
material. (If you are using 5/8" thick materials, you should subtract 1/4" from
each dimension.)
Shallow Mount Design: The JL Audio 13TW5-3 only requires a mounting
depth of 2.5" when top mounted.