JL Audio 15W0V2

Seems like everyone is being a bit more careful with their money these days, and when we do buy something, the focus is on getting the best value for each and every hard earned dollar. We all want well made, reliable, good performing gear for our dough, and stuff that doesn’t measure up will remain on store shelves. The good news is, there are many audio companies out there who completely understand the concept of great performance at a reasonable price. And as a great example of this philosophy, the kind folks at JL Audio recently sent us one of their best value woofer systems for a much closer look.
What arrived in the big brown truck a few days later was a JL 15W0v2 woofer in a nicely made sealed enclosure. Now I know 15’s aren’t usually everyone’s first choice, but what a lot of folks might not know, is that a high quality, modern 15-inch woofer like this JL, no longer requires an enclosure the size of a big doghouse. The sealed enclosure that the woofer came in measures 16.25 x18 x15.75 inches. That makes it fit easily into virtually any SUV or car trunk. You may even get a pair of them in there! Boom yeah!

Features

The 15W0v2 woofer incorporates some innovative technology. By elevating the frame above the top plate of the speakers motor, JL’s patented Elevated Frame Cooling provides improved airflow between the bottom surface of the speakers frame and the top surface of the motors top plate. The result of this technology is cooler voice coil temps and a cooler motor assembly, thereby improving thermal power handling, and increasing reliability. And the technology continues, with the application of JL Audio’s DMA (Dynamic Motor Analysis) system. This system is a derivative of complex finite element analysis, where the true behavior of the moving components of the loudspeaker are analyzed under a wide variety of typical operating conditions. As a result, the speakers can be designed to provide much more linear behavior, and improved stability under all sorts of conditions. What does that mean to you? It means that the speaker you buy will sound great, and be dependable.

Cosmetically, the woofer is well finished and looks like it was built by someone paying attention to details. Nice cosmetic touches include a top plastic mounting gasket that does double duty as a grille retainer, and on the bottom side, an injection molded plastic cover trims out the motor assembly. As an example of the attention to detail, the JL woofer comes with a closed cell foam mounting gasket that is pre-applied to the mounting surface of the woofer, ensuring an airtight, buzz free seal if mounted on a hard, flat surface.

Tipping the Cogent scales at just under 16 pounds, the 15W0v2 uses a round stamped steel basket, with the patented elevated frame. The cone material is black “mineral filled polypropylene”, with a traditional JL Audio concave dustcap. The surround is polyester foam, and it is both quite wide and tall, allowing large amounts of excursion travel. The surround is attached to the frame and to the cone with adhesives. Underneath the cone, you’ll find a poly-cotton progressive type single spider, which is used to locate the 2.6-inch copper voice coil and Kapton former. The voice coil is four layers thick, and is a 4-ohm nominal design. Motivation for the voice coil’s movement comes from a 6.3-inch strontium ferrite ceramic magnet. The woofers bottom plate has been “bumped out”, again in the interests of greater excursion capability.

Speaker connections are accomplished via nickel plated spring-loaded terminals that will accept 8 gauge wire.

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