Chevy Cruze Fiberglass Subwoofer Boxes/Enclosures

Ahiru said:

JL10W3v3 would rock this enclosure but it's a pricey sub, $220-260ish price range.
They only need .625 cubic feet are 150-500 watts, sounds good at low and high wattage. Only single voice coil option of 2 & 4. Oh and under 6" mounting depth. I know JL's are not everyone's 1st choice but I'm sure these will make tons of noise in that little box. My two cents.

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It works well in this box, I will give it that, but I want to be clear on why it's not my first choice.

At $200 (amazon), it is very low on my list of recommended subs due to price. You pay a lot and get very little. The TC Sounds Epic 10 is not only a far more powerful sub, but is also a far better sounding sub. Compared to the JL10W3, it has:

- a much stronger motor (and visibly larger)
- a lower moving mass
- a higher peak handling capacity (re: higher mechanical excursion at 2" peak to peak)
- a significantly higher linear excursion (compare 14mm to 18.1mm)
- a cast aluminum frame instead a cheap stamped steel frame
- a shorting ring (re: better sound quality via lower distortion)
- higher efficiency at the same impedance (due to the much stronger motor and lower moving mass)

All this, and it costs $12 less to boot. The JL 10W3 isn't even in the same league as the TC Epic 10.

That's what you trade when you go with a big brand name like JL Audio, and that's why nobody here has ever seen me recommend them. They are not bad subs so to speak, but they are a horrible value. In the years I've spent in car audio, I've never seen an exception to that statement. I'd love to say there's something special about them, but there isn't. They plaster marketing jargon all over the site. "Patent this, patent that, we are the greatest." They are simply the most heavily marketed. There is always something that sounds better, hits harder, is built better, and is cheaper for the same price.

Now that's a comparison at the $200 price point. Move into the $220-$260 price point and you have the following subs to contend with:

The HiVi SP10 (check out that motor. 2x the weight of the JL)
The Madisound Speaker Store

The Peerless XXLS (amazingly low moving mass and a pure SQ sub)
The Madisound Speaker Store

The Seas L26RO4Y (Very strong motor, low moving mass, great excursion, and VERY low Qts. 2x the weight of the JL)
The Madisound Speaker Store

When I look at these options, the only reason I'd buy the JL 10W3 is if I needed the brand name label on the cone to show off to my friends because they've never heard of HiVi or Seas or Peerless or TC Sounds before. Comparing these 3 subs and the TC sub to the JL 10W3 is like comparing a Cruze to an Aveo with a $30k price tag.

Wanted to post an option for those who are wanting a vehicle specific subwoofer enclosure for the 2013-14 Chevy Cruze. 256 Motoring is the manufacturer of the Chameleon Enclosure line of vehicle specific subwoofer enclosures located in Huntsville, AL. The Cruze enclosure comes finished in factory match carpet, loaded or unloaded, and come painted to match your factory paint code as an option. There's a few PROMO Codes floating around for this model but the Promo Code "CRUZE2013" (without the quotes) is for $250.00 off of the regular retail price of $499.99 when buying online.

Direct Information: Chameleon Enclosures.