woofer shot

[1994Limited]

HI, I did a search on this site to find that I can use most any generic woofer on my 94 Limited. According to my local sound advice dealer that is not true. He said that the stock JBL woofer has an odd 3. something ohm rating, and the generic 4.0 ohm woofer will not sound right with the stock amp.
I am not looking to upgrade my system. The stock sound is fine. I am not an audiofile nor can I afford to be one even if I wanted to be.
The local ford dealerships in this area do not have a stock unit for sale. No luck on ebay either.
I have found plenty of good enough cheap units online like at Etronics and parts express, but I guess they are not a good match for this JBL system.
Any good advice for me? Thanks, Bruce

 

[TeamPwnageBrad]

Hes probably telling you that to make a sale. "4 ohm" subwoofers are hardly EVER 4 ohms. the DCR of the coil can vary from ~3 to 4 ohms, but it is still a 4 ohm nominal subwoofer. Also, as the sub is moving and the coil heats up, the impendence rises. While the sub is at 4 ohms sitting with no power applied, as soon as you apply power, the impendence will rise.

You CAN use just about any 4 ohm subwoofer, just make sure it will work well in the stock location/enclosure.

 

[mmmmark]

My intel says that it is really 8 ohms, but I cannot verify it personally. I'm also in the market for a replacement as mine just blew. I have the JBL system. The speaker I took out has no useful markings on it unfortunately.

Just to pass along what my source said <no clue if it accurate>. He said that if it was 8 ohm, using a 4 ohm speaker would cook my amp over the long haul. Anyone know if that is true? Or does his desire to sell me an amp outweight his answer?

 

[TeamPwnageBrad]

well if the sub IS an 8 ohm speaker, then i would not put a 4 ohm load on the amp. More than likely, that system is designed to work with the sub's load as the lowest impendence. I am doubting the amp has as many protection features/circuits in it as aftermarket amps for several reasons, its designed to work with one speaker/impendence, the user cant really mess with it, and its pre assembled and will be working from the factory. If you hooked a 4 ohm load to an amp that is only 8 ohm stable with very little protection circuitry, you could very well cook the amp.

I dont know what the DCR of the stock sub is, so i would figure that out before throwing in a sub. If its 4 ohm, you could run a DVC 2 ohm, SVC 4 ohm, or DVC 8 ohm speaker and have it work. If the stock sub is 8 ohms, you could run a SVC 8 ohm or a DVC 4 ohm sub in its place.