JL Audio Subwoofer

[greggp2]

I had the unique opportunity today of touring the JL Audio headquarters and saw their design, assembly and warehouse today in South Florida. I was highly impressed with their operation and have a great respect for this company I knew very little about.

Does anyone have any experience with their subwoofers? I was considering getting a new sub for my system and wanted to get some opinions.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Sherardp]

JL makes a very nice but the cost of admission is rather on the expensive side. I would opt for a PB13U over the JL. The SVS is said to have more output as well. If your talking Gothams, then your talking a different ballgame as I think dual gothams would be earth shattering, again the cost to play is rather expensive. If your up for a new sub upgrade, consider the SVS, Epik or ED without the high price premium.

 

[HedgeHog]

I have the Fathom F113. Very musical but still packs lots of kick for movies. Great looking and small (unless you like those 5' tall cylinders ).

 

[GlocksRock]

Never used their home theater subs, but their car audio subs are amazing. Sound and Vision magazine did a subwoofer shoot out not too long ago and several subs were compared, including the SVS PB12+ and the Fathom F112 and the SVS was the clear winner. If you search the sound and vision website I'm sure you can find the article.

 

[bandphan]

Never used their home theater subs, but their car audio subs are amazing. Sound and Vision magazine did a subwoofer shoot out not too long ago and several subs were compared, including the SVS PB12+ and the Fathom F112 and the SVS was the clear winner. If you search the sound and vision website I'm sure you can find the article.

i searched svs @ sv and it came up mid priced sub shootout, no PB no JL, only SB12

 

[GlocksRock]

i searched svs @ sv and it came up mid priced sub shootout, no PB no JL, only SB12

I guess that article isn't online, I doubt I still have the issue, but the SVS was the best of all the subs tested, and on top of that was by far the least expensive.

This is all I could find: http://www.svsound.com/Reviews/svs_pb12plus_sv_rev_1009.pdf

It is from the Sep. 09 issue.

 

[rmk]

These threads always turn into a forum for other manufacturers owners to shoutout their brand preference. I've owned four Fathoms and they are great subs. Perhaps the cleanest sounding I have heard but not best for HT in a larger room. It is easy to exceed their output with ID brands or DIY but as an aging music only commercial sub, they are still at the top of the class.

BTW, A couple of years ago I did a subjective comparo in my HT between the dual F113's and dual SVS PB13's. Everyone (there were 8 attendees 6 of which owned SVS) including me thought the F113 was the better sounding sub for both HT and music. It was close but the F113 was cleaner sounding and was just as impactfull. Other such comparo's have produced different results so YMMV .

 

[GlocksRock]

be that is it may, I'd take the SVS over the F113 just for the cost savings alone. However if JL is your thing, or you prefer the small sealed box design over the larger ported design, then the JL may be just what you are looking for. However, as an owner of a SVS PB13 Ultra I can confidently say that while the JL may sound a bit better, the SVS still sounds amazing

 

[WmAx]

I had the unique opportunity today of touring the JL Audio headquarters and saw their design, assembly and warehouse today in South Florida. I was highly impressed with their operation and have a great respect for this company I knew very little about.

Does anyone have any experience with their subwoofers? I was considering getting a new sub for my system and wanted to get some opinions.

Thanks in advance.

Gregg, there is no reason to stop considering the JL subs because of their price. This is because, for much cheaper, you can put together the same level of performance by buying the raw W7 driver(s) from a discount retailer and installing them in a pre-fabricated sealed box, or make your own box, add powerful amplifier and a DSP xover like the DCX2496 to manage the response, and you have your top notch JL home sub.

-Chris

 

[lsiberian]

Gregg, there is no reason to stop considering the JL subs because of their price. This is because, for much cheaper, you can put together the same level of performance by buying the raw W7 driver(s) from a discount retailer and installing them in a pre-fabricated sealed box, or make your own box, add powerful amplifier and a DSP xover like the DCX2496 to manage the response, and you have your top notch JL home sub.

-Chris

If your cheap you could use a BFD1124

 

[oppman99]

I've had a JL Fathom in my music only setup for about six months. I have to say I really enjoy this sub. As mentioned earlier, it definately plays very clean. The relatively small footprint was a bonus for me since I had limited space available. I tend to agree with the cost/benefit issue that was brought up as well. I picked mine up used for about half of retail, and it was in absolute mint condition, so I'm very satisfied. For HT, I'd probably go with SVS, but I have no complaint about the JL for music. It was very easy to integrate with my towers.

 

[Warpdrv]

gotta say I love my F112 in my small bedroom setup, less then 2000^3 and it can be overwhelming if you want it to... very very powerful, yet clean and controlled as everyone here already stated... Does it hit 10hz no - they F112 and F113 both roll off in the upper teens for protection. Heck it took me 3 x 18" LMS Drivers sealed with 4000w each in my 8200^3 room to produce as much output as I'm getting from my single F112 in my small bedroom.

I will state that for HT its still a great product but it all depends on your scenario.... for a medium small room its more then enough... for a large room and or a need to hit the very low teens or single digit hz reproduction look elsewhere... Personally I have no need to hit those low notes.

As WmAx states, you could easily build your own with a JL driver for far cheaper, or even choose other drivers to produce great bass... many designs and drivers to choose from.

 

[TheFactor]

gotta say I love my F112 in my small bedroom setup, less then 2000^3 and it can be overwhelming if you want it to... very very powerful, yet clean and controlled as everyone here already stated... Does it hit 10hz no - they F112 and F113 both roll off in the upper teens for protection. Heck it took me 3 x 18" LMS Drivers sealed with 4000w each in my 8200^3 room to produce as much output as I'm getting from my single F112 in my small bedroom.

I will state that for HT its still a great product but it all depends on your scenario.... for a medium small room its more then enough... for a large room and or a need to hit the very low teens or single digit hz reproduction look elsewhere... Personally I have no need to hit those low notes.

As WmAx states, you could easily build your own with a JL driver for far cheaper, or even choose other drivers to produce great bass... many designs and drivers to choose from.

Yes you can build DIY for less but it wont look as beautiful or purrrty as F112 or F113 THOSE JL's are beautiful!!!

 

[annunaki]

Yes you can build DIY for less but it wont look as beautiful or purrrty as F112 or F113 THOSE JL's are beautiful!!!

Depending upon one's skills, it could look even better.

 

[TheFactor]

Depending upon one's skills, it could look even better.

Very true I Just love that clean and all business look of the JL's

 

[Franin]

These threads always turn into a forum for other manufacturers owners to shoutout their brand preference. I've owned four Fathoms and they are great subs. Perhaps the cleanest sounding I have heard but not best for HT in a larger room. It is easy to exceed their output with ID brands or DIY but as an aging music only commercial sub, they are still at the top of the class.

I agree rmk!

 

[GlocksRock]

gotta say I love my F112 in my small bedroom setup, less then 2000^3 and it can be overwhelming if you want it to... very very powerful, yet clean and controlled as everyone here already stated... Does it hit 10hz no - they F112 and F113 both roll off in the upper teens for protection. Heck it took me 3 x 18" LMS Drivers sealed with 4000w each in my 8200^3 room to produce as much output as I'm getting from my single F112 in my small bedroom.

I will state that for HT its still a great product but it all depends on your scenario.... for a medium small room its more then enough... for a large room and or a need to hit the very low teens or single digit hz reproduction look elsewhere... Personally I have no need to hit those low notes.

As WmAx states, you could easily build your own with a JL driver for far cheaper, or even choose other drivers to produce great bass... many designs and drivers to choose from.

I had my 20-3PC+ in by living room, but moved it to the bedroom when I got my PB13 Ultra, and the 20-39PC+ in my bedroom is downright amazing, especially in it's 16hz. tune mode. But I wouldn't hesitate to own a JL sub, especially if I could find a great deal on a used one.

 

[WmAx]

I will state that for HT its still a great product but it all depends on your scenario.... for a medium small room its more then enough... for a large room and or a need to hit the very low teens or single digit hz reproduction look elsewhere... Personally I have no need to hit those low notes.

As WmAx states, you could easily build your own with a JL driver for far cheaper, or even choose other drivers to produce great bass... many designs and drivers to choose from.

In that DIY scenario, if one will go with a proper ported design, the JL 12 or 13 inch W7 drivers can hit those teens at ultra high SPLs, no problem. It is amazing they can produce the SPLs they can in the mid to high 20's in sealed cabinets. A true testament to the 1st class motor design, that despite being over a decade old, is still among the best performance available.

It will be exciting to see what new flagship design JL audio will eventually release.

-Chris

 

[Warpdrv]

In that DIY scenario, if one will go with a proper ported design, the JL 12 or 13 inch W7 drivers can hit those teens at ultra high SPLs, no problem. It is amazing they can produce the SPLs they can in the mid to high 20's in sealed cabinets. A true testament to the 1st class motor design, that despite being over a decade old, is still among the best performance available.

It will be exciting to see what new flagship design JL audio will eventually release.

-Chris

I agree - the drivers are more then capable - and only limited by the cab design...

 

[annunaki]

I can speak 1st hand as to their performance, even in a sealed design. They are an impressive sub. I have a DIY Fathom F112. Check my build thread 2 for more info in my signature.