Great sound at a budget price

Reliability - Save your receipt!

This PB12 was an excellent complement to my existing home theater setup, and I purchased JBL front/rear/center speakers as well. I was very happy with the deep bass provided during movies and music until one sad day when it croaked. It started making a noise like low-frequency feedback then minutes later it completely died. No power, no LED's, no nothing. I was at least happy to be with it during it's final moments - :-)

Anyway, I took it to a local service center (living in a large city I had a couple of close options) where it sat for a month because the part was on backorder -- sounds like I'm not the only one having this problem. Finally after 30 days I called JBL and explained this was rediculous, and they agreed to send me a new unit. I'm still waiting, but it has been shipped and should be here tomorrow.

Clearly, JBL has some issues with this unit. If you haven't had problems yet, then you're lucky - Save your receipt, and hope that it croaks while still under warranty!!!

Even though the replacement wasn't exactly quick (about six weeks) JBL will stand behind their products and make you satisfied in the end. There were long hold times on the phone, but I guess that's the norm for consumer electronics.

Overall, a great unit -- I'm looking forward to getting my replacement.

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First Sub

Great sound at a budget price

Reliability - Save your receipt!

This PB12 was an excellent complement to my existing home theater setup, and I purchased JBL front/rear/center speakers as well. I was very happy with the deep bass provided during movies and music until one sad day when it croaked. It started making a noise like low-frequency feedback then minutes later it completely died. No power, no LED's, no nothing. I was at least happy to be with it during it's final moments - :-)

Anyway, I took it to a local service center (living in a large city I had a couple of close options) where it sat for a month because the part was on backorder -- sounds like I'm not the only one having this problem. Finally after 30 days I called JBL and explained this was rediculous, and they agreed to send me a new unit. I'm still waiting, but it has been shipped and should be here tomorrow.

Clearly, JBL has some issues with this unit. If you haven't had problems yet, then you're lucky - Save your receipt, and hope that it croaks while still under warranty!!!

Even though the replacement wasn't exactly quick (about six weeks) JBL will stand behind their products and make you satisfied in the end. There were long hold times on the phone, but I guess that's the norm for consumer electronics.

Overall, a great unit -- I'm looking forward to getting my replacement.

Similar Products Used:

First Sub

good clean bass

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I love the bass. For movies the sound is just great. For music, it sounds a little light sometimes, no rattles though ever!

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none

Good bass - (what else would I need a swfr for?)

Design flaws.

Works especially well for movies - the plane crash scene from CastAway was the first one we watched with the PB12, and it was so good, that we kept playing it over and over again.

The downside seems to be the design quality of this unit. The first one I bought died on me within a week of use - it slipped away quietly in the night without my knowledge. I liked the sound so much that I decided to take a chance that my next unit might fare better.

Unfortunately, my current one has a faulty LED display, which keeps turning on or off depending on its mood. However, the sound isn't affected, so I'm not complaining. As a CYA measure I paid the extra $30 for the 9 year (yeah) service plan.

Bottom line: It is a worthwhile addition to my Yamaha 5280 (800).

I was not able to really tell in only 3 days

Reliability

I bought this sub to go with a really nice pair of JBL S38 speakers that I have as the S38s, as wonderful as they are, could use a little bit of help on the low end. Unfortunately, the sub had an extremely loud "buzzing" problem that made it completely unusable. JBL Tech Support (which, by the way, has some very helpful and knowledgable people) assured me that this was not a feature of the PB12 and that I should exchange the sub for another one. The second sub was indeed quieter and all seemed well until, just three days after receiving the replacement PB12, it just DIED. Absolutey dead. To add insult to injury I didn't even get a chance to hear its' final moments-- I just walked into the room one time to find the sub very, very, very quiet.... I knew this was too good to be true as even the second sub buzzed a little bit... and sure enough, it was gone.

Without going into a lengthy defense of my basic abilities to use a stereo let me say that, no, I am not an idiot who fried my sub.

This does not mean, of course, that anyone else purchasing this sub would have the same problems-- after all, how could JBL stay in business if EVERYONE returned their PB12s? It just means that if you are considering this sub please be careful as the reliability of this model does seem to be just a bit below normal/average. You might want to also cross your fingers and try to invite good karma.

Now more than ever.....
Good Luck!

You can use it to eat dinner on.

Sounds like a big plastic boombox.

Does not go low enough! This sub sounds like a bandpass that is tuned too high. Something so big and heavy should at least sound decent. Not this tub. I played "Whiskey in the Jar" by Metallica and at my favorite part, towards the last 1/3 of the song there is some unbelievable bass info, it became painfully apparent that this sub is a joke. I would be angry if I was not going to get my money back.

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I have about 8 different subs over the years.

You can use it to eat dinner on.

Sounds like a big plastic boombox.

Does not go low enough! This sub sounds like a bandpass that is tuned too high. Something so big and heavy should at least sound decent. Not this tub.

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I have about 8 different subs over the years.

Sound, Looks

Reliability

I purchased this product in April and absolutely loved it. It created a whole new dimension to my home theatre. This sub literally made the house shake.

Unfortuantely I'm am completely dissatisfied with it's reliability. I have usually keep the sub on standby. However, I went on vacation in August for just over a week so I decided I had better power the unit off while I was gone. When I came I switched the unit back on and was greeted to an extremely loud humming noise and then . . . poof. No more sub woofer.

I took it to a local audio sepcialist and authorized JBL service center. He was not the least bit surprised to see me. I explained the problem and he pointed me to a pile of 5 more of these subs all with the same problem. I was under the impression that JBL had corrected the design problems of the earlier model subs. The repair guy pulled the circuit board out of the sub and showed me that because of the poor design of the module on the board, it over heats an burns it out causing the fuse to go also.

It has been almost a month now and the repair shop is still waiting for the replacement modules from JBL. Hopefully I will get my sub back soon!

I can say for sure that when and if I purchase a replacement sub, it will not be a JBL.

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None - was my first subwoofer

Price, works well, reasonable size (not obnoxiously big or wimpy small)

Black color doesn't go with most decors; the two LEDs in front seem a little silly to me...

The JBL PB 12 does exactly what it's supposed to do; gives you clean low-end bass output.

The PB 12 is JBL's 12" subwoofer, or at least one of them. The massive driver points downward with a tuned port in back. It's in the typical ugly black color; I don't know if there are other color choices, but if they'd stop making them in black altogether then at least you'd get SOME color out of it, even if it doesn't necessarily go with your decor. There's a large silver JBL badge in front, with two LEDs; the whole badge-LED assembly looks a little high-school for me, but that's purely a matter of personal taste. The unit has line-level RCA inputs with an LFE (low-frequency effects) switch for LFE-equipped receivers or integrated amps, and it also has 'nanner plug (sorry, banana-plug!) inputs and outputs, so you can place the unit between the amplified signal and one of your speakers in case line-level signal isn't an option for your system. A 250-watt amp provides oomph, with a level adjustment dial in the back of the unit. You can even switch the phase 180 degrees; I'm a little shaky on the phase aspect of sound reproduction, but I'm assuming you'd use that if you suspect phase cancellation going on between the subwoof and your mains. The LEDs I mentioned earlier glow green if the unit is receiving signal, red if it isn't.

At Gold Sound I compared it to a PSB subwoof (don't remember the model, but the price was $600); it was about the same size as the JBL. The bass sounded a bit muddier I thought, not as much detail as with the JBL. I'm not sure that the low-frequency cutoff settings were the same on both subwoofs, so I may be judging the PSB too harshly, but since the JBL was cheaper anyway, there was no contest. We tested them both on the opening scene of James Bond: Tomorrow Never Dies, and we heard more sonic detail with the JBL than with the PSB.

Once I got it home, I was for the most part very happy with it. There have been a few light jazz songs I've played on it where the bass seemed boomy at times, but for the vast majority of music I've played on it, the bass is tight and smooth. I've only listened to one movie so far, Star Trek the Motion Picture: Director's Cut, but I didn't think the sound reproduction for the movie overall was that great anyway, certianly not for a director's cut.

My big problem at home is that I'm using a JVC RX-800V receiver, an incredibly feature-rich unit for the price, but not a true audiophile-quality unit. It's surround modes are pathetic, and for all I know it's LFE circuit might not be that much better. I had an old Yamaha YST-50SW subwoofer that the JVC wouldn't do much of ANYTHING with, line level LFE or otherwise. (I had to connect the Yammy's line-level inputs to the JVC's HEADPHONE JACK for cripes sake!) So this is the first time I've been able to use the LFE circuit on the JVC; I have the low-frequency cutoff at 80Hz (the settings are 80, 100, 120). When you set the LFE switch on the JBL subwoof to LFE, it defeats the low-frequency cutoff adjustment on the JBL, so your low-frequency cutoff is controlled solely by your receiver/integrated amp. So I hope 80 is a good setting; my KEF Q65V speakers do well enough on the low end that I think 80 is a good cutoff number. I'll know more when I get my Marantz 18EX receiver, which I'm hoping is soon.

At any rate, I doubt anyone with any system could truly go wrong with this unit. There are more expensive Velodynes and such out there, and you'd have to compare them with the JBL to see if they sound any better. For me, a good, strong 12" serves the purpose just fine, and if I can get it for $479, I'm happy! I'll need the big bucks for the 18EX believe me...

My system:

JVC RX800V receiver
KEF Q65 V mains with Accuflow 12g wire and gold 'nanner plugs
JBL surrounds and center
Sony DVD player (digital sound)
JVC 32" TV
Low-end JVC CD changer (although it's digital at least...)
RCA satellite receiver (digital optical)

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Yamaha YST SW-50

Ultra clean bass, DEEP DEEP LOUD roomfilling bass, fills my large room with deep clean loud bass with out distorion or bottoming, PRICE

none

Out of the three subs i tested the JBL PB-12 was the best it was tighter then all of them, the sony was better for home theater but the JBL was much tighter for music, the Klipsch was also a good sub but it could not go as deep as the others, the cerwin vega was also good but to boomy, the cerwin vega went the loudest and deepest but just to boomy, overall the JBL is the best it extends down to 25hz with clean output and sound relly powerfull.

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Tested Sony SA-WM40, Klipsch KSW-12, Cerwin Vega LW-12