JBL PSW-D112 Subwoofers
JBL PSW-D112 Subwoofers
[Feb 03, 2003]
John Maher
Audio Enthusiast
My original review was June 5 of 2001. My unit finally died during the west coast storms or December and January. No part shows any damage and the fuse always blow. Not to fear, I brought an old amp out of mothballs, connected it via my existing Crown VFX-2 crossover and am enjoying the same great sound using a different amp. I still have crossover and phase adjustment through the VFX-2, so I've lost nothing there. Oh well . . . |
[May 31, 2002]
JohninNC
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Absolutely None!!
Weakness:
Doesnt work at all! Doomed for failure after the warranty period is over. TERRIBLE!! I can't say enough bad things about this sub. It never really put out loud bass. I just thought it was the way it was supposed to be or that it was my receiver. I had Infinity SM112 studio monitors as my main speakers so they were putting out lots of base themselves. The only time my sub put out any bass was when watching a DTS DVD. THEN like everyone elses, it started making the obnoxious machine gun noise when it heated up and then it finally made this noise all of the time. I was going to try to get it fixed until I read the other reviews on here. I went out and bought a Cerwin Vega 12 inch sub and it is Sooo Mucchhh better. I have all of the same audio equipment and the CW sub rocks. It puts out more bass in standby mode than the JBL did on full blast. I cant believe I used the crappy JBL for so long and I cant believe I didnt realize that it was the sub that was defective. I thought I was audio smart, now, I realize I was an audio dumb@22. Similar Products Used: Cerwin Vega V-12S |
[May 28, 2002]
Kevin B
AudioPhile
Strength:
Love the bass shook three of my wifes Bradford Mint plates off the counter in the next room. After it was fixed sounds better than new!
Weakness:
Too bad to think i spent almost $800 for the final product. Yep most of you are right the amp took a crap on my and it just died. I took it to Electro Sound and cost me $300 to fix it. Told my wife it could not be fixed so I could buy a Sunfire. Didn't work got it fixed instead. Wish there were more reviews when I bought it too late. |
[Apr 23, 2002]
AMS01
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Nice bass, good for movies
Weakness:
Friends 4 year old $99.00 KLH sub still working, my 2 year old JBL not....Think about it, poor amp design I bought this in December of 2000. Like 99.9% of the other PSW-D112 produced, mine blew up. I had it for 2 years. JBL is taking no responsibility for producing this horrible product. I enjoyed the sound when it worked, but what are the subs worth if they just continue to break? Do yourself a favor and DO NOT BUY THIS SUB!!!!! |
[Mar 28, 2002]
justinarmbruster02
Audio Enthusiast
Weakness:
self destructs I have had a Psw d112 for 8 months now. One night I started smelling something. Then I heard something that sounded like a machine gun. When I got up and found out it was the sub, I pulled the plug from the wall. I am so glad I was home or else my house might of burned to the ground. I saw all the reviews here and told my class about it. I took the sub to my advanced electronic class. Are class needs some more of these subs. We are going to try to figure out the problems with this sub and tell JBL about this. If anyone is going to throw their blown one away, or if they want to help our class out, email me at Justinarmbruster02@hotmail.com. I am willing to pay shipping for these. Thanks, Justin Armbruster Similar Products Used: velodyne- It is a good Sub |
[Feb 08, 2002]
k caputo
AudioPhile
Strength:
none at all
Weakness:
its jbl sub is a piece of crap...been in the shop longer than in my house.after 4 trips to the repair center for the same amp troubles it was put to the curb were trash belongs..went and bought a velodyne,should have done that from day 1 |
[Jan 17, 2000]
Andrew Joncas
Audiophile
Strength:
clean bass with kick, nice looks, fair price
Weakness:
Un-even feet, slight air leak on front volume knob - should have kept it on back. After my brother purchased an Energy 10, my little optimus 12 just wasn't doing it for me. I decided to go with something powered. JBL's subs really sounded great when I auditioned them at a local Home Theater Shop. Don't even bother looking at these things if you don't have the room. There huge. I first purchased a JBL DPS-12, all most identical to the psw-d112 except down firing and the volume is on the back along with the video contour. I must say, wow. The dps-12 plays loud and is able to create a really impressive concusion wave effect with movies that require the ultimate in low reponse. If I had a choice - I am a Home theater nut, I would get another one. The problem is that mine died after about 2 weeks. JBL though has great support and after I was unhappy with the repair of the DPS-12 (I could hear the difference), they upgraded me for free to the PSW-D112. This new sub is more musical sounding to me with its front firing woofer. Almost every other thing about it is the same. It doesn't appear to be able to create the same concusion wave effect as the dps-12(and yes, they were setup properly and I measured the output of both with a SPL meter, so I got numbers to prove it). I must say though for a music nut, this sub would definitely make for a perfect mate. However because I'm a home theater guy, having been spoiled by both the energy 10 and the dps-12 it comes in a really really close second. I've heard the dps-12 is out of production so if you find one pick it up for anything under $220. At $300 the pswd-112 is getting in the expensive range although it does everything it claims and more. I suggest give it a listen before going to anything priced higher. Overall I say that it is just what the doctor ordered for most people. Sound quality is great with ample headroom and bass down to 30 hz is clean. For the medium-large hometheater, this will do the trick no sweat. Happy listening. Similar Products Used: Energy 10, Atlantic Technology, JBL DPS-12 |
[Jan 18, 2000]
Shawn Eubanks
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
A Pretty Piece of Furniture
Weakness:
It Died Ordered this from www.Onecall.com and they shipped it very quickly I blinked and it was here. Rushed home and connected it to the new Harmon Kardon receiver it arrived with. I was in bliss for 2 weeks. This unit completed my home theater and I must say watching the first 15 minutes of "Saving Private Ryan" left mortar holes in my living room floor. I have high ceilings but this baby had no problem filling a large room. I used a friends sound level meter to tune the whole system and felt like a kid in a candy store. Then on the 15th day since I placed my order I got a call from the wife. The kids were too scared to go in the house cause it was shaking. Even though the sub was not being used it freaked out and killed itself. I called Onecall and they appologized that it was past their 14 day return period so I was forced to take it to the shop. I am still waiting to get it back - apparently JBL is very slow at providing replacement parts. I am sad now. Wish I would have done more research. Similar Products Used: First sub |
[Feb 21, 2000]
Randy B
Audiophile
Strength:
Monstrous, room shaking, picture-dropping off my walls, curtain-blowing bass! Really. No exaggeration.
Weakness:
our knees? I've waited two months to rate this sub, due to the bad reviews by others because of power amps blowing, or whatever the case may be. We'll see how things continue. Similar Products Used: none-but listened to quite a few subs. |
[Dec 02, 2000]
Jason
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Deep,powerful,incredible bass
Weakness:
none really but dont get this unit if you have a small room, for it will be to powerful and loud Try to find a sale unit and this is a buy. Its powerful and tight bass in excellent. I have experienced nom problems with reliability or workmanship yet, surprising considering it was an open box buy. Similar Products Used: Velodyne, Sony |