Home > Consumer Reviews > JBL Venue Series SUB10 10-Inch 250-300-Watt Subwoofer

This sub is well built and represents an extremely good value for music listening. Its very tight with no muddiness (in my opinion, its tighter and smoother sounding than the Klipsch Sub-10, which it directly competes with). It is also very articulate compared to the 10" models from Sony and Yamaha that I also auditioned, which could be said to be "punchier", but in my opinion, not as fast and clean-sounding as this model.
For serious home theater, however, the Sub-10 simply cannot compete with 10" and up units from companies like HSU Research, Mirage, and SVS, and 12" models from Klipsch, Velodyne, BIC, and AV123. These subs reach down into the lower-mid 20hz range with authority. The Sub-10 dips very sharply below 30hz. The specs from JBL claim 27hz at the bottom, but it will be virtually inaudible at that point. Pro reviews of the JBL E150P (the Sub-10's predecessor) confirm this. But if this is your first subwoofer or are buying it for your first HT setup, you won't be disappointed. An audible 29-30hz is good extension for its $199 street price tag, and for music it can't be beat. As with all subs, room placement it critical and different positionings will result in a DB hikes and dips across its entire range (even at 27-30hz). Overall a good value.

My wife bought this subwoofer for me for Christmas. I couldn't wait until Christmas to hook it up. When I did hook it up and turned on my system, the subwoofer could be heard all through the house. I had my HD TV running through my system and the commercials shook the house. I played some music and I thought that I was sitting in a movie theater. I later played "The Chronicles of Riddick" DVD and the sound was so amazing that I thought that the spaceship was right behind my easy chair. I have a Yamaha MX-1000 Amp, a CX-1000 preamp, and 4 Polk Audio monitor speakers. My system sounded good before I added the subwoofer, but with the subwoofer it accentuates any kind of music or movies that I play or watch. Well worth the money.

I was very surprised at how well this sub articulates the low frequencies. Hearing is believing. It gives a certain amount of accuracy and tangibility to base tones that I simply was not able to obtain with a higher priced sub I had purchased. For movies, it does a wonderful job of augmenting the atmosphere of scenes without being too boomy. It really enhances music by bringing out lower notes and sounds that are not normally perceived with the use of most other subwoofers on the market. I am not certain it can go as low as 27Hz since I have not measured, but I am not concerned with trying to disturb the neighbors or shake the walls. I just wanted to obtain the most precise and best sounding system I could without breaking the bank. I was able to do so with the addition of this sub. I am glad I found and tried it before paying much more for another sub I was considering.

Yet I hate the fact that it is advertised as being a 250-watt sub. Its Peak Dynamic Power is 250 watts. But the amplifier it contains is a 150 watt amplifier. Therefore, it is a 150-watt sub.

I got the very last JBL Sub10 at the $159 w/free shipping price. I'm using it as part of a 2.1 audio system (along with Yamaha RX-V990 receiver & X-LS bookshelf speakers) for my computer. My main uses are games, music and videos. This sub is fantastic!! The clear but deep, rich bass really adds a unique dimension to games like Doom 3 and STALKER. I can't wait 'til new games like BioShock, Crysis and Hellgate London are out, later this year. All of my MP3s, CDs and videos sound great, too. I priced a lot of subwoofers before pulling the trigger on this JBL and got lucky to find it at such a great deal through Amazon.

I needed to complete my surround sys so after weeks of research I decided to go with this JBL Sub-10. (I also purchased the JBL Venue series voice center channel) and with the two new addition, my surround sys ROCKS! I have a medium size movie watching room & this sub fills the space beautifully. Full rich low end, punchy, everything you would need in a sub. This really completes my system...I'm extremely happy with my purchases!