Home > Consumer Reviews > JBL Venue Series SUB12 12-Inch 500-Watt Subwoofer

Recently I built myself a new home theater system.

My System:
Receiver: Denon 887 (really like this receiver... wish it was a bit more powerful, but still great)

Speakers:
Front Left/Right:
JBL E80 (Black Ash) 3-Way, Dual 6-Inch Floorstanding Loudspeaker
Maximum Recommended Amplifier Power 200 Watts
Power Handling (Continuous/Peak) 100 Watts/400 Watts
Impedance 8 Ohms nominal
Sensitivity (2.83V/1m) 91dB
Frequency Response (-3dB) 38Hz - 20kHz
Crossover Frequencies 300Hz, 4000Hz

Center:
JBL EC35 3-Way Dual 5-Inch Center Channel Loudspeaker
Maximum Recommended Amplifier Power 150 Watts
Power Handling (Continuous/Peak) 75 Watts/300 Watts
Sensitivity (2.83V/1m) 91dB
Frequency Response (-3dB) 75Hz - 20kHz
Crossover Frequencies 800Hz, 3200Hz

4 surround speakers (2 on sides, 2 on back)
JBL E10 2-Way, 4-Inch Wall-Mount/Bookshelf Speakers
Maximum Recommended Amplifier Power 100 Watts
Power Handling (Continuous/Peak) 50 Watts/200 Watts
Sensitivity (2.83V/1m) 86dB
Frequency Response (-3dB) 75Hz - 20kHz
Crossover Frequency 2000Hz

Subwoofer:
JBL SUB 12 12" (300mm) Powered Subwoofer With 300-Watt Amplifier
Amplifier Power (RMS) 250 Watts
Peak Dynamic Power 500 Watts
Low-Pass Frequency Variable from 50Hz to 150Hz
Frequency Response 25Hz - Low-pass crossover setting


Subwoofer review:
The first thing you notice when the box shows up on your door is that it's very big. The cabinet feels very well constructed. The look of the face (with the cover removed) is a fo-carbin fiber look. Everything about this feels well made.

My pervious `home theater' had been a $250 system in a box (receiver, speakers, and sub). That old system had an 8 inch sub that was probably <100 watt... yet put out a lot of sound.

When I first attached this sub to my new system, I was a little surprised / disappointed (out of my own ignorance). My old sub felt louder. The probably turned out to be with what my perception of a sub was.

My cheap older sub was not really capable of delivering true lows, and was more of a low/mid range speaker and because of this, it sounded louder (because it put out sound in our audible frequency range) .

Now to my Sub-12. Once I researched what a sub should do, and then sat next to it and watched it work, it dawned on me that I was not supposed to hear a sub as `loud', but rather, I was supposed to FEEL the sub... and at this, the sub12 excels.

I had to tweak the crossover frequencies on my receiver, so it would pump the frequency range that my old cheap sub could handle through my new front tower speakers (because they could go lower then the old sub), and then let the sub12 do what it does best, Low lows < 50 hz.

Now that I have come to understand what a true sub should be, I could not be happier. The base is clean and tight... but not boomy. This sub matches perfectly with my other JBL speakers... I don't even realize it's there unless I get in front of it and feel the air displacement.

Great buy, great value, highly recommended.

I highly recommend this sub to anyone looking for a great value in home theater. I did so much research and reading before buying this Venue 12, and had almost talked myself out of getting it because of some saying that 'if you can't spend X amount then don't even bother', and the X amount just kept getting higher and higher. I wound up moving my older JBL PB10 into my computer room to anchor my upgraded computer sound system and put the new Venue 12 in the living room with my 'big' system. The 10 inch sub was great and very solid for what I paid for it, but the 12 has more depth and definition. I think that there is an effortless quality to the sound that a 12 inch or bigger driver can reproduce that a 10 inch just can't. Big solid sound, and I don't feel like I was extravagant with the purchase.

The Venue 12, like my older PB10, feels well made and solid. I especially like the feet on it, as they are big and heavy and 'rubbery' and help it sit very stably on my uneven hardwood floor. The controls and jacks feel very smooth and solid when making connections. To me, the design and build quality makes it feel like an inexpensive model from a high end manufacturer, rather than a top-end model from a cheap one.

I ordered this sub because my my original was damaged in a flood, I was upset about the flood damage and didnt realize when I ordered that this was a 12 inch speaker instead of the 10 inch I had. The 10 inch compared to this is a toy! I'm so glad I ordered this, although when I first received it, it gave me pause, because its so big. But the sound is so amazing I dont care. Movies always sounded okay with the old sub, but I hated the way music sounded. Now the music is full and dynamic, and you dont notice the separation between the low and high frequencies anymore, solid sound, punchy and deep.

This JBL 12" subwoofer is a fine product, and a great value when purchased through Amazon. The price was about 40% lower compared to what they were asking for it at Best Buy, all I had to do was wait a few days for it to arrive. Plus there is no additional cost for sales tax, which where I live is nearly 8%. This pushes my total savings up to 48%, nearly half price! There was no additional cost for shipping, either. This was my first Amazon shopping experience, and I'm quite satisfied. I may continue to shop at Best Buy, but I doubt I will purchase from them anymore when I can get the exact same thing on Amazon for so much less. Best Buy: $430(price) + $34(tax) = $464(total). I paid $240 total for the exact same thing new-in-the-box from Amazon. Heck, if you really insist on spending that much then get 2 from Amazon instead of 1 from Best Buy and have twice the power to annoy your neighbors!

This is a very good sounding sub for the price. I compared others at higher prices and liked how this produced a full range to compliment the other speakers. It fills a 1500 sq ft room with cathedral ceiling very well. I would buy another.