Best midpriced home subwoofer, JBL PB12 on sale, free shipping.

[moolman]

Hi,
I was searching for a decent home subwoofer and came across www.jandr.com, they have the JBL PB12 for $299.99 with free shipping. Looking at the reviews for this, it seems its a good sub for the price. This usually goes for $400 at 800.com or crutchfield.com and bestbuy has it for $380. I personally got it from 800.com after pricematch since I had a gift certificate to use. 800.com even matched the free shipping. Also if you live in the west coast 800.com is faster to deliver since jandr is in new york. Best price on ebay or Yahoo is around $250 + $50 for shipping but this is grey market stuff, the warranty is questionable.

Alex

 

[rickforrest]

Isn't the Sony WM40 a much better deal at $199 (best buy)?

 

[mdetz]

How about etronics.com? Last I checked it was ~255 + ~35 shipping. Or edigitalstop (bad reviews) or bestpriceaudiovideo.com (good reviews)? They all beat that price by ~ $10. And I haven't heard the difference between the 2, but I just don't like the looks of the sony. I much prefer downfiring subs. And if you're going to get the sony, etronics has it pretty cheap.

 

[ChopOMatic]

This is not thread-crapping, rather a comment opened up by the "best" tag in your headline.

If you're wanting to spend something in the $500-600 range AND if you have an old receiver or amp lying around that you can drive it with, check out the subs you'll find at SVS..

I replaced a $1500 Sunfire sub with one from here that was $549 and I'm driving it with a 10-15 year old Technics receiver that was collecting dust. It blows the Sunfire away, period. In fact, an audio-videophile friend of mine who has thousands invested in a Vandersteen sub came over recently and watched a movie; he kept saying "I've never heard anything like that! That's amazing! How much did you say that cost?" It's an awesome experience.

Chop

 

[Beaner]

I agree w/ Chop.

IMHO, SVS and Velodyne give you the most "bang for your buck" when it comes to subs.

 

[moolman]

Yeah, etronics.com would save you $10 but you might not get the warranty. And chopomatic, you're not thread crapping.. I understand that there's always difference of opinion. But your over $500 suggestion goes over midpriced for me, here's my definition of breakdown. Low end is something under $200, such as the Sony SM40, I have the SM20 because of the free promotion where you buy a sony reciever and get it free, of course something free can't be that great but it's a low end sub. Midpriced is around 300-500. And highend is above that to me because at that point, if you're willing to spend over $500 on a sub, you're going for an overall expensive set up for all your equipment. I've spent about $1700 for my whole setup which in the audio world is considered mid-range.

Straight from www.jbl.com

AUTHORIZED ONLINE RETAILERS
Below is a list of online retailers that are authorized to sell JBL products. We are aware of a number of unauthorized Internet sites selling our products, some of whom even claim to have been authorized by us. We are also aware of unauthorized dealers who take customer's orders, charge their credit cards and yet do not have our merchandise in stock to deliver. Only a select few sites have been authorized, and they can be found here. If you buy our products from an unauthorized dealer:

We are not obligated to cover you under our warranty policy.
We may not be able to help you if you have a problem with the unauthorized dealer.
You may be buying a counterfeit of one of our products.

AUTHORIZED JBL ONLINE RETAILERS:
Best Buy
Vanns
ABT Electronics
Amazon
800.COM
Crutchfield
Stereo Advantage
One Call
Buy.com
J & R Music World
DynaDirect.com

 

[rootaxs]

I know it's a Sony but yes, the SAW-40 is a much better sub for it's price. Check out the reviews and audition it yourself. You won't be disappointed.

 

[dman]

Costco's has a 10" Powered Sub for $99. Not sure of quality, but, the specs seemed pretty good... I believe it had a Freq.Response down to 30Hz. Unfortunately it's not hooked up for me to listen to it and judge it myself, but, thought I'd mention it in case people are looking for cheaper alternatives to the ones already mentioned. It's low risk, because I'm fairly sure you could return it if you bought it and it sounds like crap.

 

[mdetz]

Wow, I didn't think to check if they were authorized dealers or not. Hope nothing goes wrong with it!

 

[Carnivore99]

HarmanAudio.com has a "factory reconditioned" PB-12Z sub for $248 with free shipping until January 6.

I believe this is the factory outlet site for Harman Kardon and JBL - they usually have a lot of discontinued models and refurbs at decent prices.

 

[Jdog]

The SVS recommendation is a great one in that price range. This deal is for a $300 sub, which is about 1/2 the cost of the SV25-31.

While Velodynes are good, I'd take my Hsu Research VTF-2 over any sub (no pun intended) $1000 Velo.

The WM40 is a great HT sub, but some think it is too boomy for music.

As always, audition before you buy--in your home if possible.

my $.02

 

[rootaxs]

After the sub breaks-in it sounds much tighter now. Placement has a lot to do with it as well. If it's too boomy you can always turn down the gains and/or the crossover.



<< The WM40 is a great HT sub, but some think it is too boomy for music.

As always, audition before you buy--in your home if possible.

my $.02 >>



Agreed. Nothing like testing it for real

 

[BrianC]

I'm agreeing with the original poster. The best midpriced sub is probably the PB12 or the PB10. The best higher end sub is probably the SVS and the best lower end sub is probably the Sony. Audition them all, each one will sound one step better then the next.

 

[ValsalvaYourHeartOut]

<< I'm agreeing with the original poster. The best midpriced sub is probably the PB12 or the PB10. The best higher end sub is probably the SVS and the best lower end sub is probably the Sony. Audition them all, each one will sound one step better then the next. >>



I know, man!!! JBL IS LOW-FI!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Valsalva

 

[MoleX]

I have an older JBL sun I think it is teh the DSP-D112, or something, this thing pumps. GOT it locally witha price match from J and R in sept of 2000, still going strong and I did audition others in the sam price classs including Velo/Polk/Energy/ even some of teh very 1st water heaters The JBL all blew them away @ a price performace standpoint

MoleX

 

[gumbysucks]

M&K subs outperform velodyne. I tried velodyne didn't add much notice able bass to my set up. The m&k shakes sh#t off the shelves in my living room. Its a $1k ,200w push - pull though, bass you can really feel costs. Buy what YOU think sounds best. Those reviews are pretty meaningless when it comes to audio.

 

[whitelight]

free shipping on subs is a good deal.

 

[Snyder81]

I own a JBL PSW-D115 15" 350W powered sub and it pretty much blows both me and neighbors away. I don't know about 12" subs, but stay away from 15" subs if you don't have a large(r) home theater room. Sometimes it can be too much bang for the buck with home theater.

 

[NotAClue]

How about an AudioSource SW-15... seems like "good bang 4 the buck?"

buy.com has it for $199

 

[RICKWAVER]

The Sony is a great sub for the money. As far as a SVS is concerned it is overrated. The 2 guys who run the company ripped off Hsu Research products and are not up to the same level of performance. For some unknown reason members of the home theater forums buy them without listening. When they do get them they have no way to compare and think they are great. As for a $300 sub you might consider the Hsu Research TN1225HO. Check around at audiogon or audioweb. There are several dealers around selling them for close to that shipped. You will have to find a amp, however.

 

[marks70]

Oh gosh, Sony and Costco subwoofer suggestions, yikes! Stay away as far as possible from any speaker made by Sony or sold by Costco.

 

[megatron]

I have the previous model JBL sub, the DPS-10 10" subwoofer. I highly recommend the JBLs. I'm sure there new models sound as good if not better than their older ones....I was lucky enough to get the 10" for $99 shipped from mercata.*om before they went under quite some time ago. Man, that site had some major deals...probably what put them under!

 

[WindWalker]

I guess based on moolman's description I'm looking at low-end stuff. I live in a small Apt(400sq ft) so "killer" deep-throated bass is not really needed. Did I mention I'm a cheap bastard also. But I am looking for a bit of extra umph
was leaning towards the Yamaha YST-SW105. Current set-up is my new Yamaha RX-V620(love it) and some Polk 5JR(13+ years old and IMHO some of the best sounding speakers for their size)a Polk CC, and some rather crappy KLHs for SS.

ElectronicsEmall has the SW105 for 112.00, which is well below the price point I'm willing to spend

Seems pretty hot to me, I never been a big fan of Japaneese spekaers but this and the Sony sound good to me. The Sony is a bit big where I can put it so guess the Yameehamee will have to do for me

\\//\\//

 

[gotincon]

I just got the PB12 from J and R for 289 shipped.

 

[Pennstate]

For $400, You can get an 500W Infinity Interlude 120 at Ubid. Remember, the quality of the driver is more important than the size of the woofer.