MOVIE PERFORMANCE Here's the executive summary: The JL f112 outperformed my everyday sub, a somewhat more compact sealed 12-incher of similarly lofty price, by an audible margin in both depth and power - the first visiting woofer to do so in some time. I tried lots of film and music tracks, and while passages rating only "very demanding" yielded no audible differences, my "most demanding" list told the tale.

On the helicopter rotor-beats from Chapter 4 of Black Hawk Down, at cinema-reference levels, the f112 produced a clearly more thoracic overall effect. When playing the full speaker system, this was discernible only to a practiced ear, but it was perfectly obvious with the full-range speakers muted. Plus, the JL excited rattles in my room that my regular woof could not. More important, it delivered tangibly more near-infrasonic gut-thumping from stuff like that old standby, the 'zilla footfalls from Godzilla.

MUSIC PERFORMANCE Music playback was just as impressive. Even with a fairly high crossover (80 Hz) dialed in from the processor, the JL produced a smooth, continuous blend with smaller sats, including exposed material such as solo string bass. I heard no hint of sub artifacts that called attention to its location, nor any of the "boom," "bloom," or "bloat" that afflict many subs. The f112 was invariably tight and detailed. And it was highly musical - along with powerful and low.

BOTTOM LINE This is a hell of a good subwoofer. If you've got the scratch to buy it and the abs to unpack and install it, you won't be sorry.

Full Lab Results Back to Homepage What's New on S&V