Slammin AND Accurate Sub- Powerful Lows, GREAT price- This One's a Winner
Written: Jan 14 '04
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Sound Quality: |
 |
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Durability: |
|
|
|
Pros: Probably the best sounding SQ sub for the$ good w/med. power, GREAT w/hi power
Cons: A little finicky about enclosures- Likes a WELL BUILT sealed enclosure- do it right!
The Bottom Line: Provided you take the time to build a great enclosure (not too challenging) this sub will provide ridiculously clean, powerful lows. A real superstar!
|
|
|
| nick1326's Full Review: Boston Acoustics ProSeries 12.5LF Car Driver Car S... |
Anyone serious about car audio should really read this review - this is my passion and I am dedicated to bringing you the real skinny on these products out there, because I've experienced them all...PLease read on.
If you've already read my opinion on the Boston 6.53's than you know how big a Boston fan I am. Let me tell you though, despite my fondness for the manufacturer, I was NOT always a big fan a Boston subs since they required so much space (enclosure wise) to give maximum output -- make no mistake, these puppies ALWAYS pounded (see the magnets on those suckers?) but they needed one hell of a big enclosure to make them work! About the time that I had fitted Boston Pro EVERYTHING into my vehicle for front stage and rear fill, I began looking for a good subwoofer to give my car some serious low end...The choices ranged from a hundred and change to 700 (cerwin vega stroker) and I knew that I didn't have to much room. Ultimately the original choice was one of 2:
1) Spend 600 bucks and waste my whole trunk on the Bostons PLUS go buy a nice expensive power house amp to drive the 2 12's I wanted...
2) Spend 1/2 the price on a pair of JL 12W6's that would take up less than half the room
***NOTE - the JL took 1.25 cubic feet, while the Boston AT THE TIME, took 2.5 cubic feet. WHAT A DIFFERENCE...
So anyway - Boston must have been listening very closely to user feedback, because shortly after I wasted my money on the JL's (which pound in volume, but are no where CLOSE to as accurate in terms of resolution when compared to the BA's) Boston decides to come out with a speaker that needs even LESS room than the JL, runs a few dB more efficiently that the JL, has a cast aluminum basket thus increasing rigidity AND efficiency, PLUS costs only a few bucks more. Let's just say I was upset with my decision to go with the JL's -- though at the time I didn't have this wonderful option.
I sucked it up and went back to my dealer to go spend another chunk on the subs. Happily however, I was able to use the same fantastically home built enclosure that I fashioned out of MDF PLUS the same amp I had.
SOUND - Like all Boston products, this company is dedicated to offering only the best sounding equipment. Anyone who knows the slightest bit about car audio realizes that every audio environment in all the different cars is just so different, it is always very hard to get even close to a flat response, nevermind the "ruler flat" non-existent "dreamworld" response that all these manufacturers elude you to. There is NO SUCH THING, trust me. But what I have found is that the Boston speakers offer me the closest thing to, and I have to RTA to prove it. To anyone out there shopping around not quite sure who to listen to PLEASE don't be fooled by all the IASCA crap that they feed you in magazines...we must all remember that the sound offs and the magazines are OWNED BY IASCA...IASCA pays the advertising and therefore dominates the information that you read in these publications. I'm upset to say that thus far I really haven't seen a truly objective car audio publication NOR contest (because they're all IASCA sponsored) The winners always seem to have an unlimited budget with equipment that is good, but not really GREAT...Remember, just because a company makes a GREAT amplifier doesn't necessarily mean they make a great sub (let's not name the 3 companies that immeidately come to mind)
Anyway, let me digress from all the politics. Let's leave it at this - the Boston pro sub line up is a very welcomed change -- it demonstrates the Boston LISTENS to customer feedback, wants to stay COMPETITIVE and will offer a product which EXCEEDS almost every other out there. These subs are LOUD AND CLEAR - unlike most other subs which maybe loud, but are hardly accurate...Go listen to the Joshua Tree with the bass turned up on JL subs and you can swear that the bass is out of tune....Then go hear it on the Boston's and hear the difference - yes, I am serious.
Hope this review helps you guys make the best choice - these are some serious speakers, and compared to the pro subs of this caliber, it is very reasonably priced (go look at the prices on the velodynes, a/d/s/ or phoenix golds...
Comparatively, the a/d/s/ top-of-the-line Rs subs used to be fantastic- now that a/d/s/ was bought out (along with PPI and Orion) quality has gone down alot, the stuff is just not what it used to be. Nevertheless, the old Rs subs (with the BLACK cones as opposed to the newer white cones) and great subs- a little less powerful than the boston, but just a touch tighter- personally, I still choose the boston. In my latest vehicle, BMW 328ci I have a jl 500/1 powering the boston 12.5lf in a 1.02 cf sealed enclosure- the thing absolutely POUNDS and can still take 500 more watts if I chose to put it on there- but 500 is plenty, the sub slams, plays way down to nearly inaudible lows and is very tight, accurate and musical- for under 250, you couldn't ask for more.
Good luck and remember a quality install is the best install.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 175
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
nick1326
|
 - Top 100 |
|
Location: Long Island, NY
Reviews written: 232
Trusted by: 93 members
About Me:
Music, Motorcycles, Drumming, Surfing, the finest cigars and living life to its fullest...
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.