Customer Reviews

JBL ES150PBK 300-Watt Powered 10" Subwoofer - Black

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I wondered if this subwoofer would be powerful enough for my 25 x 20 foot room with vaulted ceiling. And, it absolutely is. When the levels are set to high it shakes the entire room with clear, powerful bass.

I did, however, have one initial negative experience when the woofer was inexplicably buzzing. Never having owned a subwoofer before, I just assumed that I hadn't paid enough for a quality subwoofer and that it couldn't handle the power. However, I decided to take the speaker apart to see if there was somthing loose. Sure enough, there was a small wire that was looped onto the speaker that was causing the buzzing. I simply tucked it back away from the speaker and completely fixed the problem. The difference was truly like night and day. Now the speaker is awesome and can handle any power I throw at it.

I suppose this does raise the question of why JBL was sloppy enough to allow the wire to hit the speaker?? Was this a rare thing or something that happens often with this price-level of JBL speakers?? I don't know. But everything's fine now and I'm thrilled with the speaker.

I could not be more happy with my purchase of the LBL ES150PBK Subwoofer. The specifications (300 watt, front-firing) speak for themselves, but I am also pleased with the extra long cable included for connecting to my receiver. The design (not square) is pleasing to look at, and the led on the top of the unit to indicate operation is much better than my previous subwoofer that had the same feature, but it was on the back of the unit where you couldn't see it. Overall, an outstanding product for a great price.

I recently added this JBL sub-woofer to my 5.1 system after upgrading my TV to an HD Sumsung and my receiver to a Denon, using HDMI cables I purchased from Monoprice (saved a bundle). This speaker has a quality feel and weight. The case is attractive and resists fingerprints. This speaker enhances the expierience of watching movies and playing video games, making them more immersive. You can actually feel the sound! The bass notes don't overwhelm music and don't sound boomy. The bass sound is effective and noticeable even at lower volume ranges. Hookup was easy. I highly recommend this addition to your sound system!

I owned this sub-woofer for close to a year and was happy with it, but then the sound started getting louder until after a few months it was impossible to turn the volume of the unit down far enough for it to be usable. At the same time, noise appeared in the audio and I thought I had developed ground loop problems or something like that. Eventually it became unusable, and I never turned it on.

Today, having determined that the unit was way beyond its warranty, I opened it up to see if it was fixable -- it was.

The root cause of the problem was that the washers used to shim the volume control knob were the wrong total thickness. Since the terminals of the resistive element in the potentiometer were soldered into the PCB, this caused stress on the PCB and over time it cracked, the crack propagating through the resistive element. This slowly increased the resistance, so offering a higher resistance in the negative feedback loop of the preamp and increasing the volume. Eventually the crack broke the element completely and the very high gain of the preamp caused it to just spew noise.

The fix was to replace the broken potentiometer with an identical one, but wire it in with flexible wires. It's a 10K logarithmic pot, about $3.

The quality of the PCBs and construction was not good. There were solder splashes on the boards, one lifted and repaired pad, a place that there had been a short between conductors that had been very badly fixed, removing a lot of the coating from the board and damaging other traces. The preamp board itself was mounted with a visible bend, so stressing it unnecessarily. Pads lifted from the PCB easily and I had to repair one that I had accidentally damaged when I knocked a capacitor.

If you have one of these units and it gives trouble, take it to someone who fixes stereos and they will probably be able to revive it.

I bought one of these about a year and a half ago. This was my favorite piece of my home audio setup. This thing has enough power to shake the walls but allows you to dial in the right frequency and volume to perfectly match your system.

About 8 months in, it started making weird buzzing noises randomly. I had it repaired under warranty and it again worked great until recently, this time the volume control failed. It now is all or nothing. It's a much too powerful for my apartment at full strength and I'm not sure it's even worth having it repaired again since it's no longer under warranty.

Sadly I'm having to buy another sub, and it won't be a JBL this time.

good sub for the money. built well and rocks the house. i'd like to buy another for the same room and really nock the pictures off the walls.

Similar experience to others.

Bought this about 2 years ago and hooked it up to my Pioneer Elite Sc-27. Sounded great, was very pleased with performance.

A few days ago it starts emitting all sorts of odd noises even with receiver off. Got zapped when I touched the rear cable. Not worth repairing. Just ordered a new Polk sub.

Huge sound and is way more than I needed for my 25ft x 50ft "Great Room". I have it at maybe 30% volume and it I can still feel it shaking the floor when I'm upstairs. Completely clear and sounds crisp.

I purchased this to complement my 5.1 surround sound system. It's connected to a Pioneer VSX-1019AH receiver using the LFE jack. This speaker is large and heavy and puts out impressive, clean bass.

Hooked this up last night. Wow...it shook some candle holders right off the wall in a 23' x 15' media room! My wife could feel the vibration 35' away through the concrete floor while watching Transformers! Simple to hook up and adjust. Great quality product!