The JBL Venue Series SUB12 has a textured front that vaguely looks like carbon fiber, and the rounded grill and feet give the unit an attractive, modern feel. The finish on the box itself, however, looks very average and cheap in its veneer. With 39-plus pounds of weight, it passed our knuckle-wrap test for inertness, and was definitely not a lightweight when it came to structural integrity.

The SUB12 has, as you might guess from the model number, a 12-inch woofer made of something JBL refers to as "PolyPlas". This oddly-named material is a simply polymer-coated cellulose fiber. (To those without chemical degrees, that's essentially plastic-coated paper.) This is actually not a bad material for woofers, as it's both light and stiff. The system is ported, and what's more, the port is down-firing which virtually eliminates any port noise--at least on carpet. On the rear of the unit, JBL has added a volume control, variable internal crossover (50Hz - 150Hz with LFE defeat switch), line level inputs, phase switch (0/180), and speaker level inputs (via 5-way binding posts). There is a hard power rocker switch next to the permanently-attached power cable, and the system goes into low-power Standby mode when not in use.

After we recalibrated our levels in testing, the first thing we noticed was that the sub blended well with our bookshelf speakers. There was a nice smooth transition from the frequencies the speakers were handling and those the subwoofer was taking on. The sub seemed to do very well down to around 30 Hz. Below that, the sub didn't seem to put forth much output. Fortunately for JBL, there really isn't all that much content below 25 - 30Hz, so it wasn't missed all that much. We also prefer subs that handle their tuned frequency range well, rather than bottom out when trying to reproduce sounds they can't handle.

The JBL held its composure, even when we rattled it with ultra low frequencies--our big test was the scene in Finding Nemo where Darla taps on the glass of the fish tank. The JBL successfully transmitted the tactile energy of the event to our chairs. During hard-driving musical passages, the sound of kick drums were tight and punchy, and the slapping bass notes we dialed in were authoritative and clean. The JBL did a good job of reproducing the low frequency energy of our music torture tests without lacking definition.

Overall, we'd recommend the JDBL SUB12 for small- to medium-sized rooms. It has enough power to rattle most theaters with clean, accurate sound, and its tactile response is among the better subwoofers we've tested at this price point. With street prices on this sub dropping below $300, the SUB12 should be a serious contender for those looking to add some punch to their home theater or listening room.

Pros: Bottom port aids tactile response, speaker level inputs, standby mode
Cons: May not be enough to drive larger rooms, plain veneer with no color options

Warranty
1 year amplifier; 5 years all other parts