[Bruce Wayne]

I have a JBL 12" Sub that has worked great for a few years. The other day it started making a popping sound and after a few minutes it got really really muddy and boomy then quit. I turned it off and checked to see if the kids had stuck any tonka trucks in the port. After an ho ur or so I plugged it back in and it seemed to work fine for about 10 minutes and started the same thing. Would this be an amp or speaker issue? Thanks for the help.

 

[skally]

From the sounds of it, looks like the amp.

 

[flyng_fool]

Your caps are probably dying. They aren't that difficult to change out but if I were you I would just get a new sub. Those JBL's aren't very good.

 

[jaball77]

Frankly it's a miracle that your PB12 was still working at all! I went through 3 amps in 4 years on mine...


You might be able to find someone to repair the amp, but honestly I think I'd buy a new sub.

 

[kesando]

I too would get a new sub at this point but if you really want to keep it you could always pic up a plate amp from parts express:

http://www.parts-express.com/wizards...AT&srchCat=505

 

[kesando]



Quote:
Originally Posted by jaball77 /forum/post/20801656


Frankly it's a miracle that your PB12 was still working at all! I went through 3 amps in 4 years on mine...


You might be able to find someone to repair the amp, but honestly I think I'd buy a new sub.

I think that sub may use the same defective amps as the failure prone Infinity "BU" Series subs from the late 1990s

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Thanks for the responses. I had drilled holes in the plastic box that incases the amp and I think that may have bought me more time due to better cooling, but I had read that these were not very good subs. It was a freebie so i cant complain. Right now I cant afford a really good sub so i was thinking either buy a $114.00 bash amp and squeeze a few more years out of the driver, or pickup the BIC F-12 for $199.00. Would the BIC be a better sub and worth the $86.00 over the bash option?

 

[DonH50]

I'd probably try the amp, but in case something else is wrong make sure you can return it.


Aside: I really had to resist answering "call Batman" to this thread...

 

[schan1269]

Which sub is it? I picked up a dead DPS 12 at a garage sale once for $5. I removed the amp and replaced it with a Sony TA N110. The sub probably sounds better now than it did with the waste of amp they used OEM. It resides in my office. Been using it 4 years.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

it is a JBL PB12. 250 watt 12" . Thinking the Bash amps 300 watts may be the way to go.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Batman is in hiding right now, he will rise again soon though. ;')

 

[jaball77]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Bruce Wayne /forum/post/20803154


it is a JBL PB12. 250 watt 12" . Thinking the Bash amps 300 watts may be the way to go.

The problem is the packaging of the PB12... It's got the big port in the back and the "plate" for the amp is a tall narrow rectangle. Not the typical square that most plate amps are...


I'm not sure where you'd be able to put a plate amp unless you're planning on cutting some new holes.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

i have a couple of options on the plate amp. 1) remove old am and cut a relief for new amp, then make a mounting plate for new amp that will cover relief. 2) leave the old amp in place and just make a box for the Bash amp and run speaker wires from box to sub.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

OK, scratch option one, I see what you mean. I will have to do a cover plate with a remote amp box.

 

[wwinkler]

I used a Parts Express Bash amp to repair a JBL subwoofer by gluing a rectangular shape of 2"x4"s to the back and then screwing the amp into the 2"x4"s. I also had to extend the wires from the amp so that they connected to the speaker. The repair has worked fine for two years.

JBL/Infinity had a whole series of bad amplifiers on many of their subwoofer models (with the current JBL L8400P being a notable exception). The service manual for the PB12 shows that its amplifier was redesigned 2-3 times.