Boston Acoustics Pro Series 12.5LF

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $100.00 from Southern Michigan Au

Year / Model Reviewed:
1993 Boston Acoustics Pro Series 12.5LF

Strengths:
Sound, sound, sound. I heard a pair of Boston Pro 10's, and my Pro 12 sounded better, hands down (In my system anyway). It was extrememly quick; you didn't hear bass sounds, you heard bass notes, you heard fingers on the guitar, etc.

Weaknesses:
None really in the product itself.

When I first got my sub it blew almost immediately (with almost no power going to it). This happened to the replacement sub as well. Come to find out there was a problem with a batch of subs and the adhesive that was being used to connect the cone to the spider.

Boston overnighted me a new sub from a new batch once they reaized what had happened (at their expense).

I have litterally nothing to complain about from this sub. If I an aftermarket system in my car right now I'd install one without a second thought.

Remember the old saying, you get what you pay for! With this sub you are getting alot!

Summary:
I was an employee at Southern Michigan Audio back in '93/'94. I got a sales person discount when I purchased my speakers (all Boston Acoustics) so that I could demo them to customers. I had a decent system, nothing lavish like you see today. I like rock (Rush, Doors, etc.), Jazz (Dr John, Vince Guaraldi), and contemporary (Gloria Estefan, Seal, etc.).

To be honest I didn't know what to expect from the sub when I installed it. When it came out of the package I was impressed by it's size and weight, the motor was massive, the frame massive as well. The cone seemed wimpy in comparison, though in time I believe I understand why the cone was designed the way it was (and it worked!).

I ran a single 12.5LF off of a Lanzar OptiDrive 150 (It was a great amp, I don't know what happened to Lanzar, that's a different story I guess).

I had a PPI 4way crossover running my Mids and Highs, then crossing over to 8" midbass (I had them up front to help with imaging), then crossing over to the Boston Sub.

All I can say is that it sounded amazing. There wasn't much detail you couldn't hear. The bass was very well defined and clear; musical. Powerful and effortless.

At the time I had a lot of kids running in and out of the store wanting demos. My system wasn't the kind that most people had at the time but people were actually impressed. You couldn't hear me coming blocks away or anything, but it just sounded really nice.

I would wholeheartedly recommend this sub to anyone who was interested a musical sounding system. I honestly don't know how it works when going for SPL, I never was worried about that. It had enough power that it would pound the hell out of you, quite a concussive force, but it wasn't boomy sounding at all. It played the music like it was recorded, nothing more, nothing less.

Similar Products Used:
Many various models of sub.

Price Paid:  $150.00 from Australia

Year / Model Reviewed:
2003 Boston Acoustics Pro 12.5LF

Strengths:
Extremely musical and accurate, only needs a small box. 100% SQ, and no BS about it

Weaknesses:
Not an SPL sub. Doesnt go as low as some other subs.

Summary:
Its hard to say where this sub excels really. When i first got it, i wasnt very well exposed to car audio. I got this sub second hand as a swap for my old JL woofer. When i first got it, given my limited listening experience at the time, i was thinking, wow, this is a real SQ woofer. I only had my old JL to compare it to at the time. Then as time progressed i managed to listen to more and more subs, among those most notably the IDMax(my bass reference), among many others. It was only after listening to these subs that i suddenly realised just how damn good this sub is. Words can't express how well it delivers such low frequencies with such musicality whilst staying quick and keeping up perfectly. Ever played a song where a fast passage of intermittent bass notes ended up sounding muddy and clumped together, resulting in a passage that just sounds like one long bass note? Well, with this sub, you'll never get stuff like that again. The accuracy of this sub, is simply unbelievable. Some have mentioned that this is not a woofer for the rap music or SPL crowd. I would have to agree. The ONLY 2 aspects of this sub which i consider not perfect is the sheer output capability(this is not an SPL woofer, but output will be plenty enough for anyone except an SPL competitor, with about 400W) and low end extension. This woofer was built with real music in mind, not endless 20Hz tones, sort of like the garbage you get in most rap music. The listener will find that the sub starts to roll off quite dramatically after about 30Hz, but notes as low as 20Hz remain clearly audible. I currently run this sub in a 1.25cuft box with 400WRMS. I have never run it in the recommended 1cuft enclosure, but if you do, and find the low end lacking, i believe going with a slightly larger box(like i do) might help somewhat(just a tip). From personal experience, it has taken up to 800WRMS(measured at amp outputs) continously with absolutely no problems. I am not sure where the reliability problems mentioned earlier by other reviewers come from, but as far as i am concerned, this is a tough sub, and definitely is able to handle its rated power with no problems. Good thing is, most people will never need to run more than about 500W to get this sub going loud enough to make people walking by your car turn and stare in astonishment. You wont need 1000W for this sub to shine(although it can take it if you want to). As mentioned earlier, i run only 400W because any more than that, and bass overpowers my music. Its probably not hard to see that this woofer is built for music lovers, not bass lovers. If real music is your bag, i guarantee that even other very, very well reknown subs out there like the IDMax and many others will never even tempt you away from the Boston.

Similar Products Used:
JL Audio 12w3 Version 2 (listened to plenty of subs though)

Price Paid:  $150.00

Year / Model Reviewed:
 2001

Strengths:
Everything about this sub is wonderful. Anyway other than that if you enjoy music with great spl and clarity then this sub is for you.

Weaknesses:
This sub doesnt have weaknesses other than the fact that i wish it could hit a little lower. Its not like i can hear those frequencies around 20Hz anyway though. So not a big deal.

Summary:
This sub is definitely awesome. The only other sub on the market that is in the same league as this one is eclipse, which costs over $100 more than this sub. It handles the power from my fosgate power 500a2 with ease. It was so loud that i had to lower the gain on my amp because i couldn''t hear my focal components when i listened to a song with deep bass. I haven''t cranked it up really loud yet but at volume 26 on my deck, it is very loud. I was very impressed with the build quality of the sub. It weighs a ton and it is built to last. The build quality of this sub puts my infinity to shame.

Similar Products Used:
Infinity Perfect 10 doesnt compare to the build quality or sound. Focal Polykevlar Components, Rockford Fosgate Amps, Kenwood Excelon Deck

Price Paid:  $0.00

Strengths:
construction, quality sound, 2ohm or 4 ohm

Weaknesses:
not an spl sub

Summary:
I have owned the Boston 12.5Lf for almost three years. I have never had a problem with not going low enough. They are for sure a sound quality sub. With limited bandwidth 30 to 100hz. But in that range they perform amazing. I don''t recommend them for bass heads. I am only running them with 120W rms and distortion can occur really bad unless set up right. The reason they blow up is because of amp distrotion and the fact the subs are designed to move fast and reproduce accurate bass. And the distrotion sends a clipped almost dc voltage to the sub no wonder it blows up. They are a great sub for quality and durabuilty. The construction of the basket the cone ever part prefect. Can''t go wrong with a sub you''ll have for years.

Similar Products Used:
None

Price Paid:  $190.00

Strengths:
Strongest quality, SOUND QUALITY. Tight, accurate, clean bass response. Good power handling (in proper enclosure).

Weaknesses:
12.5lf Boston's do NOT hit as low as other subs. Excursion not very impressive.

Summary:
I've gone through a variety of subs, but have found the perfect sub (FOR MY OWN TASTES). In my own opinion, Boston Pro's out-perform just about any SQ sub on the market. When I first got into car-audio, it was all about the 'Earth-shattering bass'. When my car seemed like it was going to explode from SPL, I couldn't stop smiling.. until I heard an audiophile's car with Boston Pro 12.5lf's in the trunk. The sound quality from the Boston's are incredible! The crispness, quickness, and tightness are amazing. They also get incredibly loud while maintaning sound quality. 2 Boston's run off a 350RMS Zapco amp got 141.1dB with the gain nearly all the way down. After hearing the Boston's, I listened to my subs again. I nearly cried, all that time I thought my bass was tight, all the while it was mushy, dirty, and muffled. As soon as I had the money, I went out and picked one up. I was told these speakers ABSOLUTELY MUST be in a 1.0ft sealed box for them to sound the way they should, so I did that. Amazing... finaly, I'm listening to music the way it was intended to sound. Like so many reviewers below said, if you want loud, mushy, dirty, unclear bass, go buy any regular sub. If you want the cleanest bass on the market, pick up a Boston! (or an Eclipse) ... ?

Similar Products Used:
JL Audio, Cerwin-Vega, Infinity Perfect.