Its sucks! My Skar zvx 8inch subs hit hard and sound better!

Cant handle any power at all!

An absolute High End subwoofer

Weaknesses?? I own this sub for at least 4 years now, probably longer!

I don't remember exactly when I bought this sub, but I was told this model has a certain "wooliness or warmth", meaning I could actually hear the sub-bass sounds, combined of course with the rest of the music!
I already had a Phase Linear Aliante 12" Limited Edition installed, and the problem (?) was that I couldn't hear enough audible bass. I didn't want to change the settings because the sound, although difficult to hear (for me IN the car that is), was absolutely perfect. This is really THE ultimate audiophile subwoofer.
So after a little bit of encouraging from Ron de Vries I purchased the Boston and combined it in a 2 Ohm setting together with the Aliante, on a Phoenix Gold ZX500 v2, and head unit Nakamichi MB100. The result is not from this planet!!!
The only thing that was needed to complete the set was a capacitor and an extra battery, no extra equipment at all!
The Boston filled the gap between ultra low and sub-low perfectly, and created an incredible sound staging,an extra dimension to bass sound. I am sure a set with only this Boston, combined with amps from PG (top models preferred!) or tube amps or other High End amps will sound like no other!
Of course the spl-enthousiasts will have to look for other types of subs (I am also still a bass-freak!) but here all the power is transformed into pure sound quality and control, not into spl, although it's still pretty loud!
I would recommend this speaker to anyone who loves music, from classical to hard-core. You won't be dissapointed!

Similar Products Used:

B52's (not similar, is spl noise. A lot.)
Heared a number of subs, though, like JL, Cerwin Vega, PG, Focal, Infinity, Mtx, Magnat, Soundstream and so on.

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.

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!

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.

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Many various models of sub.

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

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

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)

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.

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.

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

construction, quality sound, 2ohm or 4 ohm

not an spl sub

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

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

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

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.

Power, clean sound (sq) everything

has to have exact enclosure size

paid retail. it gives the best sound that you would expect out of a high class sub. who ever gives this sub a bad review either didnt install it right or they have been using some crappy sub in a bandpass or vented enclosure. "You Should always go with Boston" made in the USA and the best sound. even though it is expensive you can find them for less (just without such a good warrante.

Similar Products Used:

mtx..xtant..to many to name

quality

i've went trow a boston competiter on the first week.
and a 12" boston pro 4 days after.

600 dollars got them second one on warranty


please unless your a 70 year old man who wants musical bass dont buy boston your most likely better off going with a sub from wal-mart or canadian tire.

i warned you

p.s i would give it a negative rateing but the system wont let me

Similar Products Used:

dual vega 12's these things leave my botons in the dust.
boston has the best sound quality but dont try and pump any power thow them you get bass but the speaker lasts 3 days at most

Tight, accurate, well defined. Good power handling. Critical of set up (purposely put this with strengths as critical means able to differentiate which can only be considered a strength). If properly set up deep bass is impossible to miss.

not many at all. The pulp cones are misleading, but those that know what they're doing can see past this minor technicality. Not a sub for the amateur (as proven below) You dont have to be an old man to appreciate this sub, you just have to have more than a "Circuit City education" into audio (I know they print those handy signs next to all their second rate gear to make you an "instant expert" but it is not reference material and does not take the place of actual experience).

Though I deal mostly with extremely high end home audio and car audio I do like a nice system in the car. The Bostons were the only way to go. Their home audio gear is mediocre at best but for car audio they shine. You're damn right the box is critical, what high-end piece of gear worth owning isnt critical to all the other factors in your system?! Little boys need not mess with big boy toys. Cerwin Vega's, MTX's, JL Audio's throw out alot because they know most of their clientel can't afford the right amp to drive a critical woofer worthy of more than a 5 minute install - so they design them for consistency, not accuracy. Though I am not a big fan of cycle generators or equalizer's, I did find the Audio Control EpiCenter very fun to mess with and a reaffirmation to the true low end capability of these woofers. Note of caution*** Do not mess with an Epicenter unless you have GOBS of POWER!!! RMS ratings are for amateurs! If your amp(s) put out more than 1200 watts the Boston will take it, it just has to be a true, clean, 1200watts! Distortion (clipping) blows a speaker, not too much power (1st and 2nd laws of thermodynamics)!!! When you clip an amp (i.e. reaching its clean power ceiling) it does not produce cycles, it produces DC which is an absence of cycles. And if the woofer is not transducing electronic cycles into mechanical movement then it is standing still. Since energy can neither be created or destroyed only altered - if the woofer is not altering (transducing or dissipating) the electronic cycles but standing still instead then the energy must be dissipated in another way - which is a change to the state of Entropy (random heat - 2nd law of thermodynamics) and 1000watts of raw heat will destroy any finer metal used in a voice coil!!! My point - you can blow any woofer with a P.O.S. amp! All it takes is a big ego, lack of knowledge, unrealistic expectations, and an insufficient amp! Second thought - refering to a previous comment - WHAT 12" OR EVEN 10" WOOFER CAN YOU MAKE SOUND GOOD AT OVER 100 CYCLES??? You clearly do not understand that mass undermines speed and no matter how much control your amp has you should use a large sub for the frequencies it was designed to reproduce! I used a pair of 12.4's in THE PROPER box (its really easy 12 3/4 x 12 3/4 x 12 3/4 outer dimensions will give you 12 x 12 x 12 inside) a sufficient amount of polyfil or even average home insulation and a high powered Soundstream reference amp giving me about 1kwpc. Nice enough set up for the average enthusiest! Make sure you bolt the box to the trunk (or mounting surface)! One of the biggest wastes of low order, low cycle energy, i.e. 20hz and below is wasted energy in the form of stray movement. Bolt the box to the surface and the low end will snap, not pound! Boston doesn't claim their woofers sound good for everyone - just for those that know what they are doing!

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almost all of them - I'm in the audio business.