JBLGTO 1204BP MSRP: $279.99
For the past few years, JBL has been a powerful brand in car audio competition. In fact, Team JBL has dominated sound quality and SPL lanes, providing the company's engineers real-world feedback to help develop products that look great and perform beyond expectations. Following that trend is the JBL GTO 1204BP. As I removed the bandpass enclosure from its bright orange and white shipping box, it was hard not to notice its clean-cut cosmetics and above-average construction quality.
The back of the box angles to fit snugly against the backseat of most cars. Built from 31/44" MDF covered in black trunk liner carpet, the box has a faceplate made of 11/42" MDF flushed in and covered in stylish satin black laminate. A routed section in the left accommodates a thick acrylic window allowing you to view the woofer's basket, while a white JBL logo centers in the middle of the laminate. Bass pumps through a rectangular slot port that is painted satin silver and rounded and flared at the edges to reduce port noise. JBL also added wedges or braces to all the corners of the enclosure to enhance its structural integrity. That's definitely a big plus.
The GTO 1204BP uses one of the company's newly designed 12" dual 2-ohm voice coil woofers from their Grand Touring series. It features a new basket design that makes it a full inch shorter than most 12" woofers on the market. To do this, the vented motor structure is pushed forward a bit. The sub also sports a hi-roll rubber surround and the gratuitous vented pole-piece in the motor structure, all in the name of high excursion and power handling.
JBL included a manual that's a little thick for a normal sub box. I hoped it would be packed with the kind information that most customers need to know like how to handle the box or load it in order to get the best performance in their vehicle. Instead it includes installation tips (with a note on wearing eye protection), tells the user to disconnect the car's battery and other "helpful" information that has nothing to do with the enclosure. It also included a very generic illustration on how to connect the speaker wire to the terminal cup in nine different languages.
Upon inspection of the terminal cup I noticed that there was another set of terminals labeled 12 volts. I found nothing about this in the manual. I peered through the acrylic window and noticed four white LEDs tucked into the corners that would illuminate the inside of the box with a 12-volt supply. This is a nice feature for consumers who want to show off the box to their friends, but one that should have been included in the manual.
Double-checking the enclosure, I found another hidden feature on the sub. On the bottom, a removable panel is held in with 12 pan head screws. This is how you would access the woofer to service it.
InstallationInstalling the GTO 1204BP was easy in the back of my Expedition. I disconnected my own sub enclosure powered by my reference amp that makes 2,200 watts at 4 ohms or 2 ohms. Since the GTO 1204BP is rated at 300 watts RMS and 1,200 watts peak, I connected my amp digital controller and dialed the amp back a bit. I connected 12-gauge speaker wire to the terminals and wired the box's LEDs to the switch-powered 12-volt outlet in the rear hatch of my SUV. JBL doesn't provide mounting brackets so I highly recommend having some fabricated to keep this jewel from sliding around.