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JBL GT5-12

12" Single 4 ohm GT Series Car Subwoofer

4.4

(16 reviews)

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Specials with this product

  • Free Ground Shipping to the 48 statesdetails
  • 12" Single 4 Ohms GT Series Subwoofer
  • Power Handling:
    • Peak: 1100 watts
    • RMS: 275 watts
  • Impedance: Single 4 ohms
  • Polypropylene cone woofer
  • Rubber surround
  • Rubber coated tinsel leads
  • Vented motor structure
  • Single 4 ohm voice coil
  • Dual-stacked, oversized magnets
  • Frequency response: 27-450 Hz
  • Sensitivity: 90 dB
  • Authorized Internet Dealer
  • 1-year Manufacturer's warranty
Product History:
JBL GT5-12 thumbnail
(newest, current model)
JBL GT4-12 thumbnail
(previous model, replaced by JBL GT5-12)
Subwoofer Specifications
Subwoofer SeriesGT
Subwoofer Size12"
Peak Power Handling1100 watts
RMS Power Handling275 watts
Voice Coil(s)Single
Impedance (Per Voice Coil)4 ohms
Voice Coil Diameter2"
Frequency Response27 - 450 Hz
Sensitivity90 dB
Xmax (millimeters)14.2 mm
Subwoofer DesignRound / Circle
Main Cone ColorBlack
Silver
Woofer CompositionPolypropylene
Woofer SurroundRubber
Magnet StructureDouble Stacked
Subwoofer GrilleNo
Re-Cone Kit AvailableNo
Recommended Enclosure Specifications
Recommended Enclosure TypePorted / Vented
Sealed
Minimum Sealed Box Volume1.0 cubic feet
Maximum Sealed Box Volume1.0 cubic feet
Minimum Ported Box Volume1.75 cubic feet
Maximum Ported Box Volume1.75 cubic feet
Top-Mount Depth6-7/16"
Cutout Diameter11-1/4"
Shallow Mount InstallationNo
Electromechanical Parameters
Free-Air Resonance (FS)29 Hz
Electrical Resistance of Voice Coil (Re)4.00 ohms
Electrical Q Value (Qes)0.64
Mechanical Q Value (Qms)6.39
Total Speaker Q Value (Qts)0.58
Equivalent Compliance (Vas)54.2 liters
Warranty and Return Policy
Return Policy Standard Return Policy
Parts Warranty Duration1 year
Labor Warranty Duration1 year
Warranty ProviderManufacturer
Customer Review Summary for JBL GT5-12
Average Customer Rating is 4.4 out of 5 stars:
4.4
based on 16 Reviews
Share your thoughts with others:
Rating Distribution:
5 star:
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63%
4 star:
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19%
3 star:
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19%
2 star:
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0%
1 star:
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0%
what's this?
Average Attributes Rating:
Durability
4.5
Value
4.8
Features
4.4
Design
4.6
Usability
4.8
what's this?
Quick Comparison:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews:
March 27, 2011 Personal Experience Says This Is One Excellent value
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Review by
Hamiltonian Bass Fiend from Lincoln, NE
Overall
Durability
Value
Features
Design
Usability
Hi, everyone, welcome to this review. Let me start this off with just telling a little bit about myself and my audio background. Being an Electrical Engineer, efficient and well-thought out design is key to any and all products which I consume. I've gone through the all the stereo in a boxes and decided to step things up and design a home system from the ground up each component carefully hand picked on a budget of $500 for the whole system.
The system: This 12" rated subwoofer driver was chosen to go into my hand built 3/4" MDF ported 2.05 cubic foot enclosure (not including port or driver displacement). It is driven by an MB Quart Discus 4-channel A/B amplifier with channels 3 & 4 bridged, feeding 320 watts of rated power. The amp feeds off a 400 watt continuous rated DC power supply. Though I rarely take advantage of all the available power.
Performance: While I only have personal experience with a few budget subwoofer drivers, I am a musician with a keen ear for sound nuances (I'm also somewhat of a bass fiend). I own earbuds and headphones that produce very flat sub bass curves, easily down to 20 hz, these can outdo any 12" subwoofer driver in below 35 hz sub bass, So I know what to look for. After more than 100 hours of listening with every possible musical genre, I can say that this performs as well as expectations. My main focus in a sub driver was to have very accurate and LOW frequency reproduction. Now, anyone with experience in these matters knows that ratings don't necessarily line up with reality. (Notice there is no threshold mentioned [such as +/- 3 dB]... vague ratings are hard to get an accurate idea of actual performance. However other reviews around the internet, along with the a look at the manufacturer supplied frequency response graphs, seemed to also give me the impression that this driver stands above the rest in low frequencies. Now, it all depends on the acoustic environment obviously. A car is much friendlier to low frequency reproduction than a big room, hence the reason for choosing this driver. Using my own tests with test tones and the sub placed optimally for the listening vantage point to be squarely in an anti-node for very low sub-bass frequencies (below 40 hz), I came up with, to my ear, about 33 to 35 hz accurate frequency reproduction and topping out slightly above 100 hz --- this is with the threshold being half the peak volume. As far as I know this is quite good for a setup such as mine. A 12" Pioneer sub of equal cost and same setup was much higher at this threshold (about 40-42 hz). At sub frequencies this low, the difference is very noticeable in bass music tracks, and even in the low rumble of a concert bass drum, however metal/rock/country/pop or what have you, the difference will be unnoticeable.
In summation: this driver performs very well at it's intended purpose low frequency reproduction, in the price range of less than $100. If you intend to burp out 40-70 hz bass at incredible dB, you could probably do better (get a low-end kicker model or some such, they might handle more power, but it seems some of those drivers don't respond well in ultra sub-bass). Very happy with this purchase.
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August 8, 2009 Awesome sound and underrated RMS power handling.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Review by
matthew from callahan, FL
Overall
Durability
Value
Features
Design
Usability
these subwoofers really really kick out the tunes. the powerhandling is way underrated and the can definitly handle more power than they say. i currently have them wired for 2 ohms and 1000 watts RMS between 2 of these and now my rear view mirror looks down when i crank the volume. these subs really get the job done and sound clean and undistorted the whole way through. also, they produce low notes beyond the rated 27Hertz.
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April 17, 2009 Best bang for the buck
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Review by
Jason from Watertown, MA
Overall
Durability
Value
Features
Design
Usability
A subwoofer with 14mm of REAL xmax for this price is unbelievable. It wasn't long ago a subwoofer of this quality would set you back quite a lot. The build quality is excellent from the heavy gauge stamped basket to the rubber coasted tinsel leads. All of the glue joints seemed neat and clean, I have no reason to believe this sub won't last me the life of my car.

In my opinion this woofer is completely underrated at 275W RMS. A 2" coil with vented pole piece means thermal compression should be minimal. A large linear throw, and progressive spider to handle high power transient peaks means the woofer is mechanically robust. As long as you have a moderately sized sealed enclosure or a PROPERLY designed ported box 400-500W should be no problem for this beast.

I've been running two of these in a sealed enclosure (1cf per sub no fill) with 300W RMS of class AB power. They're as efficient as any subwoofer I've used before, and handle everything down to 20Hz with plenty of control. The haven't struggled with anything I've thrown at them and just sound darn good with all types of music.

The only thing I don't like is the cheesy plastic dust-cap. I liked the old orange JBL logo with the peak wattage stamped proudly in large font. Oh well, nothing is perfect.
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November 1, 2011 More impressed than the rock P1 or P2
Review by
SB from Los Angeles, Cali
Overall
Durability
Value
Features
Design
Usability
Was quite surprised in the sound quality and the difference in the bass that it produced compared to the difference surface design of my Rockfords.
Personal fan of the type R but will def do for a replacement and for time being.
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September 14, 2011 bandpass
Review by
Riley from Mound, MN
Overall
Durability
Value
Features
Design
Usability
My brother had an older version of these subs in a 01 civic with a bandpass box.sounded AMAZING for the amount he paid. now they are hooked up to the garage sound system. and yes, the neighbors do complain.
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View All 16 Reviews for JBL GT5-12
Subwoofer Grilles
Protect your subwoofer while making your enclosure look great! These subwoofer grilles are the perfect addition to your new subwoofer.
 ProductPriceAdd?
12" Universal Subwoofer Grille12" Universal Subwoofer Grille
Protect your subwoofer with this aluminum grille that is simple to install.
$9.99
Speaker Wire
Choose from our recommended speaker wire to hook up your amplifier to your new subwoofer. The higher quality of speaker wire that it used for this connection, the better your subwoofer will sound.
 ProductPriceAdd?
15 ft. of 12 AWG StreetWires Speaker Wire15 ft. of 12 AWG StreetWires Speaker Wire
This SuperCable from StreetWires is a noise free link between your amplifier and your subwoofer.
$19.99
20 ft. of 12 AWG Kicker Speaker Wire20 ft. of 12 AWG Kicker Speaker Wire
Kicker uses twisted pair technology and hyper-flex cable to provide you with the cleanest sound and a simple installation.
$24.49
Sound Dampening Material
Get the most sound out of your new subwoofer with some high quality sound dampening material. It will keep the road noise out and the music inside the car.
 ProductPriceAdd?
Dynamat Rubber RollerDynamat Rubber Roller
Install your Dynamat with ease! This heavy duty rubber roller is designed specifically to install your Dynamat!
$18.99
Dynamat Xtreme Trunk KitDynamat Xtreme Trunk Kit
Get better sounding bass from your new subwoofer with enough Dynamat Extreme for your entire trunk.
$94.99
Enclosure Accessories
These accessories are designed to help you build the custom enclosure that you have always wanted, or add to the box that you already bought. Either way, these products can assist you in achieving better sound, better looks, and more bass!
 ProductPriceAdd?
20 oz. Bag of Poly-Fil20 oz. Bag of Poly-Fil
Polyester fiber fiberfill adds better bass to your system.
$5.99
16 oz. Can of Adhesive Spray16 oz. Can of Adhesive Spray
Spray adhesive used for adhering carpet to subwoofer boxes without bubbles.
$5.99
Spring Post Terminal CupSpring Post Terminal Cup
Makes adding a spring post terminal to an enclosure simple! Banana clip ready!
$2.99
Binding Post Terminal CupBinding Post Terminal Cup
Use this to easily install a binding post terminal to your subwoofer enclosure.
$2.99
Banana Clip TerminalsBanana Clip Terminals
These high grade banana clips allow you to plug into your banana clip ready terminal for a secure connection.
$4.99
System Optimization and Tuning
Use these items to assist in testing and tuning your new car audio system to perfection!
 ProductPriceAdd?
AutoSound 2000 CD-101AutoSound 2000 CD-101
Low frequency test CD
$12.99
AutoSound 2000 CD-102AutoSound 2000 CD-102
High frequency test CD specifically designed for the set-up and evaluation of sound system imaging and placement.
$12.99
AutoSound 2000 CD-103AutoSound 2000 CD-103
Audiophile reference series test disc for evaluation of all audio components.
$12.99
Main Product
 ProductPriceAdd?
JBL GT5-12JBL GT5-12$69.00

For more information on wiring subwoofers, visit our Subwoofer Wiring Guide: Subwoofer Wiring Guide

Product Summary

Manufacturer: JBL
Model number: GT5-12
UPC: 050036119412
Weight: 16.00 lbs
Internal SKU: gt512
Internal product ID: 10580

Price Information

$119.95

–$50.95

$69.00

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