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 July 1, 2007JL Audio Fathom f112 Subwoofer
So when I heard that JL Audio also makes home subs, my lights went on. Then I heard that fellow writer Randall Smith had gotten the call from the SoundStage! Network brass, and that he’d be reviewing the JL Audio Fathom f113. Bummer for me. Adding insult to injury, the Fathom f113 turned out to be so good that it was crowned Home Theater & Sound Product of the Year for 2006. Damn! Look what I’d missed. A few weeks ago, I got the call I’d been waiting for. They wanted me to review a smaller JL sub, the Fathom f112 ($2700 USD in satin finish). But JL thought they’d better send me two f112s to make sure I had enough woof. Two subs. Take that, Randall. Ha! The boxes arrived a few weeks later, seeming to weigh a ton and secure as a bank vault. JL has thought through all the details: Like a case of good wine, the sub is shipped upside down. That way, when you unpack it, you simply open the top of the box and turn it over. Total simplicity. Each f112 was covered in a velvet bag to protect its gorgeous, shiny, piano-black lacquer. JL even throws in a pair of cotton gloves so you don’t get fingerprints on the finish. The thoughtfulness doesn’t stop there. You may have performed careful calculations in your room that show that a subwoofer should be located right where the sofa is -- an idea that gets you an icy stare from your soulmate. But if you put the sub where your Significant Other wants it, you get an ugly lump in the response. Stalemate.
Don’t worry, no problem. You can put the Fathom f112 almost anywhere in the room you like, then attach the supplied microphone, push the sub’s Automatic Room Optimization (ARO) switch, and hold the mike where your ears normally reside. In about three minutes you’ll have a fully equalized, flattened-out bass response. Painless. The only downside is, like any room optimization program, ARO makes the sound perfect for one seating location only. As soon as you move, different modes cause other anomalies. For that reason, careful placement might give a better overall room response. But it sure is nice to have the choice. From popping the box top to listening to music took about 20 minutes; from reading the manual, 15 minutes. The f112 is so flexible that its clear, concise, well-written manual should be read from cover to cover before the sub is even plugged in. And thanks to that manual, setup is simple, despite the breadth of the f112’s capabilities. An especially nice touch is something that other manufacturers should emulate: the controls are all on the front panel. No more contorting as you try to squeeze yourself behind your sub -- a big help when, like the f112, the sub weighs 115 pounds. When I’d got the Fathom f112 up and running, a couple of interesting things showed up immediately. First, this thing draws a lot of current. Its amplifier is very efficient, but at full gallop it pushes 1500W into the sub’s 12" cone. Here’s something fun: If you have something with really low notes, such as Danny Elfman’s score for Mission: Impossible, pull the grille covers off and watch the cone as it chugs out those bass notes with 3" excursions -- about 2.5" more than most subwoofer cones. The real miracle was how fast the f112’s cone could accelerate. This was one quick subwoofer. Some audio journalists will opine that, because of the long wavelengths of bass frequencies, subs can’t be fast. Wrong. Speed counts. Almost all instruments that produce subwoofer frequencies also produce overtones and other sounds. Tweeter domes weigh nothing compared to the pull of their magnets, so they move quickly. But if the high-frequency overtones reach your ears before the impact of the bass region, the sound is disjointed. It may not matter on a long-held organ tone, but when someone thwacks a bass drum or plucks a bass guitar, you want the sound to be integrated. In short, you need a fast subwoofer. I used the Fathom f112 with every type of program material you can imagine. The biggest surprise was that TNT-HD puts out some serious bass in their broadcasts of the NBA playoffs. I heard sounds that my Sunfire Signature sub had never hinted at. The exploding graphics at the halftime show had room-rattling bass. The other amazing sound is in Resistance: Fall of Man, a Sony PlayStation 3 game. When you blow up a rocket at close range, a sudden wallop of sound knocks some of the air out of you, then slowly disintegrates into silence. The f112 handled the sound without uttering the faintest cry of distress. I was very impressed. Next, I pulled out a few of my favorite bass-music tests -- tracks that create a torturous environment for any woofer. First up was Paul Chambers’ plucked intro to "So What," from Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue [CD, Columbia 64935]. To really hear the wood in this tune, you need a sub that can make the bass notes arrive at the listening position at the same time as the main speakers’ output. Otherwise, Chambers’ playing sounds distant and lifeless. The f112 worked like a charm. Mark Isham’s tuneful score for The Net features bass way down deep. Again, the Fathom f112 just sounded right, with seemingly unlimited headroom. It just kept going lower and louder, with no sign of the usual problems of overstressed subwoofers, such as buzzing or rattling.
The toughest test is Sade’s "Cherish the Day," from Lovers Live [CD, Epic 86373]. Paul Cook sets the beat with a brilliantly recorded kick drum that requires impact. Except for three short notes, bassist Paul Denman sits out the first verse. When he finally comes in, he sets up a syncopated shuffle that usually lands on the beat with the bass drum. Teasing out the two requires a sub with great resolving power. The best I’d ever heard had been a pair of Entec subs. Now the JL f112 is the best. In fact, the Fathom JL f112 is the best subwoofer I’ve ever used. It exudes quality, from its elegant cabinetwork to the transparent way it handles whatever dynamic sounds you throw at it without any sense of strain. My long-term reference sub, the Sunfire Signature, now sounds anemic. I’m now spoiled for any other sub. What can compete with the f112? Maybe one of the big Thiel SmartSubs with Integrator -- but now we’re talking about a sub that costs more than my first house. Wilson Audio’s passive WATCH Dog Modular is probably competitive, but it’s huge, weighs 283 pounds, and costs $6500. Of course, there’s always the f112’s bigger brothers. JL claims that the Fathom f113 plays louder and lower than the f112. It also costs another $500 and is a good bit bigger. Then there’s the Gotham g213, which is even more powerful but runs $11,000. Choices, choices. The most important thing I learned during my time with JL Audio’s Fathom f112 is what I’m discovering to be the JL house sound: accuracy over boominess, muscular oomph only when needed, and a sense of effortlessness in both depth and power. It makes music. …Wes Marshall JL Audio Fathom f112 Subwoofer JL Audio Website: www.jlaudio.com
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I have a JL
Audio subwoofer in my car. I chose it because it plays individual bass notes of distinct
pitch, instead of the one-note blam blasters I hear roaming the city streets at night.
Jazz is my favorite traveling music, and I like to feel and hear the bass
players’ art. After listening to a lot of different subs, the only choice for me was
a JL. It makes music.
