Nice 2-channel amp for main speakers
Written: Aug 17 '01 (Updated Apr 04 '02)
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Pros: Quality built, good heat dissipation, good sound
Cons: Does not work very well with subwoofers, very plain-looking
The Bottom Line: Very nice and clean sound when used with your main speakers. Doesn't quite cut it with subwoofers however, even in bridged mode.
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| rfman's Full Review: JBL P80.2 Car Amp |
I bought this amp as on open-box special at a large electronics retailer, not quite knowing what I was going to use it for. It was their demonstrator, it was quite inexpensive, and I was planning a new stereo installation, so I purchased it figuring it would be useful. I've used it in a few varied applications to date, and I've formed a good opinion on this unit,
Here are my impressions on the JBL P80.2 amplifier:
THE REALLY GOOD:
-Sound quality. If you can get this amp at a reasonable price, it's a pretty good value, considering the quality of the amp's output. Distortion is minimal, and reproduction is good throughout the frequency band. It does not have an overemphasized bass response, so it's well suited for smaller dash or door speakers.
-Solidity. The casing feels like it's made of cast iron, and its entire surface acts as a heat sink. It feels virtually indestructible, and I think it practically is.
THE GOOD:
-Reasonable price. JBL don't necessarily have the reputation of the big players when it comes to amplifiers, and they also have prices that are placed below those of the big names. Considering the good quality the amp provides, it's a good value, especially if you can get it discounted like I did.
-Built-in crossover. The P80.2 features a built-in selectable high or low-pass filter, featuring a tunable cutoff frequency. The high-pass filter is useful for connecting front speakers of a smaller diameter, although the low-pass, which would be used for subwoofers ideally, is not a very useful considering the average bass response of the amplifier.
-Decent full range power. 80W per channel (The P80.2 is a 2 channel amplifier. The P80.4 is basically the same amplifier in a 4-channel configuration) is more than enough to power most any good full-range 2 or 3-way speaker. Be careful when connecting these to lower quality speakers, as some cannot handle 80W RMS. But you should always invest in good speakers before you get an amp anyways.
THE NOT-SO-GOOD:
-Average bass response. Although this amplifier can be bridged to use with one or more subwoofers, the amp is not capable of producing enough power at low frequencies to drive subwoofers optimally. It will work, but not as well as a mono subwoofer amplifier of the same wattage can do. The 160W bridged power from this amplifier does not produce as much output from a subwoofer as my 120W Kenwood KAC-716 mono subwoofer amplifier. Note that smaller full-range speakers such as a 5" or 4"x6" will work quite well with this amplifier, as they wouldn't handle deep bass well anyways.
THE REALLY BAD:
-Nothing to report here
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 100
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Epinions.com ID:
rfman
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Member: Luc Delorme
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Reviews written: 103
Trusted by: 15 members
About Me:
Electrical Engineer, amateur photographer, car buff, technophile, video game player and collector.
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