Infinity Reference 1000SSL 10 Inch Car Subwoofer With Passive Radiator

Most stock our stereos have a lot of room for improvement. There are a lot of options to upgrade your car speaker system. One option, with decades of experience, is Infinity. You also don’t want to forget the subwoofer. Up for review today is the Infinity Reference 1000SSL. MSRP is $399.

 

Feature and specs:

Subwoofer:  10" (250mm) Aluminum Driver

Power Handling:  350W RMS, 1050W peak

Sensitivity (1W/1m):  82.5dB

Frequency Response (-6dB):  35Hz – 400Hz

Nominal Impedance:  2 ohms

Voice Coil Diameter:  2" (50mm)

Enclosure dimensions:  334mmD x 630mmW x 115mmH 13-1/8"D x 24-7/8"W x 4-1/2"H

Enclosure materials:  3/4” (18mm) MDF with black carpet covering

 

The Infinity Reference 1000SSL came in a standard cardboard box with images and specs of the subwoofer. Opening the box revealed a well-protected enclosure held in place by Styrofoam. Materials used for the construction was mostly MDF for the enclosure, aluminum and rubber for the subwoofer, and cloth. Quality of the materials used in the construction, as well as the fit and finish, was very good. Also included were the rubber feet, screws, logo sticker, and owner’s manual.

 

I absolutely love the design of the Infinity Reference 1000SSL. But lets first talk about subwoofer enclosure designs. The most common are sealed and ported. And I know this is over simplified, but it’s the basics. Sealed gives you a nice tight sound, good power handling, in a smaller size, but not as loud as ported. Ported isn’t as tight sounding, and is louder, but requires a much larger enclosure. Using a passive radiator gives you the best of both worlds. It’s sealed so you get a tight sound in a smaller sealed box. Yet the passive radiator almost acts like a port. It’s not quite as loud as ported, but it does increase its volume output when compared to a regular sealed enclosure by a good amount.

 

The Infinity Reference 1000SSL taps into that passive radiator design. It uses two 10’s in a sealed enclosure. One driver is active, and the other is the passive radiator. The box is small enough to give you some installation location options, depending on your vehicle. And if it gets installed in your truck, the enclosure uses ¾” thick MDF so it’s strong, and the drivers are down firing. So you can stack things on top of it, like groceries, if needed. The 350 watt RMS also gives you some amp flexibility. You can use a smaller sub amp, or most 5 channel full system amps have a sub amp part that are big enough to power it. Installation was also easy. Let’s see how it sounds.

 

Queen: Another One Bites the Dust: Bass beats were extremely dynamic, played with a ton of authority with excellent depth. And it hit really hard like a punch to the chest.

Brandon Beal: Drop that Booty Down Low: bass beats were nice and tight, with really good extension and authority. They were really dynamic and hit really hard. And when the booty got dropped down low, it shook the whole car!

Tiesto & Severn: Boom: some bass beats were not as deep, but were still really dynamic and hit hard. Others were deeper, and hit even harder. And then others were so, so deep, and yet, hit even harder! It was a subwoofer torture track that the sub smiled and danced to the whole time it played. And the whole car constantly shook as if under attack!

 

Infinity is one of those brands that are known for quality products, and I’m glad to see that they don’t sit on their laurels.  Their reputation for great products continues.  The enclosure is very well made, as are the drivers.  And given its down firing design and sturdy build, it also does not take away from trunk utility.  And, it also sounded really good!  Based on its design, features, quality, and performance, the Infinity Reference 1000SSL has earned our Editor’s Choice Award.  For more info and complete specs, check out their website at www.harmanaudio.com. 

JBL JAM5000N Head Unit for Marine/Motorsport Review

When it comes to electronics, there are lots of options: car stereo, home theater, portable, etc. There are some companies that not only provide great products, they are so huge they do it all. JBL is one of those companies. Now they provide receivers for mobile. Up for review is their JBL JAM5000N head unit. It’s a receiver designed for marine, but also works with motorsport, such as side x side’s and golf carts. MSRP is a fair $799.

 

Features and specs:

LCD Display:  2.8” color

Supports multiple audio sources:  Bluetooth, USB, AM/FM/WB, DAB+ ready, iPhone/ iPad/ iPod

Audio output:  RCA & Speaker level

NMEA 2000 certified:  Yes

Marine Rated:  IP66

RMS Power Output:  15Wx4

2ohm Stable:  Yes

Outputs:  3 zones

Pre-out:  9Ch/4V

Remote connectivity:  Yes

Rear camera input:  Yes

Eco-friendly Packaging:  Yes

Mounting options:  Front & Rear

 

The JBL JAM5000N Head unit came in a nice-looking color printed box, with photos and specs of the receiver. Opening the box revealed a well-protected product held in place by cardboard. Materials used in the construction was metal and plastic. Quality of materials used as well as fit and finish, was very good. Also included was the wiring harness, mounting bracket, screws, and manual.

 

I love the design of the JBL JAM5000N Head unit. It is basically like a car receiver in functionality. There is switching between sources for tuner, Bluetooth and USB. There are also RCA outputs for a separate amplifier, as well as RCA input for a rear camera. The display is a 2.8” color LCD display. The rear is a round heatsink. It actually does double duty.  And its metal and works as a heat sink to cool the internal amplifier, and along with the included foam gasket works to protect the internal components from water.

 

As a motorsport head unit, it operates in an environment that tends to be loud due to the noise of the vehicle. Extra power from the amp can be helpful to combat it. The internal amp is a 15 watts x 4. But it’s also 2 ohm stable. That means if you’re only going to be using a single pair of speakers, you could use a 2 ohm pair, to get more power from your amp for increased volume.

 

I know some of you may also be thinking. Why does it have a rear camera input? If you’re using this for a boat, you aren’t going to be backing up to park, like you would a car. But on a boat, it is actually more useful. While you may not back-up to park, you would back up at the dock to get the boat on your trailer to drive it back home. It’s also helpful to be able to watch a water skier.

 

Installation was also straight forward. The manual was easier to read and follow then expected. All of the mounting screws and bracket for a successful install was provided. It even came with the foam gasket to seal it up against your dash. Bluetooth worked great, and was really easy to pair to my smartphone. And I also loved the USB drive so I could also listen to my CD collection ripped to my flash drive. It has some excellent features. Now let’s see how it performs.

 

Installation was fairly simple with the instructions, bracket and included screws. Pairing with my smartphone with Bluetooth for music was super easy. The USB for my CD collection on my flash drive also worked well. And the color display looked great, providing good resolution. Adjusting the sound preferences in the settings was also easy. Let’s see how it sounds.

 

Nat King Cole - L-O-V-E: cymbals were crisp and clean. Piano sounded natural. Strings were smooth with sufficient resolution of the strings. Trumpet was really dynamic with really good harmonics. Drums were also nice and dynamic. Bass was silky smooth with really good low-end extension and authority.

 

AC/DC – Back in Black: guitar was nice and raw. Cymbals were crisp and clean. Snare drum was really dynamic with good resolution of the stick on the pad. Kickdrum was equally dynamic, hit really hard with good authority and had good low-end extension. Vocals were also nice and raw with good texture of the timbre.

 

Brandon Beal – Drop that Booty Down Low: vocals were smooth like honey, with good texture. Bass beats were nice and deep, and played with good authority. And when the booty got dropped down low, it played even deeper, and hit hard.

 

I was impressed with the sound quality of the JBL JAM5000N internal amp. It was only 15 watts from a receiver, so I wasn’t expecting a lot. Highs still managed to be crisp and clean, mids were smooth with good harmonics. And the motors were sufficiently well controlled for ok control of cone for bass that was tight, dynamic, with good extension.

 

JBL is known for providing excellent products, and the JBL JAM5000N Head unit is an example of it. It’s designed well for its intended application and is built well to provide years of use. There’s also a lot of sources to choose from for your music, such as tuner, Bluetooth and USB. It’s fairly priced at $799. Based on its design, features, quality, and performance, the JBL JAM5000N has earned our Highly Recommended Award. For more info and complete specs, check out their website at www.jbl.com.