Specifically . . . .

Tori Amos, Sweet The String - The Fathoms had great definition on  bass guitar transients, complimented by even tone, solid body, but not fat, filled out the bottom of the S-150p satellite speakers with superb integration.  Blending a ‘real’ 12” woofer with a 5” midbass?  Not a problem.

Tori Amos, Ireland -  The entire range, top to bottom, formed a unified soundfield.  Bass guitar was quick on the plucks, meandering up and down the range, clearly.  What is "Speed" with bass?  Strictly speaking, it’s well-damped, and smooth in response.  In this track, it was tight, and extremely coherent, flying an easy, effortless cruise, ending with a volley of shuddering organ bottom notes, and eerie envelopment.

Ben Harper, Burn One Down -  The apparent transient velocity with drums, kick drum, allowed me to easily hear the impact itself, with no observed overhang.  Percussion just SMACKS!

Chris Issac, Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing -  The opening shudder went through the walls, the floor, my gut, but wasn’t distracting or out of place, serving the music.

Primus, Have a Cigar -  During this Pink Floyd cover, Les Claypools percussive bass, with slapping drums, is delicate and violent in detail.  The recording is raw, and not at all what I’d call ‘audiophile’, but the music is good just the same, and each bass note was clearly defined in space, transient attack, decay, and stopped in place.  The soft wail of the lead guitar came through unobstructed by the controlled frenzy of the bass guitar, or the insistence of cymbals, kick, or snare drums.

Nirvana, Where Did You Sleep Last Night (MTV Unplugged) -  This was interesting, with an acoustic, real-space character of reverb.  The benefit of the subwoofers was not only the rendition of the instruments themselves, but also in revealing the recording itself, pumping the room.  The Fathoms helped me feel more like I was just there.

Peter Gabriel, Kiss That Frog -  Peter Gabriel loves the low end.  This track provided it, deep and satisfying, with a throb of electric bass surges, detailed and powerful.  It was absolutely room quaking, while still subtle and poised.  Oxymoron?  Nah, just remarkable.

Jane’s Addiction, Ted Just Admit it -  I can’t listen to the entire song, but the opening, with the kick drum hits, clean and solid, really do it for me with a good bass system.  The JL Audio Fathoms didn’t let me down, at all.

Emmylou Harris, Red Dirt Girl (Bonnaroo) -  The driving kick drum with the ‘Live’ concert sound.  Reverberant, but unbooming, with the occasional epic electric bass shudder, solid rocking, detailed dalliance, large venue bass sound, in my living room.  That’s ambiance retrieval.

Can, Last Night Sleep -  In this track, there is a textured electronica painted over a synthetic seismic rhythm.  It shook, awesomely, without boom or mud, a quick succession of machine gun trembling within what would seem like a single tone with many reproduction devices.  Most definitely a WTF kind of moment!

Johnny Cash, Rusty Cage -  The Fathoms played beautifully, providing the resonance of Johnny’s chest.

Paul Simon, Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes - The intro had a great sense of space, reverberant and majestic.  When the song kicked in, the kick drum was easy, natural, and smooth.

Conclusions

So, that’s pretty much it for my observations.  How can I summarize best?  The JL Audio Fathom F-112 subwoofers are awesome, and severely well-rounded.  They are my favorites to date, period.  Perhaps I should just conclude with my initial reactions, e-mailed to Carl Kennedy after my initial exposure at home.  The impressions have held after living with them for months:
“My #%*^ing lord, Carl.

“While I've never had the pleasure of TWO MX-5000 mkII's for comparison . . . .

“This is way better than sliced Montery Jack cheese with a bottle of good wine and a wicked beef stew.

“With the right music, I'm alone in the house in a cold sweat, giggling like a little freaking girl.  I get definition, depth, and dynamics fit for a sloppy wet dream.  I'm hearing $#^+ in the low stuff I haven't heard with good headphones.

“I'd really like to call you an @**hole for having such a profound effect on my emotional state, but I think I love you.

“Thanks for stimulating my addiction.

“Seriously, thanks.  I haven't had anything this refreshing from audio equipment since a long, long time.  This is the kind of $#^+ that makes me want to believe again.

As sincerely as a junkie can get.

Comments (14)

Sloppy wet dreams
written by Josuah , April 14, 2008

I think that's the strangest Colin Miller review I've ever read. A nice read.

Will there be measurements for this or does the shipping preclude that? I believe other sites have measurements of the F112 up.

...
written by JEJ , April 14, 2008

Yes, the bench tests will be published eventually. We have to get some more test equipment sent over to Colin.

Great review
written by Michael , April 14, 2008

It's nice to see a review that focuses on sound quality and not just maximum output numbers.

......
written by %@!^&*# , April 14, 2008

I think before they get to those measurements, they are going to have to figure out how they let this review get published with all the %^&#ing profanity that he used when he $#^! his pants just after he fell in love with the JL F112... !!!!

Great Review Colin !!!!

I love mine just as much...

...
written by JEJ , April 15, 2008

Since I have seen profanity in public newspapers and on TV news programs disguised with %*#@ representing most of the letters in the words, I decided that it would be OK to publish it Colin's review.

...
written by Phlebas , April 15, 2008

Good review.

We're all adults here. And the Fathoms indisputably $#*%ing rock!

You might mention somewhere that there's a big brother model in the line, too, for people who want even more of the "sloppy wet dream" effect.

...
written by Tom , April 16, 2008

How would you compare this sub to an SVS sub? Does SVS have anything that is comparable to this or even better?

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written by JEJ , April 17, 2008

Although I have not put the JL Audio on the bench, I suspect the SVS 12 inch subs with long throw drivers and big amplifiers are equivalent in output. The F-112 has more flexibility with its range of controls, and is correspondingly, more expensive (it's also available only through dealers, not on the Internet).

Can't wait...
written by toslink , April 19, 2008

I can't wait to see what JL offers when they release their forthcoming full-range speakers. They're sure to be as good.

...
written by Miguel , April 19, 2008

Thanks for bringing me out of my 'favorite company went belly up' depresion. There is hope yet for belivers in substance over style in HiFi.

Future JL products
written by Michael , April 20, 2008

I believe the speakers JL will release will be satellite speakers, not full range.

Also, they are working on an F212. It looks like two F112s stacked but apparently uses new drivers that sound even better.

great read...
written by J in Pennsylvania , April 30, 2008

I won an F112 in a giveaway on ModernHomeTheater.com.

I don't have the pure bliss of running two F112's but I do run mine in conjunction with an Earthquake Sound MKIV12. The quote about the cold sweat, home alone, giggling like a little girl moment so hit home. Every so often I get my house to myself and I'll rip some music that absolutely shakes the house. I love my Fathom.

Great read
written by J in Pennsylvania , April 30, 2008

Thanks for the great review. I won an F112 in a contest and feel like the luckiest guy on earth. Running it in conjunction with an Earthquake MKIV12 Supernova, I easily understand your "cold sweated giggling little girl" metaphor. This sub never fails to make me smile when it's pushed.

Great $%^&$#@! review
written by R Taylor , July 08, 2008

Seems I'll be getting the 113 soon and wonder what it will sound like with my Monitor Audio PL300s?? Using a Parasound A-51, a Krell HTS 7.1 and Esoteric X-03se for the source. What do think? Holy #@$*!!!! I think it might sound fffing great!!