Budget Friendly JBL SUB 550P 10” Subwoofer. How Does It Compare to the Competition?

Big Fan Erin! I’ve watched so many of your videos and this is my first comment. THIS IS MY FAVORITE VIDEO; LOVE the comparison format personally. Can’t wait to see where this goes! Keep it up man! Gonna be watching for any of these on sale, since I’m sure they’re all great, but especially interested in the Wharfdale Aura 2 if it ever goes on sale.

Have you heard the older Mirage Omni S10 or S12 subwoofers? They are extremely hard to find now but I managed to pick up dual 10s for my living room and a single 12 for the family room in the last few years. I don't think I've been tickled as much since buying my first SVS sub. Just an all around great sub for everything that will play down to 20Hz. If you can find one reasonably priced, grab it. And report back. Great review here. The JBL seems to be a very good mid grade sub, as are the Monolith subs.

monoprice sw 12 review

Is it possible for you to review the new KRK studio subs at 10" or 12"?

Erin your asleep? I'm about to buy a subwoofer for a spare room tonight if you can give your quick pick RSL12s or Monolith THX12 Joe and others too slow to even reply maybe won't. Just trying to buy something before Black Friday is done. RSL in white for a kitchen sounds delicious. I need your opinion maybe I already made up my mind. That mono is no way fitting in the kitchen. Thanks Erin.

Knocking it out of the park again with great info and data! Thanks Erin.

Subs don't have to go super low, id rather they're tight fast and not one note.

@ErinsAudioCorner
Hey Erin, yeah you might stink, mate! But luckily, some 'bama chicks dig it! 😛

I have 4 supercube reference subwoofers each with a 13 inch sub and 1800 watt peak. For movies, the bass is very deep, the type of bass you can't hear but feel that shakes the house when it goes low but for music I feel they are too slow and don't catch all the bass notes. I got a cheap 12 inch bic sub that did way better for music than the big subs, but for deep movie bass that same bic sub was cringe trying to create the low bass that the big subs created. I decided to buy the monolith 10V2 thinking it would only be faster than the 12. That little 10 creates bass almost as deep as my big subs and is faster than my 12. I love the monolith 10 it's very well rounded. I will be getting another one soon.

👍Hey, great job putting this subject into perspective, Erin.
I purchased a PSW-10 from Polk based on your shootout a couple years back for an hdmi soundbar and subwoofer application in a small TV room ..
It worked out nicely, but I had no blinders on regarding what the sub was or wasn’t capable of; but for the size of the room, the volumes we listen, and simplicity due to space constraints, the Dolby bitstream with surround sound for movies, shows and concert footage, it worked out quite well enough; and the sub cost me $129 total on Amazon, so it was a good value. Great job explaining differences when stepping up and why you would or wouldn’t need to go that route. I can fully endorse your overall message through my experiences.😉

Can you please compare: 2-3 cheapies (Polk and elac appear to be best) to one similarly priced single sub, in room ?
Obviously, I'm wondering if 3 elacs kick butt on one Mooprice or 2 Polk vs one JBL , line of thought, etc... Especially with the sub array concept

Another proper subwoofer review with data. Keep 'em coming Erin.

Ty. Im in a search for a sub. But no I can’t seem to get money for a buy. Anyway I’m interested of this great video for a future buy.

Great review. Very well articulated Erin. Thanks much.

Lol that intro

I’m in the middle of watching the video so it’s not over yet. I will add info if needed. Just wanted to say that I bought three of these. I bought two directly from JBL for $190 each. They didn’t charge tax or shipping. Then I bought a refurbished unit for $130 plus tax somewhere else with free shipping. That refurb came looking brand new. The retail according to JBL is $600 in 2023 but it was on sale for multiple months this year so really it is a $200-250 sub.

I follow another channel who picked one up and was in the process of upgrading the driver and hopefully amp.

I followed their plan and I have a CSS SDX10 XBL^2 to put in the refurbished unit. I want to see what it does. The total cost is more than some of the other budget subs that will go a little lower but I like tinkering and trying things so that’s what I’m doing. Also the enclosure for $130 plus tax (less than $140) is pretty damn good. I’ll be using the factory amp for now but plan on putting at least 500 watts to the CSS later. I might close up the back panel and use an external amp.

Bought mine on JBL site for $189.00 / always goes on sale. Where else can you get a sealed 300 watt RMS / 550 watt peak for this price?
I've had ported subs - never again. Tight taught bass

Good stuff

I had to replace my KEF KC62 due to the compression at higher volumes which was annoying. I now have a pair of REL HT/1003's which solved this issue for less money than one KC62 but now the problem is at the other end !
Where as the DSP of the KEF boosted low frequencies at low to moderate volumes and sounded amazing & satisfying at these listening levels, the REL's are barely audible at low volumes.
I think the answer is the bigger KEF KF92 but this is more than twice the price of the REL's.
BTW loving these small subwoofer reviews......but please could you review the new REL HT/1003 mk 2

No erin I NEED 24” subwoofers to annoy my neighbors

DSP limiting to protect the driver is good on any subwoofer and doesn't affect it's output. It just stops damage. The end result is the same if you tune it yourself, except you don't need to do the work. So I don't see what the problem is. In the event DSP is heavy handed and it's artificially limiting the driver in some arbitrary way, then I can see the argument.
When I design a sub, I DSP limit the bottom end at full power to protect the driver at the limit. Why would you not have that built in? You're losing nothing.

The difference between 30hz and 20hz in terms of power and volume (space) requirements is incredible.

Another great review, thanks. I have been waiting to hear your thoughts on this sub as we have been using one for six years in our family room. I have been very impressed with its performance vs price, but there are not many (if any) professional reviews on it. As others have pointed out, this sub goes on sale routinely for under $200. At $350 it's a good deal, but at $190, I don't think there is a better value out there. If you are in the market for a sub and on a limited budget, be patient and wait for it to go on sale. I would love to see how the RSL Speedwoofer 10s compares, especially to the Monolith.

Highlight today is the t-shirt! Just a shame you’ll have to give it a hard wash now……

another amazing review. such a great representation and reassurance of how much a difference of spending more usually nets more

I don't listen to pipe organ. For a music only sub, I read kick drum and bass guitar is between 40-60Hz. Why is it necessary for a sub to perform under 30Hz?

I think the driver/cabinet combo should be dialed in for the low end you need. DSP to push super low bass in smaller cabinets that don’t do it naturally can really kill the output. My guess is that companies generally know the general public want small subs so they use DSP to push the lows.

I have this sub, I like it. Good for the money.

hahahah.. the hat intro got me laughing =) .. Awesome stuff ..solid advice in the intro.

What about the JBL vs RSL Speedwoofer 10s?? Have you ever tested that one?

I have 4 of the 550Ps for two of my systems... Silly good in pairs for the under $200 Harman puts them on sale for.

I'm not sure if there is data to show this, but can you personally tell a difference between a true sealed design like this vs the monolith sealed "mode". I'm not really into home theatre and would like the quickest bass with the best integration to mains so I was thinking that a sealed design could be a great option.

These were $149 from Harmon and JBL sites last month. I've seen it as low as $129 from Woot. No reason to pay over $200 as they are on sale monthly, which locks this as a budget subwoofer.

Hair? What hair?

Just get 2 RSL 12s and be done with it.

Thanks Erin.

Erin, could you review the Dali M 10 D? It's their high end compact downfiring sub. Been on the market for 10 years.

I'm waiting for the day that you review a Rythmik subwoofer like the LV12M.

Always curious about these, on sale with the Jbl Studio series you can have a killer 5.1 for like $1500

Hey Erin, do you know if any of these were standouts in the group delay department? Or even the opposite, bad performers?

You may stink but these reviews don't! Thanks E! Did you get the RSL SPEEDWOOFER yet??

I got two of these when they were on sale for $198 each -2 of course help out with even dispersion and coupling/ increased out put and beefed up bottom end. I am a little surprised no musicality points were discussed here but maybe that is subjective. I just think these 550’s are very musical delivering more bass details, sounds and clarity than either 10” or 12” Polk subs I have had.

Thank you Erin you are my only source of straight forward scientific based reviews

Not a problem .... We can't smell you though our mobiles 😅😅😅. Jokes apart such a nice review !!! Thanks Erin!! ❤

They had this sub on sale for $189 not too long ago. I think picking up two at that price would have been amazing. They definitely seem like fairly capable subs for the money.

I see those jbl subs get down to $150 once a year every year since they've came out

I’m glad you showered before you got in my van 🚐. I appreciated it😂

As always, no nonsense reviews. Definitely one the most rock solid, truthful audio reviewers on YT. You can take what Erin says to the bank!