Shop for the JL HD1200/1: goo.gl/tbMYmi Send me a few bucks if you want to support: paypal.me/BigDWiz My Favorite Screwdriver Kit: amzn.to/2x0VzcE Test Your Own Amps! SMD / D'Amore Engineering AMM-1: Amazon - amzn.to/2u2EgKV WCCarAudio - goo.gl/CVCgU3 Full disclosure: Amplifier was purchased by me for the purpose of this test. All of the opinions in this video are my own and the content wasn't reviewed by anyone prior to posting. Affiliate links are provided for your convenience. I receive a portion of the sales from these links, which help me bring you more unbiased content for this channel.

I've had mine for 10 years. Never letting it go!

Great Video Dwiz This is one of those amps you have to look deep down at the specs. Its a rock solid SQ amp. >110 S/N ratio, huge dampening factor, 0.03 THD, specs not seen on all the amps that do a lot more power for a lot less money. Its one of those that there is many other reasons for its price tag, power output aside. It takes high end parts and extensive engineering to achieve specs like this so your parts cost and development costs are well out of the ordinary from taking an existing board and putting your name on it. I was surpirsed that it was made in China though, but JL is so large that I am certain they have their own internal and external quality control to be sure the amps performances are always up to their par and most likely and literally throw away the ones that do not perform to specs. Many will look at this as its an over priced amp, (per wattage) but at the end of the day, if anyone saw what the expense would be to make a 5k amp for example, perform to these specs S/N AND THD specs people would be insulted by the price. Its one of those, in todays market people look for quantity over quality, and most of the time do not want to pay the difference for the quality. Yes there is quality amps with quantity, but you will pay the difference. Parts quality also plays a huge role in reliability. You can get the cheapest amp that does rated power, but its likely it'll be in and out of repair due to poor parts tolerances, and if not great, but you deal with higher odds. An authorized brick and mortar JL dealer will also likely just hand you a brand new amp under the circumstances of a warranty issue user error or not. Concluding this there is so much more than meets the eye here that many people do not know about or understand behind the scenes, and my reply is to try go give a simple understanding of some of the things you'll never think about searching for the most power for the cheapest price. I do not run or sell JL, I do not compete in sound quality. I just hope this opens some eyes to look at the entire picture.

For sure on the meter and in car testing, take the channel up another level. Do it big d!

What I like about the HD line is the consistent power across the supported ohm loads. In the Challenger, I run a VXi 800/8i for a full active setup on the mids and highs. It also provides a DSP'd sub pre out to the HD1200 that powers two 12w6v3 subs. Because the subs only come as 4 Ohm DVC, I still got the 1200w rms I needed @4 ohms. The system sounds amazing.

Solid amp for sure, but I’m not digging that giant power block sticking out the side... and the closeness of the power and ground. I am however excited for the in car comparison! Fuse pops are Big D’s kryptonite 🤪😂🤪

i like the engineer inside this amp, I refer to the fact that independent of the input voltage or the impedance value (1.66 to 4) the output wattage is the same, amazing! thanks for the video

Love the in car test idea. Will be waiting patiently for them to be posted. Thanks, BigD!

I’m ready to see/hear real world testing , Big D always keepin it fresh maing good job !!!

Hello bigDwiz I love these videos you do it saves all of us tons of dough

Being made in China is not a problem if JL has a very good quality assurance program. I'll be very interested in seeing and hearing your appraisal of all those amps in your car on your very own woofer. It will be something new and exciting to see something more than amp dyno pulls on your channel! Great work BigD!!

BIG D WIZ!!!!!! i just found your channel brother and all i can say is, its addicting af bro!!! Keep up the solid work💯. I gained so much knowledge from your videos, so plz do us all a favor and keep them videos coming BIG D WIZ!!!! Ya boy, Jorge Alvarado, Dallas, Texas

Yes yes yes big d, a real world evaluation of comparable amps would be awesome!

Great idea on the daily tests/listening results! Another great vid! Looking forward to the future tests!

Nice another great video Big D. Although for the price I would go with a power 1500.1 bd or something in that category.

Excited for the in-car spl vids...be cool to see how dyno result translate into actual sound in a controlled environment.

About time!!! You know we love JL!!

I wish JL would release some of their old, bubble come subwoofers. I always loved those growing up. DAMN. Went to send this message and the damn fuse popped. Heart attack food.

I've always loved the JL Audio amps, they have an amazing design and delliver on their ratings each time

Definitly makes vids about your amplifiers in your daily driver. Now I don't know if you build boxes or things like that but videos on stuff like that would be awesome I like your videos a lot and would love to see all different aspects of car audio that you are familiar with. Thank you have a good day keep up the good work

Great choice big D can't wait to see how this one does!

I actually liked that no matter the power it was receiving, it still gave you 1200 watts minimum so it does its rated power with out needing to go crazy with power voltage just to accomplish that goal. I think the R.I.P.S Technology is pretty solid but i agree that price is steep and its more now for 2020. Prices of everything car audio related has gone up from before making it more difficult for the average consumer to own good gear.

AWESOME VIDEO AS ALWAYS BROTHER!!!

Can't wait for the future dd test vids!

BigD. i love your vids. i watch them and rewatch them all the time. i was wondering when i watch your older videos, the ones without your amp dyno, could you do those old school amps with the amp dyno. to really put them to the test. that would be awesome...

Definitely a solid amplifier, yes the price is a little out there but you’ve got to realize this is a really good sq amplifier with a signal to noise ratio of 110db and thd is 0.03%. Yes you can pick up a 7k for around the same price or even cheaper but signal to noise ratio will be around 85/90db and thd Will be around 0.1%. I still think the price is a little bit on the higher end though, I have seen other amplifiers with similar specs around 750/$900. if you’re looking for a ground pounder amplifier then this isn’t what you’re looking for, this is for someone who wants a sql setup. Now what I really wish JL audio would go ahead and do is combine the hd Siri’s in the vxi Siri‘s together and make a great sq amp with dsp built in, include the same control knob that comes with the vxi Siri’s and keep the Price the same or maybe lower it by $100 or so... I would be a JL audio fan boy for sure then...

I always use to say, "not every watt is created equally". Not sure where I heard it, probably a magazine 25-30 years ago. A lot of factors go into sound reproduction that 90 percent of the average Joe's will overlook. Most people look at Best Deal/Price mixed with how many watts. They never even thought about to take in Signal to Noise ratio, THD, Damping factor, etc. Keep it up D, the video's are Awesome. R/Kosmo

I have the HD1200 and previously ran a DD M2a(2400 w @1 ohm, 1200 w @ 2ohm) I have it powering a 2ohm load and i can say that after impedance rise that the JL outperforms the DD amp in power easy. Also the DD amp has a noticiable softness to the sound or lack of clarity when compared to the hard hitting, ultra clean sound of the JL. I was on the fence on just keeping the DD amp but after some length ear listening to both amps, the JL gives that ultra clean and hard hitting sound that i crave. If you want to run the DD m2a at .5 ohm or even 1 ohm sure you will get alot of amp for the money, which btw is still a great amp but I think the JL is better in SQ easily. So all the people hating who try to convince you that there is better amps for the money haven't done proper testing. You pay alot for premium products and thats simply put.

Awesome video! Can't wait to see the follow up.

I have wanted to compare a pair of hd1200’s to my t2500-1bdcp for a while now. Bring on the comparison!

One of the beniffits of the RIPS power supply system is that the amp will produce approximately the same power any voltage, and any impedance. Literally the one other test you could have done, and didn't do, a voltage difference, would show that this amp technology sets it apart from everything else. Next you time do a test, do everything at a lower (real world) voltage test. Run the voltage down to 12.5 volts and watch other amps plummet in output....away from their ratings. Part of the RIPS curcuit/design is that in real world tests in a vehicle, the output stays the same whether the car is on the freeway or at a stop light. That way the customer never gets less then the rated output.no matter what their car is doing. That....is why this amp costs more. Hey, plus, they sound really good! 😁

I really wish we could have saw a 1 ohm load. Always enjoy your videos great content keep up the good work. Hopefully in time you'll be able to test the JL Audio slash 1200 .1 or even a 1000.1v2 slash.

Ran slash series back in the day.. they were the only Amps at the time outside the liquid cooled Phoenix golds that wouldn’t clip or shut down from extreme heat in the summer.. since the slash came out in like 01-02 they been the most consistent brand of amps I’ve had the pleasure of working with.. not the most watt to cost but they are built like tanks. Always been worth the price.. I beat 4 1000/1’s for 5 years everyday and still sold them working like new.. now my daughter is about to start driving and I’m going to hook her up 😅

Um what bout us Old school Orion guys, a XTR 1500.1 can be had for $240-$300 online and if thats not in the same power range @ the 3ohms then the XTR 2500.1 which is like $100 more than 1500.1.. and not for nothin JL really?? @least the orion XTR's are made in Korea, I don't know who's smokin the crack over ther @ JL but if u want to put price tag double that of the other old school brands it better say made in the USA otherwise cut that price way down if u use Korean boards & even way more for china, just sayin that china sticker along with the power inputs & that price tag is going to kill the marketability of that amp.. im harsh but come on it's completely opposite of what one would expect coming from JL audio

$1100, made in China, dumb power/remote/ground block, not of fan of the non adjustable subsonic filter, level knob not included. You have to take a screw off to get to the amp adjustments, but you're meant to be moving the amp around so much you have to disconnect your power often? I don't get this. For $1100 you would expect a more ergonomic and smart design. Rockford would be the way to go with the T1500 even if I'm not sure it comes with a level knob.

Love the new idea of do testing them make sure you clamp them to see what power end up with each amp

Looking forward to the comparison video, curious to see if the JL amp sounds better than the others, being thatits the same brand as your sub. Let's bust that JL myth haha. Keep up the great work BIG D!

Love my jl 1000/1 v2

Really nice amp but would take a fosgate power series amp any day.

Nice always whanted to c this amp on the smd1 thanks bigswiz

Yeah boy, let's see some in car real world test videos!

iPhones are made in China, and I can GUARANTEE you most people commenting are rocking an iPhone even though there are plenty of Androids phones are that are far cheaper and far superior to the iPhone. But we buy them anyway because they are nicer phones. At least thats the perception. Ive been around alot of those HD amps and they are top notch. Yes you can get more power for the dollar. But like the Mercedes analogy, your getting a proper product. Well built, well designed, an American company that stands behind it (and they do, seen it first hand). Theyre just nice amps. Buck a watt was the standard for years as the line between good and not so good. Weve been showered for years by "Cheap" big power, low price, low quality amps. So much so that amp lines like this, and Boland and Linear Power have an uphill battle selling a 150 x 2 channel amp for $1000+ plus. Stick one of those CAB amps beside the JL and see which lasts longer. And yes I know the Boland and Linear are hand built which help to justify the cost, but can you justify your 1000 iphone? Its made in China too

I would like to see that punch 1500 amp Dyno I have one and always woundered how it did

I work at a shop called Creative Car Tunes in Pennsylvania and I love when customers buy these amps to have them installed.

I like that idea Big D!! Do those videos.

Just did a test swapping out my Dd M2a 2400 watts at 1 ohm, gave it 1 ohm load set gains and it still was not as loud as a 1200 watt jl hd. You would have to wire down to .5 ohm to get any performance out of that DD M2a. I’ve done and it’s loud but def not as clean as the Jl. So consider this do you want new subs that you can wire to .5 ohms and use inferior sound quality amps? Or use your current subs and get true 1200 watts and be amazed?

Yes, JL`s place in the market is seen and considered as a higher end brand and with the status comes a higher price and this same logic applies to everything which is the reason he mentioned a Honda, Mercedes, and a BWW. I`m not sure how much in licensing/royalty fees JL has to pay to PowerPhysics Inc. out of Newport Beach, CA for their "exclusive" use of Single Cycle Control TM in all four of the HD amps but you better believe those fees plus a profit is reflected in the price of the HD amps. Just like cell phones, people complain about the cost of an iPhone compared to a top if the line Galaxy and what one gets and yet people still buy them and this also applies to JL products.

Can’t wait to see the t1500bdcp test, I’m planning to get one for myself

I like the idea of testing the amps in the car. I also started thinking if there was a way to make a Subwoofer dyno after seeing the jl in your daily driver. Most subs aren't rated past 1500 watts. Maybe the dyno test for subs would be 1hour of constant play time free air at their Fs Frequency. You could use the AM1 For live wattage. you start at Half Thier rms rating of sub for 1 hour. If it survives with no coil rub or signs of damage you incrementally up the wattage and run for another hour. Etc. Propper way would probably building an enclosure to manufacture specs but that would take even longer lol.. I think it would be cool to watch. Just time lapse each 1 hour dyno run. Pretty much each Subwoofer dyno video would be a Subwoofer blowing video. I'd love to see SSL subs, Rockville And Dual Subs Doing This "Subwoofer Dyno". Let Me Know What You Think!

I'm with hifivega, not too impressed with the value. Especially being made in China. And the first thing I thought when I saw the connectors is that they would be a big fat negative.

The Rockford T1500 should out perform that JL amp any day of the week. Plus it looks much nicer and doesn’t use shitty wire connectors. Those things are a joke on the JL.

People may say that the amp is expensive, but until budget brands like Soundstream, audiopipe, Rockville etc, come out with their own “R.I.P.S” technology, jl audio and rockford fosgate will have a reason to charge more for the ability to not lose wattage due to impedance rise and voltage drop. That’s my rant. Great video as always!! I can’t wait for the in car comparisons.

I have been a JL and a Rockford Fosgate fanboy 4 years I like mixing my JL speakers with my Rockford amps

I sold my Jl audio hd 12000 i bought a Rockford fosgate t 1500 /1 ... the differences is the sound quality hd 1200 is better. For power and money saving the Power t1500 is better.

im not impressed with an amp that costs that much and yet is made in china, there are far too many other quality amps that dont have that big of a price tag on them and will perform as well or better for the money. but thanks for the video, its great to see the truth

I had another great Pawn Shop find on this amp. It was priced $200. It still had wires sticking out the inputs like someone cut it off and sold it. I was skeptical but that darn thing worked. It was like new with a 2021 date sticker.

I have a question for you BigDWiz...how does one accomplish a 1.5 ohm / 3 ohm load on a single speaker? I've never seen a speaker rated at 1.5/3/6 etc...

Ill stick to my Fosgates and older Phoenix golds! Im guessing that Fosgate t 1500 will stomp a hole in that JL, power wise and sound quality.

Tried this amp before I got my alpine. It was alright and sound good but I believe over priced. Also the power and ground plug sucks. My pdx hits harder in my opinion

So excited to see if this thing does rated

Great idea doing some in car tests BigDWiz. It will be good to have an opinion on how these amps work in the real world. As for the JL 1200/1, it's wayyyy too expensive and it doesn't even look good with those connectors sticking out. Like you said, you can buy any number of high quality Korean 7k amplifiers and a matching mids/highs amp for that kind of money.

Good test. Disappointed that JL makes equipment in China. JL is branded as American. Never purchased a JL product because of this.

I have no problem paying around $500 for a solid amp but $1100 is a bit much

Great video! I realize that's a "high end" amp, but there enough little nags with it that would prevent me from buying it even if I wanted to spend that kind of money. Not saying the amp is bad, just that it could be better.

YES !!! I love the bench tests, but I, also, am interested in applications INSIDE a car.

Not impressed for the price still like Orion XTR Amplifier

I'll stick with Rockford, although they're still a little overpriced IMHO.

Hell ya that would be a great test to see 👏🏾

Really wanna see JL 1v1, 1v2, 1v3 ratings and a review. Was likely gonna get an old 1v1 and would love to have you test it.... It's very heavy to ship though

You're going to make alot of JL fanboys mad if you''re not praising JL. You can get 1 Rockford Power T2500-1, 1 Orion HCCA8000.1D, 1 Ampere Audio AA-5000.1, or 1 Crescendo Audio BC5500D... I get it, most don't need that kind of power. just giving a contrast.

Skar Rp2000.1 put out more power at 230 dollars!!!

Towards the end of the video when it popped and you jumped I actually jumped!! LOL

Love the in car comparison idea.

Made in China for that price. WTF

Slash amps are best , in car reviews yes please!!

I agree with you on that bass knob. JL makes you pay 20 to 40 bucks for it and it's only made of plastic. Nice video brother. Thanks.

Thanks for the videos. Have you tested the JL 1000/1 early model?

Some would argue that Alpine, Kicker, and Rockford are overpriced as well! But they have been in business for around 40 years Alpine even more, and are still bringing out new innovative products. Some of the brands listed in the comments are very new, one is only 5 years old. While they bring solid equipment they are using designs, engineering, and built parts that the big boys brought us 20 or 30 years ago. The only difference is they are beefing them up to put out more power. So honestly we are comparing apples to Oranges, each has it's place, it just matters what's important to you. What you want, what your after. One isn't necessarily better or worse. Sorry for taking up so much space I just had to get it out there!

I'm all for "premium" brands touting the specs and design of there product s but seriously for that inefficiency and poor design the price is not justifiable. RIPS™ or not. For that amount of money I can get better.

In my previous vehicle, I had JL Audio amps (500/1 and 300/2). I was extremely satisfied with them, even if I had to save my money for a LONG time to get them. My current ride's system uses Skar amps, (RP75.4 and RP800.1d) and I like them every bit as much as the JL amps. (Roughly $1,000 for 800 JL watts vs. $270 for 1,100 Skar watts)

Got two of these on two 13w7ae's..love them .

They are out of reality on there pricing anymore. For 1100$ I can get damn near a legit 5k rms clean power so why would anyone buy this?

Whe u just paying for a name that wont work these days too much good products for less than half the price of that amp

Definitely do some in car testing!!!! That’s going to be awesome. Thanks man

Yes, definitely compare those amps to the JL amp.

I've been saying JL is overpriced for a decade+. I realize they're suppose to be "high end". But brother, they don't offer much a competitor doesn't for much less money. Regulated power supplies, all the protection circuitry, etc. JL is living off the equity built in their brand name. Even those new amps they just unveiled......bfd...... bunch of other companies offer the same stuff for half the price they're trying to charge.

Made in China... Funky results imo...WAY OVERPRICED... We're on to you JL!!

I've used my JL audio XD amps in 3 cars and about to go into a 4th. To me they sound great and have performed well on a mix of drivers. I'll be very interested in your listening test opinion.

I like JL Audio but you are 100% correct, IMO, on this one BigDWiz. I think you might be getting some hate mail on this review. Lol. Awesome video.

JL is overpriced. I've ran it years ago. But for the money you can do way better. I got 4.5k for 900 bucks. But for the JL fans and people that think everything expensive is the best. It's for you. If they run JL they probably have a iPhone also 😭😭😭

Thumbs up on the video. Thumbs down on the amp.

Love the video...never a big fan of JL. Odviously doing something right, making a great product and been around for decades. Please do more old school Lanzar optidrive vids like 6200 and 4150, 2500. Pleaseeee.thanks!!

What size fuse should you be using on the power input wire? The biggest I had on hand was an ANL 120 amp fuse, but I blew that one really quickly

Jl audio is the biggest rip off to car audio. Ya it's good quality but u can buy a million other amps that put out 5x the power for the same price.

Nice amp but too much for China made

Great review. looking forward to the follow up of daily driving comparison opinion. Some brands cost more as mentioned because of the name and what should be better quality products which I dont think most people would have an issue with when buying something nicer like Jl Audio, Zapco, or other brands. What is disappointing is when you do not get any better features such as an adjustable sub sonic filter, or a bandpass filter, or selectable x-over slopes. Something that makes it stand out for SQ and higher money justification. Or as also mentioned including the cheap bass knob vs selling separately for $35.

yessss bigD u should do that in-depth veiw i was xcited thinking u were gonna do that on th8s vid. 😕 LOL that would be awesome tho way to use ur noodle bigD LOL. ur videos are much appreciated. thanx.

Jl just isn't worth the money.

Great video ... I have the smd amm-1 what kinda track can I play to get results? I usually just play 40 hz . Or a music track .

oh buy the wAY i love your vids on amp dynos. it gives alot of insight on products. i love for you to do a dyno on audison voce uno, and some other eurpean amps they are known for sound quality but do they put the power they say they put out