In terms of car audio, JBL is the old timer. The quality electronic producer has been in the marketplace for over 6 decades. Founded by Mr. Lansing near the end of his life, the audio engineer’s legacy of innovation and quality production lives on through his products.
With a community of car audio enthusiasts and a solid history of products, it’s clear why JBL is a gold standard in the industry. Their car audio components are especially lauded and have carved out a place in audiophiles dreams.
In this guide, we’ll go over all Jbl Car Audio Systems and find the best fit for your car.
JBL Car Speakers
JBL GTO629 6.5-Inch Speaker
These are plain pretty, carbon cones that are some of the largest in their class respective to size. This allows them to produce more bass. They have a low-impedance at 3-ohms to make every Watt count. The tweeters have an adjustable angle to set up your soundstage. They pair well with a 75×4 AMP.
You won’t get ground shaking bass with these, but for a set of speakers, you’ll get more than you would expect. The rich sound inspired many customers to skip adding a subwoofer altogether. Made with high-quality crossovers your highs and lows will go where they’re supposed to.
JBL CLUB6520 6.5-Inch Speaker
The JBL Club speakers are 300 watts of clear sound. They are a two-way coax build. If you want high-quality car speakers but you’d like to keep your budget in mind, a pair of these won’t bother your wallet in the least. They have great treble, mid-range and a high sensitivity of 93dbs. They’re not a power-hungry pair, and you won’t need an amp. You get a lot of volume out of 300 Watts. These are 3-Ohms. Don’t go hard on the bass when you first get them, they do need a break in period. About 25 hours is the general consensus.
One note on this line during installation is to make sure you’re looking at the exact model in your booklet. Why is that? Well, the installation booklet includes every series from the Club line. That’s caused confusion in quite a few people and is one of the main complaints.
JBL GX963 6" x 9" Loudspeakers
The JBL GX963s are a 6 x 9-inch pair of 3-Way power. Rated for 600Watts, these are the loudest set we’ve reviewed thus far. They add premium sound to any car setup. If you go for these do yourself a favor an get an amp, which can be a drawback to some. They can stay loud without much distortion.
Over and over again we hear people shocked about the volume, without the sound getting muddied. As with any “loud” speakers, sometimes they’re advertised as power but it comes at a sacrifice of the quality of the sound. Not with these, and that’s why they’re a great option.
JBL CS762 6-1/2" Speakers
The CS762s are the most affordable of all JBLs car audio option, but they’re not “cheap”. New to the market, the reviews and build quality speaks for itself and as a result, they have many happy customers. These might not have the punch of a more expensive system, but the upgrade in audio clarity is worth it from any stock pair. Mids and highs are crisp, but you won’t get a lot of bass. They can handle 270 watts in total. Take a listen, the sound quality is very good considering their price. No amp needed.
JBL Car Subwoofers
JBL GT-BassPro12
The JBL GT-BassPro12 offers the punch you get in the heavyweight division. Listed at 450 Watts peak, does that give you a question mark? Aren’t subwoofers supposed to be over 1000 amps to work? In the case of the GT-BassPro, great things come in small packages. The efficiency of this woofer blows systems out of the water with higher specs.
With an internal amplifier, you won’t have to worry about adding separate components for power and you get deep bass from a self-contained unit. Built with a quality aluminum basket that won’t fuzzy your bass.
If you are in the mood to turn it up, you can do that from your front seat with the included remote control. Sometimes you just feel a song, and it needs a little more oomph. Most customers will have their mirrors starts shaking when the bass boost hits about 40%, so much POWER.
JBL BassPro SL - Compact Subwoofer
Want something you can have underneath your seat for a sub? The size of the BassPro SL is 13.5 inches x 10 inches, and 2 3/4 inches tall. This compact all-in-one bass unit doesn’t boast the power of other options but it definitely makes up for that in the easy of installation and compactness.
If you really want to feel vibrations throughout your vehicle to a song, then this isn’t for you. But, if you want to upgrade from your stock system and get a little bit of bounce in your ride, it’s a great option. If you want to control the bass sound remotely you’ll have to purchase a GTO-RBC volume controller separately.
JBL BassPro Micro Dockable Subwoofer
Another option from JBL for space savers that want a bit of bass. This 8″ unit is self-enclosed with a plastic housing and an excellent build quality. Features include the option for bass boosting up to 9 dbs and an adjustable low-pass crossover to hone your sound.
Again, this unit is not for people who want to rattle their neighborhood. For how small it is, it does produce a good amount of kick. The enclosure can be moved pretty easily, so if having space in your vehicle is a big deal to you then this unit might be your best bet. It’s even smaller than our previous compact sub.
JBL Car Amplifiers and Processors
JBL GX-A604 435 W 4-Channel Amplifier
The GX-A604 will meet your power-boosting needs, with a max output of 435 Watts. This is a 4 channel amp that also comes in 1-Channel and 2-Channel versions. There is a variable bass boost of up to +12 db. This amp is a class a/b and has a solid build quality.
JBL Club 4505 1800W Amp
The JBL Club 4505 is the strongest amplifier offered by JBL. It has 5 channels and up to 1800W of peak power. All contained in a relatively slim design.
For that much power, you would think it had a cooling option and that’s one of the drawbacks, it doesn’t. So even though this thing is a beast, be careful about cranking it too hard so it doesn’t overheat. If you’re planning on making a few additions to your audio system and want to invest in an amplifier that could handle it, this is a good choice.
JBL Car Component Systems
In case you’re wondering what a component system is, it’s just when the audio aspects of a car have been handpicked and designed to go well together.
JBL GTO609C Component Speaker System
There’s only one component speaker system we could recommend for our take on JBL. That’s because this is such an affordable well put together kit, that we’d feel guilty not talking about it. This kit includes tweeters, an amp and good speakers for under 100 bucks.
This is something you should invest in to upgrade your audio system right out of the gate, you won’t get loud bass but you will get crystal clear sound. The tweeters are adjustable and the speakers run on low impedance at 3-ohms.
Conclusion
If you’re looking at upgrading your car audio you can’t go wrong with JBL. But, there is a lot of variety in setups to get what you need. They have really been delving into the compact amplifier market as well, but we think the JBL GT BassPro is still the best in the amplifier class of their products if you aren’t prioritizing space.
If you do care about space, they have other options for you. As for speakers, there are many quality options that aren’t the cheapest but “you get what you pay for” rings true with their lines. And even if you’re on a budget you can’t go wrong with picking up a pair of CS762s.
As for amps, we found this to have the least variety. Still, customers tended to be happy with the build quality and ease of use for their amplifiers so it’s not a big deal. JBL is a solid choice for your car audio system and we hope you find a setup that fits your personal needs. If this article helped you or you have any criticisms or comments, let us know in the comments and we’ll answer you as fast as you can.