Infinity BU-120 Powered Subwoofer
By: Infinity Average Rating: 2.0 Total Reviews: 12
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 On: 2008-03-22
Great subwoofer when it works but fails with a steady, loud, annoying burst of 120 cycle thumps. Infinity is know for great speakers, I have an entire surround sound system built around them. I cannot understand why they would jeopardize their
name based upon a poor design which really stresses the components or a good design that uses marginal components. Note! I am an electronics engineer.... You would think that they would send out an announcement about the problem and offer a work around or recall the unit and offer something new. Too bad. Based upon the reviews and the bad luck Ive have, it looks like I have to find something different.
On: 2008-01-10
I, too, own an Infinity BU120 Subwoofer (since 1998) and have experienced two amplifier failures as described in the other reviews. The unit is currently making the machine gun popping sounds described by others. I contacted Infinity to buy a replacement amp and they are offering a new (not reconditioned) replacement unit - Model PS212BK Subwoofer (12", 400 watt) - delivered to my home for $227. After pricing other replacement subwoofers, I took them up on their offer. The new unit retails on the Infinity website for ~$574. Hopefully I will have better luck with this new unit.
 On: 2008-01-06
I have really enjoyed my subwoofer....when it is working! About a year after purchasing it, I had the same problem with the amplifier blowing and it was fixed under warranty. About a year ago the speaker sounded like it was blown and I discovered the plastic gasket or casing that holds the speaker in place broke and I will have to replace the woofer to the tune of 80.00 just to fix it. For now I have been keeping the volume down, but it only vibrates on really loud rumbles. Conveniently, there are no service centers in Northern California; I cringe at the thought of giving them 80 more dollars....grrr
 On: 2007-09-23
Ive had my Infinity BU-120 for over seven years. But around 1 year ago I began to experience the "machine gun" sound once the unit had been powered up for a long period of time. Its slowly getting worse and Im sure it will become unusable in the near future unless I replace the capacitor. Low quality electrolytic capacitors are a common problem with electronic devices. These manufacturers need to spend more time in making sourcing decisions for critical components like these.
Aside from this issue, the first six years of operation were absolutely trouble free. This sub will shake my entire house and knock picture frames off the wall if cranked up.
On: 2007-09-22
I purchased the Infinity BU120 about 5 years ago. It worked for about a year. I have had nothing but problems with it. Burned out ciruit boards, blown fuse several times, but most times intermittment problems with it working and not working at all. This subwoofer has not been abused as the wife and I only like a little bass and certainly dont like it thumping the walls. This thing is junk. I paid about 350.00 for it and they want 200.00 to fix it again. No way. Infinity customer service offered no help other than to tell me where the closest repair center is. Like another poster said, it has a good box and nice speaker. Unfortunately, a good box and speaker do not make up for the poor quality electronics. Based on my treatment from Infinity and the poor quality of this subwoofer, I will never buy another Infinity product. How stupid is this company? They could have taken care of this and now they have not only alienated me from future purchases, but from the sound of things on this board (no pun intended) they have alienated most others as well. Mine is going in the garbage today and I will go purchase another sub. I can assure you, it wont be Infinity.
On: 2007-03-30
Same problem here...loud Harley Davidson motorcycle noise emits from subwoofer when amp is off. Had it "fixed" under warranty a few years ago. Now it is dead again. Sounds like it is not worth fixing. This type of speaker "should" last longer than six years. Never again will I buy from Infinity/Harmon Kardon.
On: 2007-02-06
I too had all the problems mentioned with the Amp. Mine failed within the first year. I sent it back for service. It worked for a while and then failed again ... this time outside of warranty. It sounded good when it was working. Im considering purchasing an aftermarket amp from a 3rd party to get it running again. I wouldnt pay too much for one of these due to the frequent failure rate.
 On: 2006-10-28
Ive owned this sub for a few years now, I think I bought it in 97 or 98 and have to say, it has been unbelievable! I have a complete Inifinity 5.1 speaker system and picked this sub to match the rest of my components and have never had a complaint. I started looking to buy another one for my new family room, and was shocked to see people having problems with them. Hopefully mine will continue its trouble free life.
On: 2006-09-19
Worked for a few months, then started making a popping noise when not fed by the receiver, then it simply stopped working and only makes popping noise. Probably same problem others reported. $200 to waste since it cant be repaired and Infinity refuses to fix it. What a custimer focus they have. Never will buy from them again.
On: 2006-01-19
Common problem:
Amp fails. Sub will start making a machine gun sound without even having audio signal driving it.
C6 capacitor fails. Straight from the BU120 service manual from Infinitys website. Theres an appended memo that indicates this is a common problem and to replace the capacitor with an upgraded capacitor (10 micro-farad, 100 volt, non-polar electrolytic).
Ive had both of these problems. The C6 capacitor basically just got up and disappeared. There was virtually nothing left of it after it blew.
The amp was replaced once already, but apparently failed again.
I think the speaker itself is good quality, box is well constructed. The circuitry is terrible.
On: 2005-07-23
My Infinity BU-120 sub-woofer is dead. The amplifier S53AMI blew and from what I have been able to learn on the web this is not an uncommon problem. Infinity cant help me since the company that manufactures the S53AMI is no longer in business. I hope Infinity has learned a good lesson but Im not going to buy from them or their parent company Harmon Kardon to find out.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-12-20
Ive owned this sub for a few years now and have to say, its unbelievable! Its versatile, plenty of volume and unmatched, even to the Bose systems! I have a complete Inifinity 5:1 speaker system and this sub I picked out specifically to go with my theater system and have not ever regretted it. Im actually in the hunt fo a smaller 8" or 10" sub to go with my multimedia system. If you can find one, grab a hold of it, youll love it!
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