JBL MR812 (Early 1990s)
The JBL MR812 is a compact, front-ported 1×12" speaker cabinet from the early 1990s, part of JBL's MR Pro series. It's a 1-way, bass reflex design built around a single 30 cm (12") MR121-8 cone driver. The driver is rated at 8 ohms and 300 watts continuous pink noise, with a frequency band of 60 Hz to 5.5 kHz (-10 dB) and a sensitivity of 100 dB/W/m. The cabinet weighs 19 kg and measures 413 × 464 × 311 mm. The Japanese-market price reference is ¥65,000 around 1992.
One owner who bought four of them new in 1992 calls them "a little dark sounding," which he liked, and says that suits guitar use. He also notes they came with 1" fiberglass insulation and are front ported. Another user on The Gear Page reports his MR-812s "sound great and can handle 300 watts RMS, if you can find them for sale, that is." They're hard to find because they were built as instrument cabinets, not studio monitors, so they don't show up in the usual hi-fi collector channels. A single used unit in "Very Good" condition was listed at $125. The seller noted the speakers alone cost $200 new when they were still available.
The record is thin beyond that. No production years past the early-90s window, no original US retail price and no service documentation have surfaced. One seller calls the MR812 the last speaker JBL specifically engineered for guitar. It shares lineage with the D, E, and K series drivers but handles more watts. The cabinet has two standard 6.3 mm jacks on the rear and a corner protector on the enclosure.
- Type: 1-way, bass reflex, floor-type cabinet
- Driver: 30 cm cone (MR121-8)
- Impedance: 8 Ω
- Power handling: 300W continuous pink noise
- Frequency band: 60 Hz – 5.5 kHz (-10 dB)
- Sensitivity: 100 dB/W/m
- Dimensions: 413 × 464 × 311 mm (W×H×D)
- Weight: 19.0 kg
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