I decided to get myself a 12 string, I only had one once before, some years ago, it was a pre-used one and to be honest it wasn't a very good one so I didn't have it long. Nowadays there are plenty of well-playable guitars of all sorts to be had from Thomann and quality overall has never been better, even the budget guitars. (I've bought three Harley Benton acoustics this last year).
This Ibanez is not a expensive guitar, though it's half as much again as the Harley Benton budget 12 string, which boasts a pick-up system which the Ibanez does not have. The main point for me was the fingerboard width. The Harley is wider, same as a "classical" guitar. Those few millimetres makes a big difference, some say the Ibanez is too narrow, but it suits me better.
Out of the box, the guitar arrived well-packed and the finish was excellent. I expected it to be a little better than the Harley Bentons (which aren't bad) and I was not disappointed there.
I don't know what the factory strings are, but they left my finger tips with black "tram lines" - some sort of gunk on them anyway. First I had to tune up to concert pitch. The machine heads worked smoothly, I think better quality the Harley ones. (I expected them to be better, at least as decent as my old Ibanez Strat ).
I found the sound level a little under what I was expecting - the six-string guitars I have are all a bit louder than this 12 string. It's a good sound nonetheless. Good sustain, no buzzes, twangs or other antisocial behaviour. Well finished frets, nice neck and fingerboard.
I anticipate needing to amp it up on occasion, for which purpose I bought the Harley Benton sound-hole magnetic pickup, which does the job nicely and sounds warmer than the customary piezo setups prevalent in many acoustics these days.
Overall, a very decent guitar, no frills yet obviously good quality.
Extra comment: A month later and I'm most satisfied with this guitar. My earlier reservations about the volume are no longer worrying me - some of it is down to playing technique, which I'm still catching up with. I don't think you can go wrong with Ibanez, this isn't my first Ibanez guitar, and it won't be my last.