Dirty Weekends vs JBL Studio 590

[tomlinmgt]

I own 590’s and have a long list of big and medium sized speakers I own or have owned (including Altec 19c Infinity QLS-1, JBL L250, Magnepan MG-IIIa, Klipsch Chorus II, Acoustat Spectra 22, ADS 1290/2, et al) and have set up systems in a small space (12x12x8), medium (16x20x8) and large (16x34x12 vaulted ceiling)...all acoustically treated to some degree...and have observed the importance of matching room volume to speaker’s driver(s) radiating surface area, driver configuration, dispersion characteristics and cabinet design. Given your room dimensions, I’d probably lean toward the Zu’s or look at the little brother to the 590 (580, I think).

 

[fill35u]

What part(s) of what you quoted do you so strongly disagree with, and why?

 

[Gcman123]

It’s kind of misleading to compare the frequency responses of one speaker from 2014 and one from 2002. I suspect 2019 versions might be a bit different. Otherwise a good article

 

[darin g]

Touch my 590s and i will beat you up. Best 1000 ive ever spent.

 

[Jenkster]

I have had Zu Omen’s in the past and currently have 590’s. I think the 590’s sound better overall. More accurate, more dynamic and better soundstage. I had the original Omen’s and did the trade in plus $$$ gig for the upgrades. Maybe I didn’t spend enough time breaking them in, didn’t have the distance off the floor right or? Eventually I just couldn’t warm up to them. Don’t get me wrong, they sounded very good, I just like the 590’s better. My friend has the Omen’s with a Mac 6100 and loves them! To each his own I guess.

 

[Akustic]

For my money, I would order both and listen with my gear in my space.
Keep the one that I liked and send the other back ..
Then I would do it again and again until I knew that had the right speaker for me ..

Don't know about others but that's too much money to purchase just on a whim .. or somebody else's recommend ..

 

[cassette]

Thanks for all the input! I guess before I pull the trigger I will take into account the WAF and probably end up with a new sofa instead. I will keep you posted on speaker choices though!

A

 

[RGA]

I would remind people that scientists with degrees who work for Big Tobacco tout white papers and evidence that smoking is safe.

Floyd Toole works for Harmon International of which Revel and JBL loudspeakers are apart. Surprise surprise - their speakers win the blind listening sessions they set up.

What you want is "independent" research and testing before buying the pack of cigarettes on the word of the guy selling you the cigarettes.

 

[jdmccall]

I suspect both will sound good, so it would be safe to purchase either on a whim. Having spend hours restoring vintage JBL speakers, they really become part of you, so my whim was to have a set of NEW JBLs that I did not need to restore (and did not cost $15,000). So that is why I went with 590s. Curiously, when I was considering buying them, I could not find any negative reviews of the audio quality. Are all speakers like that (no one gives negative reviews) or are the 590s really that good for the money?

Seems to me that people tend to like the speakers they have...until they don't. Then they like what they get. That said, I think yeah, Studio 590's at $1000/pr. are very good sounding for the money. I have mine in a room that's 16x18.5x8.67, with two 12" subs. Crossover is set at 80Hz. And yes, I like them. I've never heard any Zu Audio speakers, but they are interesting.

 

[Guest159]

https://www.soundstagexperience.com...se-menu/657-does-a-product-s-backstory-matter

I just took a minute to read that. I've never once had somebody tell me what I was about to hear. Not that it would make any difference whatsoever. I read glowing things about the Paradigm 7F before I heard it, and those things did nothing to make that speaker any less of a disappointment than it proved to be. Knowing it had 2 beryllium drivers in each box didn't create a sense of dynamics and realism that they clearly lacked.

Additionally, I don't need to tell anybody that my stereo sounds good for them to figure it out. Nobody I've ever dropped in my chair has even heard of Focal or Pass. There's no bias to be confirmed.

My impression of the article was one of fallacy, namely a fallacy of false equivalence.

 

[bruhl001]

I would remind people that scientists with degrees who work for Big Tobacco tout white papers and evidence that smoking is safe.

Floyd Toole works for Harmon International of which Revel and JBL loudspeakers are apart. Surprise surprise - their speakers win the blind listening sessions they set up.

What you want is "independent" research and testing before buying the pack of cigarettes on the word of the guy selling you the cigarettes.

Equating tobacco scientists to what Floyd Toole has accomplished in the field of acoustics demonstrates your sheer idiocy.

 

[bruhl001]

Seems to me that people tend to like the speakers they have...until they don't. Then they like what they get. That said, I think yeah, Studio 590's at $1000/pr. are very good sounding for the money. I have mine in a room that's 16x18.5x8.67, with two 12" subs. Crossover is set at 80Hz. And yes, I like them. I've never heard any Zu Audio speakers, but they are interesting.

you can't find any negative reviews because they are beautifully engineered and are wonderful sounding speakers regardless of how much money you paid for them.

 

[Jeff K]

I would remind people that scientists with degrees who work for Big Tobacco tout white papers and evidence that smoking is safe.

Floyd Toole works for Harmon International of which Revel and JBL loudspeakers are apart. Surprise surprise - their speakers win the blind listening sessions they set up.

What you want is "independent" research and testing before buying the pack of cigarettes on the word of the guy selling you the cigarettes.

I guess you’re saying Toole fudged his research to favor Revel, Infinity, and JBL loudspeakers rather than those companies making design decisions based on research that he (mostly) did before joining Harmon.

That said, not everyone values the same design goals as the majority of listeners in blind tests.

 

[tomlinmgt]

you can't find any negative reviews because they are beautifully engineered and are wonderful sounding speakers regardless of how much money you paid for them.

Now let’s not get carried away...you won’t find top notch construction and materials with the cabinets, so “beautifully engineered” might be a stretch (unless you’re speaking in context of engineered to maximize sonic bang for the buck). But that’s the concession for getting a speaker that performs at the level they can perform at for what they cost. And I think most who hear them and who have real world financial obligations to satisfy before they splurge on their hifi hobby will agree that it’s an acceptable concession.

 

[bruhl001]

Now let’s not get carried away...you won’t find top notch construction and materials with the cabinets, so “beautifully engineered” might be a stretch (unless you’re speaking in context of engineered to maximize sonic bang for the buck). But that’s the concession for getting a speaker that performs at the level they can perform at for what they cost.

It was used in that context.

 

[fredgarvin]

Only on forums like this will you find anonymous layman discrediting the work of Floyd Toole because he didn't say glowing things about their speakers. Which just happen to have some very iffy measurements.

 

[bruhl001]

Most speakers that are in a higher price class than the 590's will have finer cabinets, aesthetics and more exotic drivers but in terms of absolute performance....???

 

[tomlinmgt]

It was used in that context.

And they do indeed accomplish that. I liken them to a muscle car with polarizing styling and very few options, but well equipped to lay down the law.

 

[tomlinmgt]

Most speakers that are in a higher price class than the 590's will have finer cabinets, aesthetics and more exotic drivers but in terms of absolute performance....???

The way I see it, for a model that has the credentials of someone the likes of Greg Timbers and the resources of JBL behind their creation, there’s a very good chance something much better than average will result. And it did. This is no different than what A.Jones has been doing with Pioneer and Elac which has generated tons of buzz in the industry. Except JBL failed miserably to market this concept of design execution. Pioneer failed, too. Elac did not and is enjoying the success of their strategy.

 

[tomlinmgt]

All speakers are a compromise, PERIOD. Even the most expensive are as there is no perfect speaker out there.

Yep. One chooses what they can live without. If one puts performance (at a certain price point) over all else, the JBL Studio 590 (and perhaps the entire Studio series) is an excellent choice.