Ordered some JBL Studio 530s thisafternoon....
- Thread starter WaynerN
- Start date
WaynerN
Addicted Member
I have mine just a few inches between the wall and the rear of the speakers. They are 8 feet apart. Toe-in angle is critical, and must be symmetrical. Use a tape measure to make both toe-ins identical to each other, measuring from common walls as a reference line or surface.
hertzdonut
Press Play and Stand Back
Hi Alobar, thanks, I wish they were a good fit too.
I have a small space, not acoustically friendly. (corner closet takes a chunk out of the room, bunch of guitars hanging on the wall, speakers cannot be situated to the critical dimensions nor even point in the proper direction that others have indicated as important)
I'm driving them with an SX-1280 (fully recapped, re-tranny'd). TT is PL-630 (also rebuilt). Also ran music from my RTR's (RT-909, Akai GX-635D, Technics RS-1700) My music runs from blues to rock to pop. Not really any jazz nor classical.
I'd call it your typical, non-audiophile setup. Decent gear, crappy space. IMO, the 530's had a clean and punchy bass, the top end was just ok, and the midrange was, I would have to say, muddy.
I'm going to give some thought to the 590's. Maybe those would be worth a shot. It's all about finding the right fit.
- Jeff
absolve2525
Super Member
Did you try EQ, or engage the loudness button on your receiver? I find it can do wonders with certain rooms.
tomlinmgt
Lunatic Member
My thoughts on the 530’s aren’t so different from yours, and I offered them what could be considered a more “audiophile-like” scenario. I just got the 530’s two weeks ago. I’ve put over 50 hrs play time on them so they’ve had a good bit of time for break in. I have them in a 12x12 room that is treated with absorption panels at sidewall first reflection and speakers have been set up about 30” from the front wall and 30” from the side walls. Listening spot is about seven feet from the speakers and there is an absorption panel behind the chair. Upstream gear is a Tube Audio Design TAD-150 Signature pre and a Pass First Watt F5 clone (pure class A). Source is Tidal and Amazon HD into a Schiit Gungnir DAC. I think it’s safe to say I’ve provided about as favorable a stage for the 530’s to perform on as one could ask for. Imaging and sound stage is pretty good, but resolution suffers a bit from a hazy background. The tonality in the mid range is a little congested and not as clear as I’d anticipated based on my experience with my 590’s. Bass is pretty good, mid bass is pretty good, and the high end is ok. Comparing them back to back against a set of Klipsch RB-5ii...which are about the same size but at least five pounds heavier and with an 8” mid-bass driver...they fall a little short in just about every component of fidelity. That having been said, the RB-5ii’s are fantastic speakers that somehow got overlooked in their day (they deserved as much press as the RP-600 has been getting).
Compared to the 590’s, I really don’t hear much similarity between the two...which I’m still scratching my head over. I suppose the fact that the 590’s are in a much larger room could have an influence, but each speaker is in a room that is the appropriate size for the design...so that variable has be optimized for each model. The 590’s can stand toe to toe with speakers two and three times their cost...I don’t think I’m prepared to say the same for the 530’s. They’re not even in the same league as my Energy Veritas 2.1’s.
Last edited:
tomlinmgt
Lunatic Member
I imagine one could tailor their tonality to their own liking with some tone control tweaking...but I wasn’t particularly impressed with them when fed an unmolested signal.
WaynerN
Addicted Member
Upstream electronics play a huge role in speaker deployment. I run Audio by Van Alstine to mine and the experience in my smallish vinyl room leaves no wants for more. They are critical to room placement, 30" from the wall is way too much, mine are 3" from the wall. 120 WRMS to each. Vinyl or FM is the source. 8 feet apart, fairly aggressive toe-in angle. Imagining and depth are unbelievable.
absolve2525
Super Member
I think these definitely benefit from a good amount of power. I'm running mine with 130 WPC.
absolve2525
Super Member
Here's a link to the Brit mag review. Might prove helpful. https://www.whathifi.com/us/jbl/studio-530/review
tomlinmgt
Lunatic Member
I tried them a little under a foot from the wall, also. Sound stage depth suffered. Low frequency response improved a little, but that slightly congested mid range didn’t clear up and mid/upper bass lost some articulation, as well. All the ills improved as I moved them further out into the room (as is typically the case). I don’t think placement is the problem. If there’s any problem, it’s that I simply have better sounding bookshelf speakers and also that the 590’s perhaps created an expectation the 530’s aren’t living up to.
tomlinmgt
Lunatic Member
I also tried them with a Nuprime IDA-8 100 wpc integrated/DAC. Same issues. I’ll try them with a highly modified Acurus RL-11 pre and slightly modified Threshold s/300...which generates a **** ton of current and class A for the first dozen or so watts. . I also have a Tube Audio Design TAD-60 that can switch between UL and triode. My White Oak Phas Linear 700B is off getting the rotary power switch repaired, so the only big power I have sitting around is a Soundcraftsmen MA5002 (fully restored) which is around 275wpc@8. If none of those make a difference, back to JBL they go.
tomlinmgt
Lunatic Member
That review compelled me to try them out in spite of already having 590’s. I’m still trying to figure out how they got five stars. Gonna keep trying til I’ve exhausted my resources.
WaynerN
Addicted Member
I got rid of my Soundcraftsmen A-5002 about 20 years ago. It is not a very detailed amplifier. Maybe OK for a PA system. Over use of sound absorbing materials is also perhaps unfair to a new speaker. Because its a good environment for one set of speakers does not mean its a "universal" environment for any speaker. I used to have some stuff at first reflection points, but they are gone. After they were installed, I started to wonder what happened to the fun music, and that was thru any of the speakers in my vinyl room (5 sets). Sound absorbers are now gone.
tomlinmgt
Lunatic Member
Well, that leaves me about half a dozen other variables to try out that you didn’t denigrate, so maybe there’s hope yet. Lol
WaynerN
Addicted Member
The 530s are not the 590s. I don't recall anyone making a claim like that. I have the 580s and I know that. It is known that the same speakers in different rooms will sound drastically different. Square rooms are normally not a good thing, so I do understand your attempt at squelching some of the bounce. I personally listen to mine in near field or at least an extended "near field" with speakers about 8 feet apart and I'm about 7 feet from the centerline between them. My bride and I listen together, side by side, so the speakers have to be situated to create a wide sweet-spot. This is a difficult task until you get the hang of how the speakers behave. The relationship between these horns and the symmetrical relationship to each other and the room is also critical, almost to a fault. The slightest nudge out of toe-in will affect the soundstage.
tomlinmgt
Lunatic Member
With all due respect, Wayner...this ain’t my first rodeo. I haven’t given up on them, but as of right now they haven’t impressed. It is what it is and shouldn’t matter to you the slightest bit if you’re enjoying yours.
WaynerN
Addicted Member
I'm not dissing your systems or your attempts at taming your room. (I do not like the Soundcraftsmen tho). Every room has its own demons, its the nature of listening to canned music, music inside of room boundaries. Room nodes abound, oddball reflections occur, different speakers have different dispersion characteristics. I have also a bunch of amps, tube and SS. I can say with certainty that amps certainly do not sound the same, each reacts differently to the speaker loads they drive. This could be a problem with lots of guys unhappy with their speakers, because the amp wasn't happy with them either. The nice thing about having several amps is that they can be swapped out, looking for that ideal match. Because I had a set of 530s before I bought the second set, I already knew what amp I would pair them up with.
And no, it doesn't bother me in the slightest bit what you do with them. Different people hear different things in speakers. That is why there are so many different brands and models within brands.
absolve2525
Super Member
I gotta say, I'm still really enjoying these speakers! I think taller stands or sitting high on other speakers (hmmm, who here has other speakers?) works great. I'm using them in a bedroom setup with a big Marantz receiver. I still can't believe the bass from these guys with a little EQ, and the horn is really smooth and open.
cube-tube
Super Member
As some of you may remember, I had a pair (two actually at different times) of Sonus Faber Venere 1.5's as well as a pair of Monitor Audio Silver 3i's, both of which were excellent sounding speakers. With that being said, I can honestly say they don't hold a candle to these Studio 530's. These 530's are just so much larger sounding, have a lot more dynamic swing capability, have a fuller mid-bass and midrange that's more controlled and textured, the treble is well defined and extended, and completely smooth and organic sounding in my system and room. These speakers throw out a rather wide and deep sound stage with a rock solid center image that's very much life-like in size and body.
I was very skeptical swapping out my hybrid open baffle GR Research X-Statik's for these, especially considering I spent double what these 530's costs on crossover upgrades and No-Rez dampening material alone for the X-Statik's.
And speaking of crossover upgrades, my brother purchased these 530's slightly used from the original owner who pulled out the crossovers and upgraded all of the stock capacitors and sand-cast resistors with Jantzen Audio capacitors and resistors. That could be a very good reason why these Studio 530's sound so darn good in my system.
I am highly impressed with these speakers so far, and I've only had them up and running in my system since yesterday evening, playing a wide variety of music. So far, they aren't holding back at all on surprises from either very familiar recordings or new recordings that I've never heard before. Either way, I think I'm going to keep these speakers in my system for as long as my brother will let me. I don't think that will be much of an issue however since he replaced these JBL's with a pair of Revel bookshelf speakers that he absolutely loves. Personally, I think these sound better.
P.S. - These JBL Studio 530's are being fed 80 watts from my monoblock Schiit Aegir amps. They have absolutely no problems getting these speakers up to decent volume levels, and they blend beautifully with my Polk subs. The 530's are connected via some Maze Audio Ref 4 bi-wire speaker cables... Also very impressive. And as you can see in the pics below, I have them about 4 feet out into the room.
Again... Highly impressed here. Highly impressed.
(Please forgive the mess in the room. I kind of smashed my right big toe at work the other day and have been off my feet. And yes, it's extremely painful and I will lose the nail.) I have pics if you like. LOL
No, I'm not going to post those. Too disgusting.
Anywho...
I was very skeptical swapping out my hybrid open baffle GR Research X-Statik's for these, especially considering I spent double what these 530's costs on crossover upgrades and No-Rez dampening material alone for the X-Statik's.
And speaking of crossover upgrades, my brother purchased these 530's slightly used from the original owner who pulled out the crossovers and upgraded all of the stock capacitors and sand-cast resistors with Jantzen Audio capacitors and resistors. That could be a very good reason why these Studio 530's sound so darn good in my system.
I am highly impressed with these speakers so far, and I've only had them up and running in my system since yesterday evening, playing a wide variety of music. So far, they aren't holding back at all on surprises from either very familiar recordings or new recordings that I've never heard before. Either way, I think I'm going to keep these speakers in my system for as long as my brother will let me. I don't think that will be much of an issue however since he replaced these JBL's with a pair of Revel bookshelf speakers that he absolutely loves. Personally, I think these sound better.
P.S. - These JBL Studio 530's are being fed 80 watts from my monoblock Schiit Aegir amps. They have absolutely no problems getting these speakers up to decent volume levels, and they blend beautifully with my Polk subs. The 530's are connected via some Maze Audio Ref 4 bi-wire speaker cables... Also very impressive. And as you can see in the pics below, I have them about 4 feet out into the room.
Again... Highly impressed here. Highly impressed.
(Please forgive the mess in the room. I kind of smashed my right big toe at work the other day and have been off my feet. And yes, it's extremely painful and I will lose the nail.) I have pics if you like. LOL
No, I'm not going to post those. Too disgusting. Anywho...