JBL Stage A130 Review (speaker)

[abdo123]

Where is the Acoustic Axis on the A130? Help me.

10 degrees below the tweeter works fine for me. i wouldn't go below that though.

 

[192kbps]

10 degrees below the tweeter works fine for me. i wouldn't go below that though.

like this?

 

[abdo123]

like this?

View attachment 193974

Maybe, depends on how close you sit. you have to calculate it.

on tweeter axis is fine too.

 

[Presently42]

Where is the Acoustic Axis on the A130? Help me.

The tweeter, as with all speakers - unless otherwise specified. Anyway, we can prove this with the dispersion graph:

Draw a line through the darkest part of the graph, and we confirm whether or not the tweeter is the centre at the specified distance (here, ten meters, from the top of the graph): if it is, the imaginary drawn line through the darkest part will be at zero degrees, as it is in this graph. Since Amir measured at tweeter level (and always does, unless otherwise indicated), we know, that the tweeter is the vertical acoustic centre of the speaker. Note, that this is true for distances less than ten meters: where is stops being true must indeed either be calculated, or experimentally determined.

As for horizontal, as long as the speaker is symmetrical, the horizontal acoustic centre is in the middle.

 

[192kbps]

The tweeter, as with all speakers - unless otherwise specified. Anyway, we can prove this with the dispersion graph:
View attachment 193996

Draw a line through the darkest part of the graph, and we confirm whether or not the tweeter is the centre at the specified distance (here, ten meters, from the top of the graph): if it is, the imaginary drawn line through the darkest part will be at zero degrees, as it is in this graph. Since Amir measured at tweeter level (and always does, unless otherwise indicated), we know, that the tweeter is the vertical acoustic centre of the speaker. Note, that this is true for distances less than ten meters: where is stops being true must indeed either be calculated, or experimentally determined.

As for horizontal, as long as the speaker is symmetrical, the horizontal acoustic centre is in the middle.

Can you give me your EQ? A130.

 

[Presently42]

Can you give me your EQ? A130.

Really, any of the eq profiles work nicely. I happen to prefer my own - but not by much. My profile is slightly different, as it doesn't touch the looks-like-a-resonance-but-isn't at around 1.8 kHz. I also, upon further testing, opted to ignore the large hump in the on-axis curve: getting rid of it might look nicer in measurements, but makes the sound a bit duller - and unexpectedly, somehow a bit harsher. I now only target the resonance peak at around 12 kHz. There are a couple of other small resonances I tackle - but these might be unit-to-unit variations: I informally measured my left speaker.

Anyway, do feel free to test and compare my eq settings against others: I'd be glad of the feedback!

 

[Asking Dumb Questions]

Price aside, How are the A130 compare to the studio 530s?

Is this a better set without EQ?

 

[Teeter]

@Asking Dumb Questions I replaced my A130's as were to neutral for my ears. There are some independent reviews if you google, for both speakers. Everyone's ears are different. I did read one independent review a year+ ago, he preferred the A130 over the 530's. That was his ears. https://www.bing.com/search?q=jble+A130+vs+530&form=ANNTH1&refig=e43af405f15e4cb59b803b342b758aa5

 

[USER]

I took advantage of the Harman sale and ordered these for $130. One of the big questions I had was whether they measure like how they did for Amir or measure like Erin's more recent results (https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/loudspeakers/jbl_stage_a130/).

These are simple, preliminary measurements so please do not consider them conclusive or rigorous. Take them or leave them but please don't ask me how perfect the set up was or anything like that. Mic was about 6 feet away in front of the tweeter. I will be measuring them again in a different room as the results raised further questions.

This second graph shows the effects of the grill.

So what I think I see here is something closer to Erin's measurements, which are much worse than Amir's. It is certainly closer to them in the treble region.

What I don't see here is the bass boom. In fact there is a disappointing lack of bass compared to both sets of measurements. BUT. As we all know, the room dictates measurements below 400Hz or so. These measurements were taken in a suboptimal space in my basement with an especially low ceiling. I want to measure them again later this week in a different room to see if I can get measurements closer to the other ones.

For now it seems to me that they measure closer to Erin's. I am guessing the speakers were revised after Amir's measurements. I in no way think Amir's measurements are off. This is too bad because Amir's version would be one of the biggest bargains I can think of at $130. I did not like the sound of these for the obvious reasons: the boosted presence between 1-2k and the upward curve, which made the highs much too bright. Erin's description was spot on for me in everything but the bass. I would never listen to these as is.

However: a 30 second DSP adjustment through Roon made them sound excellent. Simple high and low shelf filters to boost bass and reduce treble, and I lowered the dominant resonance. With a high pass filter to remove anything below 60Hz, they sounded as clean as anything I have heard. Not a hint of distortion. They take very well to DSP.

When I purchased them I said I was going to return them if they sounded like Erin's version. But with DSP they may still be worth it. They seem like headphones in this way. I wonder if JBL intentionally made these worse as they could easily cut into their more expensive speaker sales.

I must add that I really like the minimally textured finish on these. It's clearly not expensive but the speakers are classy in their own right.

 

[Geezerman]

I can see it now. Used ones for sale advertised as the Amir or Erin versions..

 

[Buckster]

Interesting charts thankyou for posting hard to tell with the scale but looks a bit flatter to me than that from Erin's review ?

I ordered a 2nd pair today here in UK after being very pleased with a pair used for rears

I would have measured the pair I already have but I'm using actives at front currently and rear was already wired in so wasn't easy to measure rears (I couldn't get HDMI audio to work in REW was horribly distorted and didn't have cabling to try them at the front)

When installed and I get time I'll try and do a comparison in REW of frequency response of the 308 MKIIs and the 130s. The 308 IIs sound superb and measure pretty flat out of the box just most of my listening is at the louder end of the scale and mostly for games and movies and they just being to sound a bit strained to me at higher cinematic volumes

The A130s (both pairs) were bought in UK brand new so will be interesting to see if any regional variances

Ps did you try with ports "sealed" ?

 

[theyellowspecial]

I took advantage of the Harman sale and ordered these for $130. One of the big questions I had was whether they measure like how they did for Amir or measure like Erin's more recent results (https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/loudspeakers/jbl_stage_a130/).

In a room with 8 foot ceilings you could do a quasi-anechoic gated measurement and get accurate results down to around 200Hz. Should be good enough to make accurate comparisons. However, from your current measurements, I'd say you received an Erin revision.

If you pop off the binding post plate and compare the crossover network with the crossover network posted in this thread from the earlier revision model, maybe we'll learn what the differences are. Directivity is the same between both revisions, so you could apply EQ to a quasi-anechoic measurement and match it to Maiky's spin-based EQ for an optimized speaker without modifying the crossover network.

 

[pjug]

If you pop off the binding post plate and compare the crossover network with the crossover network posted in this thread from the earlier revision model, maybe we'll learn what the differences are.

I emailed Harman about this and they said there have been no changes, FWIW:

We have not made any design changes with the components and crossovers since the day that the JBL Stage series was launched.

That's also true, there are no changes with the speaker cabinet and damping materials. Everything is the same since when it was first launched.

 

[creamygarlicdip]

I emailed Harman about this and they said there have been no changes, FWIW:

We have not made any design changes with the components and crossovers since the day that the JBL Stage series was launched.

That's also true, there are no changes with the speaker cabinet and damping materials. Everything is the same since when it was first launched.

Is there any precedent for variations in measurements for speakers with the same components like this?

 

[hardisj]

However, from your current measurements, I'd say you received an Erin revision.

From henceforth: Erin™ Version

 

[More Dynamics Please]

Would be interesting to see the results if @amirm ran another A130 through his Klippel to see if the results more closely matched his original results or those measured by @hardisj. Without further investigation the conflicting results will remain a mystery and the subject of endless speculation with many A130 purchasing decisions being influenced in opposite directions.

 

[tw 2022]

Would be interesting to see the results if @amirm ran another A130 through his Klippel to see if the results more closely matched his original results or those measured by @hardisj. Without further investigation the conflicting results will remain a mystery and the subject of endless speculation with many A130 purchasing decisions being influenced in opposite directions.

that would surely be a welcomed development..

 

[Teeter]

I bought the Stage A 130's for replacement mains, in Jan 2021 and were too neutral for movies and music, for MY ears. During that time period, I was going back and forth with Klipsch R-51M and the JBL A130 mains. The R-51M were to trebly. Shouty.

My HT room is 12 X 10, with 55", 4K TV, having a 6.5ft viewing distance, along with center channel at ear level. The mains are 7' from the center listening distance and angled, with tweeters at ear level. The SR's Tweeters are 2 feet above the ears, angled down, and a bit behind the ears.

Anyway, last month, after a year of the Stage A130 being too neutral to my ears, I replaced with ELAC's DB6.5 and center C5.5. I am much happier with the Elac's for Movies and Music for MY ears. That is my current take.

 

[dadregga]

Is there any precedent for variations in measurements for speakers with the same components like this?

QC variations?

 

[theyellowspecial]

I emailed Harman about this and they said there have been no changes, FWIW:

We have not made any design changes with the components and crossovers since the day that the JBL Stage series was launched.

That's also true, there are no changes with the speaker cabinet and damping materials. Everything is the same since when it was first launched.

I still have doubts. I trust Amir and Erin measured correctly. The deviations are huge for unit-to-unit variation. Customer service reps are often wrong with regards to technical matters. I do believe the cabinet and damping (or lack thereof) is the same, however, considering the resonances are the same.

Anyways, it's easily confirmed by someone with a newer revision by unscrewing the binding post plate and uploading a picture of the electronics.

I could be totally wrong.