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JBL Studio 530 Speaker Review

cjennings

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I should add, I did read somewhere and can't find it now, people swapping the compression driver with one of the other JBL options and using the existing horn/waveguide with claimed improvements. Not sure in the small room space just what the gain would be, output has never been an issue, perhaps smoother, but who knows.
 

richard12511

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Next is some REW turning and addressing more room acoustics. On sale, I just don't know what really touches these.

Agreed. I've almost bought 580s several times despite not needing them at all. That sale price is just ridiculously good. I had them here briefly while holding them for a friend, and they were outstanding for the price.
 

HorizonsEdge

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Got these today. Listening now for 2+ hours. Minor EQ for my near field setup. Instant fan. I might like these more than my Q150's in near field. Time will tell.

Anyone have an idea on break in duration?
 

Teeter

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It won't require any break-in time. As @AVKS mentioned, they are broken in.

After reading reviews on the older Studio 530 and the Stage A130 early this year, I opted for the Stage A130. Twice over a months time, I switched the current Klipsch R-51M's and the new Stage A130. The Stage A130 won.

My speakers are for both DD movies and Satellite/internet music. I keep my AVR Audio Sound set on DD+Surround. The front mains blend in and not noticeable.
 
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For chuckles, I ordered a pair of 530's for slightly less than $250. They will be here Thursday. I'm curious about how they sound, especially for the money. I'll be driving them with a Parasound Halo integrated. I do have a dual 12" sub I can use for the bottom-end and the built-in x-over in the Halo. Anyway, should be fun.
 

GXAlan

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For chuckles, I ordered a pair of 530's for slightly less than $250. They will be here Thursday. I'm curious about how they sound, especially for the money. I'll be driving them with a Parasound Halo integrated. I do have a dual 12" sub I can use for the bottom-end and the built-in x-over in the Halo. Anyway, should be fun.

They sound incredible especially with a good sub. “For the money” boils down to cosmetics. It cuts every possible corner when it comes to aesthetics. The bottom is unfinished, for example. But as-is, it’s great and with EQ, it’s even better. The vertical horn is really useful in real world environments.

The Studio 590 is even better, but it’s uglier due to its size and it is top heavy, without obvious strategy for having an anti-tip mechanism despite the manual warning you about this. Harman does have free returns including shipping if you have the space to try them.
 
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I have a few other speakers so these are just for laughs. At the price, my expectations aren't very high though there's often little correlation between price and quality. That a well-engineered and subjectively pleasant speaker can be had for $250 isn't unheard of, just not the norm.

Unless I missed them, it would be nice to see the individual driver measurements including the port measurements.
 

theyellowspecial

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The 570 is $200 on JBL's site right now. I'd buy and send one to Amirm but my Canadian credit card will be declined (I've tried sending other speakers to Amirm in the past). JBL also has free return shipping.
 

jo_barns

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The 570 is $200 on JBL's site right now. I'd buy and send one to Amirm but my Canadian credit card will be declined (I've tried sending other speakers to Amirm in the past). JBL also has free return shipping.
I bought the studio 570s and the stage a170 recently and just returned the 570. I own the 530 and the 570s sound very similar. To me, when comparing to the a170, at low volumes the 570 sounds a little boxy and bass extension is lacking a little.
 

More Dynamics Please

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I bought the studio 570s and the stage a170 recently and just returned the 570. I own the 530 and the 570s sound very similar. To me, when comparing to the a170, at low volumes the 570 sounds a little boxy and bass extension is lacking a little.
Beyond boxiness and bass extension are there any other differences that you feel favor the A170 over the 570? Are there any areas where you believe the 570 offers an edge? Given the fact that JBL's Studio 5xx and Stage A1xx are both widely praised and go on sale so often at such low pricing any data that can help differentiate between the two can be helpful.
 

jo_barns

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Beyond boxiness and bass extension are there any other differences that you feel favor the A170 over the 570? Are there any areas where you believe the 570 offers an edge? Given the fact that JBL's Studio 5xx and Stage A1xx are both widely praised and go on sale so often at such low pricing any data that can help differentiate between the two can be helpful.
I’m not very experienced, but the way I would describe it is: I can listen to the A170s at any volume and enjoy the music, whereas to me the 570s are less enjoyable at low volume.

I also did a blind test with my partner (tried to match the levels as best as I could) and 70 percent of the time we picked the a170s.

For the flaws of the A170s. They are a bit sibilant. Also the bass seems less detailed than I would like, but my room modes are likely a big factor.

Above the crossover point (1.5Khz) the 570s sound exactly like the 530s which I own, so Amir’s review of the 530s may be useful to
you.
 

strummr

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It sure seems like, if you can get them at the heavily discounted prices, the JBL Studio 5xx and A1xx series are upper-tier, if not near peerless, budget speakers - the limited measurements seems to get further supported with folks weighing in with subjective impressions.

I have noticed that now that they seem to be back in stock, the discounts are not coming fast nor often. (I've been checking Harmanaudio.com for months)
 

More Dynamics Please

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It sure seems like, if you can get them at the heavily discounted prices, the JBL Studio 5xx and A1xx series are upper-tier, if not near peerless, budget speakers - the limited measurements seems to get further supported with folks weighing in with subjective impressions.

I have noticed that now that they seem to be back in stock, the discounts are not coming fast nor often. (I've been checking Harmanaudio.com for months)

I wouldn't expect any more JBL Studio 5xx or Stage A1xx series sales this close to Black Friday/Cyber Monday which usually produces JBL's best sale prices of the year. If you know which speakers you want it would make sense to be prepared to quickly pull the trigger during JBL's Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale.
 

strummr

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I wouldn't expect any more JBL Studio 5xx or Stage A1xx series sales this close to Black Friday/Cyber Monday which usually produces JBL's best sale prices of the year. If you know which speakers you want it would make sense to be prepared to quickly pull the trigger during JBL's Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale.
True... and I'm always ready to pull the trigger - almost too eager at times ;) I really want to try A190s (to replace the R263s), over the 590s (bit too aesthetically/dimensionally brutish) - as I think they'll complement the RC263 or vice versa, well; but knowing how these get discounted, hard to just pay out the $500/1k each for the A190/590 respectively. All the while, looking to end up with C208/F208s for the LCR eventually - I need to start selling off some unused equipment, it's looking like a bit of a music shop in my rec level. ;)
 
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