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JBL Studio 530 Speaker Review

HorizonsEdge

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JBL has all the Studio line on sale for 2021 black friday right now.
 

Jmudrick

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Picked up a 550P sub ($199) to use with the 530 and integrates beautifully (in the bedroom system). $450 for a pair of 530s and sub is just ludicrous value.
 
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Fuzziekiwi

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Bought for $267/pair. Wanted to give them a try because of all the rave reviews (and I heard they're a little bit more laid back compared to Klipsch offerings).

Really curious to hear the JBL HDI series.

Free shipping both ways is nice. Even then I could still probably sell for a reasonable amount if I wanted to own them for just a little while.

Missing a little excitement sometimes from my DBR62's.
 

NepinMn

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Just received a pair of 530s and a pair of 550p subs.

These speakers are so so so good. I'm very impressed. Subs are not well integrated yet, and I'll have to figure out placement, equalizing and phasing them, etc. They are a bit boomy right now.

My receiver is a yamaha rx-v479 and the ypao equalizer that is comes with keeps erroring out on me even after resetting the receiver.

I have GLM, but that's not useful here.

I'm also set up to run REW and have UMIK1 available. Lots to figure out.

These bookshelves themselves sound great.
 

Fuzziekiwi

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Speaker is in. Was listening to it last night and this morning. Goes fairly loud with no issues, and they are best at low/medium volumes, too much volume and it starts to get a little spicy ;). Haven't noticed the port noise really yet. Really great imaging, instrument separation, and detail. Lacks a bit of low end so vocals aren't as full as they should be. I believe these are less offensive than Klipsch, but not by much.

It's good for $250 with the only flaw in my eyes being that the treble tonality is a bit off and I've noticed some slight sibilance on a lot of tracks (not horrible sibilance but it's there). I am used to by DBR62's that play everything so politely. I still prefer my LSR305's (and they were $99 each when I got them) as they have a better tonality overall and better imaging but those are nearfield and can't go anywhere near as loud as these can.

Someone mentioned these have a slight plasticky sound sometimes I agree. I believe this was the video:

Now that I've been listening to them a bit, these are probably going back to JBL. Not disappointed but not impressed enough. I've tried a fair amount of speakers and I think I'd take the Q150 or cheaper Debut line over these (when they are at comparable prices on sale).
 
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AudioLover73

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I've been using a pair of 530s for several months nearfield on my computer desk along with two subs. With the magic of Audyssey XT32 (Denon X3600H), they sound awesome! I even disabled the subs to see how they'd do with bass, and to my surprise, they sounded clean to the low 30s. I even turned off the amps to my subs to just to be sure. Might have something to do with the large ported enclosures. I could definitely use these without a sub (but with EQ) if I had to but since I like my bass to 16Hz, even my computer gets subs.

I also purchased a pair of 590s that I'm evaluating right now. I also prefer them with Audyssey XT32. As of right now, I'm keeping them. These are going to be my "loud" speakers. I tried pushing my JBL PT800/PS1400 stacks and damaged a tweeter. The 590s play cleanly down to 26Hz with one port plugged, and then they fall off a cliff below that. A 25Hz test tone does not make any pleasing sounds. Plugging both ports makes the bass sound worse. These are definitely not designed to be sealed. I will be using them with my subs because I must have that 16Hz low C.

What I like about the Studio 5 series is their low crossover point of 1500Hz and the fact that they use a real professional audio compression driver.

And for reference, my main speakers are NHT C4s. They sound so good, and I like them without Audyssey. I also like the JBL PT800/PS1400 without Audyssey as well. They sound so smooth.
 

ack_bak

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530’s are $238 a pair again and I had to buy a few more pairs. My HT has 3 x 590’s behind an AT screen and I will have 6 x 530’s for surrounds and front wides. I‘m using an Anthem 1140 and Emotiva amps and just love this speaker line. I’m currently using 6 x RSL inceiling for Atmos, but am going to switch to JBL control 227‘s in custom built enclosures in the ceiling. I have had several for a few years and enjoy them. They are coaxial with compression driver and have wide dispersion. They are easy to drive and I think will pair well with the Studio 5 series. I know there’s better speakers out there but I love the sound of these with the Anthem and ARC and I have two Monolith 15’s and crossover at 80hz.
 

Descartes

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530’s are $238 a pair again and I had to buy a few more pairs. My HT has 3 x 590’s behind an AT screen and I will have 6 x 530’s for surrounds and front wides. I‘m using an Anthem 1140 and Emotiva amps and just love this speaker line. I’m currently using 6 x RSL inceiling for Atmos, but am going to switch to JBL control 227‘s in custom built enclosures in the ceiling. I have had several for a few years and enjoy them. They are coaxial with compression driver and have wide dispersion. They are easy to drive and I think will pair well with the Studio 5 series. I know there’s better speakers out there but I love the sound of these with the Anthem and ARC and I have two Monolith 15’s and crossover at 80hz.
Hopefully you bought them on sale when they are 55-60% off!
 

ack_bak

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Hopefully you bought them on sale when they are 55-60% off!
Oh yeah, I waited for all the sales. They are such a good value, with free shipping and free returns I’m not sure how JBL makes money on these things. I paid $449 apiece for the 590’s and they came on a pallet. Can’t be cheap to ship..
 

Descartes

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Oh yeah, I waited for all the sales. They are such a good value, with free shipping and free returns I’m not sure how JBL makes money on these things. I paid $449 apiece for the 590’s and they came on a pallet. Can’t be cheap to ship..
I don’t like the cheap look for a family room, but fir behind an acoustically transparent screen their value have no equals!
 

ack_bak

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BF0A0FEC-7A0E-43EF-A2BC-59328CA6439A.jpeg
 

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ack_bak

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It’s under construction but gives you an idea. I’ve covered the mini split with a black cover, and will be installing the JBL 227’s soon.
 

svinyard

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I just ordered these up! I have a fairly large 30 x 15ft room that needs music. Is there anything else comparable at this price point??
 

AVKS

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I just ordered these up! I have a fairly large 30 x 15ft room that needs music. Is there anything else comparable at this price point??
That's a big room - how much volume do you need? Something like the Studio 580 might be a better match depending on how loud you get.
 

svinyard

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@AVKS This is the room. Planning on putting the speakers on the back wall past the dinning room table under those little double windows (there's a long table there).

We aren't trying to blast it but want it to sound decent if possible.

IMG_0760.jpg
 

Gravebeard

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Can anyone give a recommendation for an amp for the 530s? I'm currently using a Denon AVR 1911 which is rated 125W @ 6 ohm but it doesn't seem to drive them well enough for my liking. The weird thing is I don't even listen at very loud volume. I used Decibel X (I know it's an app and not 100% accurate but it should close) and at my preferred volume level the peaks were only at 69dB with my old speakers (Infinity Primus 250s). I don't seem to be able to reach that with the 530s.

Room size is about 16x24 and listening distance 9'.
 

GabrielPhoto

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Hi guys,
If I wanted to use this as a vertical center with my 590s, how is the off axis vertically and horizontally? I sit 10 feet away from the center and the top of my current center is about 26" from the floor.
Thanks!
 
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