JBL tower opinions or objective reviews for HT | Studio 590 vs A190

[strummr]

My HT and stereo setup with 2xR263, RC263, 6xR162, 4xR12 in 5.4.4, waiting for Onkyo TX-RZ50 to complete it.
Great price/performance at Infinity's lowest deal price that happens multiple times per year.
You can spot the @Buckeye Amps NC502MP for the front, center and rear - my exploration of AVR vs better power amp and preparation for the eventual AVP in a few years.

Btw I stuffed the ports of all speakers and subs with foam - planning to do some measurements and comparison of stuffed vs not. All the speakers are rear-ported and I can't pull them away from the walls so I thought I could cut some of their low end, being crossed over at 80Hz anyway.
Couldn't find any good info around on the topic to validate my assumptions, I'd appreciate if someone can share experience or a resource on stuffing speaker and sub ports. I'll measure and experiment myself after RZ50 arrives.

Overall pretty happy with the system currently with Denon AVR-X3500 even after very basic calibration with MiniDSP 2x4HD for the subs and Audyssey for the speakers.

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Here's the Audyssey data - my curve and the speaker measurements. It's obvious my bass needs more than the quick REW measurement and EQ I did. Four subs provide great potential and it will take some learning and time to get right.

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Room looks interestingly 'tight'... or exhibiting overpowering show of drivers in the space. The height speakers working for you not pointing down to listening positions?

Back to my original post, it's obvious that most just go straight to the Infinity's when it comes to budget speakers in the Harman lineup. (for me going straight to Revels, was a conditional result of impatience... lol, as 590s are just not my style, and the A190s have been near impossible to source the past half a year) The notion of incremental exploration/experimentation with corresponding cash investments... went out the window, but I can say the Revels sound amazing - easily the best LCR I've had in my HT setup - through 8 different brand setups.

 

[More Dynamics Please]

the A190s have been near impossible to source the past half a year

Crutchfield has had A190s in stock for some time now on sale for $300 ($200 off list).

JBL Stage A190

Floor-standing speaker

www.crutchfield.com

 

[f1shb0n3]

Room looks interestingly 'tight'... or exhibiting overpowering show of drivers in the space. The height speakers working for you not pointing down to listening positions?

Driver maximalism is my religion Height is just slightly tilted down, works fine - reflections galore. Towers on top of subs reduces the angle diff between front and front high, so not ideal in many ways, but the final result is impressive with Atmos movies - I get the experience of a tall wall of sound in front.

Back to my original post, it's obvious that most just go straight to the Infinity's when it comes to budget speakers in the Harman lineup. (for me going straight to Revels

I’ve heard F228be - the consistent tonality in a wide area is stunning when compared to Infinity. There will be F208 in my future once I’m ready to appreciate the improvement for the cost.