[fredgarvin]

Expected to ship Sep 25th.

https://www.jbl.com/loudspeakers/STUDIO+590.html

[Wayner]

Good heads up there Fred. I have the Studio 580s, Studio 530s (not available any more) and the center channel Studio 520c. They were designed by Greg Timbers of JBL fame, and built in the professional group.

They are simply amazing. The 590s are beasts. All are bi-wire/bi-ampable.

[OzarkTom]

delete

[Russell Dawkins]

That's a ton of speaker for the money. One of the few 'home hi fi' speakers with genuine compression drivers, not dome tweeters in a waveguide.

[poseidonsvoice]

Wow. Tremendous. For the fella who wants JBL with constant directivity design but a passive crossover. Pair it up with 25 watts and be in bliss! 92dB is a very decent sensitivity.

Best,
Anand.

[Russell Dawkins]

Wow. Tremendous. For the fella who wants JBL with constant directivity design but a passive crossover. Pair it up with 25 watts and be in bliss! 92dB is a very decent sensitivity.

Best,
Anand.

I'd say pair it up with something with some power and bass grip (damping factor); they tend to need control in the bass from what I've read. 92 dB is a trifle misleading, since it is not 1 watt producing it, it's 2.83V into 6Ω, or 1.33W. That translates to around 90.5 dB/W/m. I wouldn't think of it as a particularly sensitive speaker, but one capable of very good dynamics and low distortion with suitable power. I believe Greg Timbers wanted you to use 250W!

In the technical specs it says:

"TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Low-frequency transducers:
Two 200mm (8") PolyPlas™ cones with SFG magnet structures,
cast frames and rubber surrounds, magnetically shielded
High-frequency transducer:
25mm (1") compression driver with neodymium magnet and one-piece Teonex® diaphragm on a glass-filled ABS Bi-Radial horn,
magnetically shielded
Recommended amplifier power: 250 watts
Frequency response: 35Hz – 40kHz (–6dB)
Nominal impedance: 6 ohms
Sensitivity (2.83V/1m): 92dB...."

[poseidonsvoice]

Russell,

No worries. I routinely measure the impedance/phase curves and am cognizant of the relationship between that factor, output impedance/damping factor of chosen amp, overall gain of chosen amp, listening habits/psychoacoustics, program material, listening distance, and room size before I make a final decision!

And there is a 1200AS hanging out in my stable in case I need to jam out! 

Best,
Anand.

[gab]

a review with measurements here:

http://i.nextmedia.com.au/avhub/australian-hifi_reviews_2013_2013-08_jbl-studio-590-loudspeakers-review.pdf

[poseidonsvoice]

a review with measurements here:

http://i.nextmedia.com.au/avhub/australian-hifi_reviews_2013_2013-08_jbl-studio-590-loudspeakers-review.pdf

Awesome! Thank you for alleviating our concerns with a dose of objectivity:

“The impedance drops to 5Ω at 138Hz and to 4.5Ω at 15kHz, so the Studio 590 is technically a 6Ω design, which is exactly as it’s rated by JBL. Although the impedance is fairly low at 15kHz, it rises afterwards and is above 10Ωand rising at 40kHz, so the design should be very amplifier-friendly.

The electrical crossover point seems to be at 1.4kHz rather than the 1.5kHz claimed by JBL, but this error is close enough to fall within the region of measurement error and production variations. Phase response is generally controlled, though it swings as far as 90° up at 40kHz, which is so high that it doesn’t matter” Edit: The phase response within the area of where most “music” lies seems to be within a +/- 30 degree area.

“It’s obvious from this that the JBL has been brilliantly engineered. Newport Test Labs measured the efficiency of the JBL Studio 590 at 90dBSPL at one metre for a 2.83Veq. input. This is an excellent result, which puts the Studio 590 into the ‘high efficiency’ category, meaning you can expect it to perform very well—and be able to be played very loudly—even with low-powered amplifiers and AV receivers. I wasn’t concerned about the 2dB difference between the lab’s measurement and JBL’s own specification (92dBSPL) as NTL uses a particularly stringent measurement technique. (If NTL had measured SPL only at 8kHz, for example, it would have returned a figure that matched JBL’s measurement. However, NTL averages sound pressure levels across the entire audio band, rather than using spot measurements.)”

There you have it! Enough said! I would agree with that conclusion given the measurements shown. And regarding people’s beliefs that low power amplifiers don’t have a high damping factor, it’s all a matter of design. My 40 watt amp has a damping factor of 1900 below 1khz which translates to an output impedance of 4 milliohms. Plenty of “grip”, but completely unnecessary in most setups imho. The amount of power needed is all dependent on listening distance, size of room and listening habits once one knows the average efficiency of said loudspeaker over said bandwidth.

Best,
Anand.

[Wayner]

The center channel, Studio 520c, is also on sale for $199 with free shipping.

[brj]

Thanks for the link, gab!  I've looked for reviews sporadically over the last couple of years and concluded that the studio series had to be the least reviewed product line that JBL makes, having missed that review entirely!  (I can't quite bring myself to count Amazon et al and YouTube reviews, though perhaps I'm being unfair.)

I've toyed with the idea of the 590 in a second system previously (at sale prices), but the rear firing ports wouldn't mesh well with the (close to wall) locations that I have available.  Still, it's a speaker that I'd love to audition if the opportunity presented itself.

Fred, good catch on the sale!  Though I'm surprised they'd put on sale a speaker that is already back-ordered for at least a month... (Sept 25th)

[Russell Dawkins]

The center channel, Studio 520c, is also on sale for $199 with free shipping.

Good catch, Wayner—that slipped right by me. I can't think of any other speaker anywhere near that price with a compression driver. A friend bought the Studio 530s and was floored by the sound, leaving me a voice mail full of expletives, which is unlike him.

[Wayner]

I use my 530s exclusively for vinyl playback.  They are the best bookshelf speakers that I own. The bass out of the 4 1/2" woofer is unbelievable.

On a side note, I also own the Studio 230s, also designed by Greg Timbers, they can be had on sale for around $300. They too are pretty awesome.

Sorry I'm such a JBL fan boy.

[Russell Dawkins]

I use my 530s exclusively for vinyl playback.  They are the best bookshelf speakers that I own. The bass out of the 4 1/2" woofer is unbelievable.

On a side note, I also own the Studio 230s, also designed by Greg Timbers, they can be had on sale for around $300. They too are pretty awesome.

Sorry I'm such a JBL fan boy.

I'm thinking the 520C has the same bass/mid drivers and a not-so-much-smaller horn than the 530 but a much smaller volume box (per driver), so its -6 dB point is 60 Hz, not 45 Hz like the 530, but it would handle double the power of the 530. I'm wondering whether a pair could be stood on end and used with a sub as  a stereo pair, ignoring the centre channel intention. The whole Studio 5 series has the same crossover fequency to the horn; 1.5 kHz.

At the price it would be tempting to experiment.

[jtwrace]

Sorry I'm such a JBL fan boy.

As an M2 owner, I am too. 

[Wayner]

I'm thinking the 520C has the same bass/mid drivers and a not-so-much-smaller horn than the 530 but a much smaller volume box (per driver), so its -6 dB point is 60 Hz, not 45 Hz like the 530, but it would handle double the power of the 530. I'm wondering whether a pair could be stood on end and used with a sub as  a stereo pair, ignoring the centre channel intention. The whole Studio 5 series has the same crossover fequency to the horn; 1.5 kHz.

At the price it would be tempting to experiment.

I have actually been thinking of the same thing. The horn part of the 520c is smaller then the 530, but I suspect its the same driver in both. The 520c are heavier then hell.





'ner

[Letitroll98]

Apparently the sale is now over, pricing back to $999 ea. 

[ohenry]

I noticed that Amazon has the Studio 580 on sale for $399.95 each.  They are going for $799.95 on the JBL site; another seemingly good buy.   

[fredgarvin]

I noticed that Amazon has the Studio 580 on sale for $399.95 each.  They are going for $799.95 on the JBL site; another seemingly good buy.   

I remember reading that Greg Timbers, designer of the series, thought the 580 was the best sounding model.

[Russell Dawkins]

I remember reading that Greg Timbers, designer of the series, thought the 580 was the best sounding model.

I remembered it as the 570 which was playing when he was visited. His comment was "They have no right to sound that good", but it may have been the 580s. I'll bet the 580 sounds great; 6.5" is about my favorite bass/mid size for a two way speaker.