***** Best book shelf for under a grand

[zieglj01]

Not sure about horn tweeters. Hate them on my RF82.

I have owned Klipsch Reference and HTD Level Three speakers - these are
not aggressive or harsh - they will not slap you in the face. This is not an
average horn tweeter, or an average JBL consumer speaker.

My subjective review is further down the threads page - however, read all
of the subjective 14 reviews here.
http://www.amazon.com/JBL-Studio-530-Bookshelf-Loudspeakers/product-reviews/B00622STI0/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?showViewpoints=1

 

[zieglj01]

Now about the JBL Studio 530 speaker at bad robot - I think that I would
think twice before buying from there - I decided to check their seller ratings.
bad robot Reviews - page 2 - bad robot.com Ratings at ResellerRatings

Not on sale - however, JBL/Harman Audio has them
Studio 530 | 125-watt, 5-1/4" (130mm) bookshelf loudspeaker with a classic JBL bass driver and a horn-loaded high-frequency compression driver | JBL US

 

[ImcLoud]

I have spent a little time with the 530's now, and I can say they are a very nice speaker, the highs are surprisingly {almost double take } good for a $500 speaker, I got a crazy deal on mine and my brother wants them so I am probably going to pass them on to him this weekend, I have them plugged in at my office, powered by an Emo mini X, played everything from online streaming vids to music from itunes, nothing crazy but the speakers are good... The highs are the strong point {and I don't like horn loaded} the mids are nice, lows are good, very solid speaker, at $600 Im not sure I wouldnt go a few different ways {cmt340's and csb1's to me would be a better value}, but you wont be sorry about buying these... The looks leave a little to be desired, the build is a little, I don't know "commercial" maybe?

All in all its a good speaker, definitely demo before pulling the trigger, I wouldn't go blind, I would compare them to other speakers out there, ascends line from the cbm170 and cmt340 would both to me be better choices, they just sound fuller and cleaner, more realistic and I would put the finish in the same park, plus I wouldn't think twice to put the cbm170s in a medium to large and the 340s in a large to extra large room, these I think will start to get lost, mine say 125 watts and being horn loaded I thought they would be super sens. but they don't seem to be {I couldn't find the number, but I didn't look that hard either lol} I would say under 90, and they don't have a ton of output, like to fill a big room I think even crossed to a sub they will quickly be at their limit when you go looking for LOUD... Where something like the cbm170s which are over 90db sens ir and handle 200-400watts will easily fill a room with sound... I am going to have to put these in the "I like them, but not in love with them" category....

 

[zieglj01]

My Studio 530 can get quite loud in a larger type room, and with a 90 watt receiver.
They also do well with heavy action films like >> Man of Steel, and Star Trek Into
Darkness. So, with music and movies - they are not running away, when duty calls.

There are some more higher sensitivity speakers out there - however, the horn still
takes care of some business.

Looks like the Imcloud ears, are not filled with wax!

 

[ImcLoud]

They are very nice speakers, and I am curious as to what the towers can do, them look interesting that is for sure.... the books will be on sale soon enough, Ill bet they settle in around $400? what do you think...

 

[zieglj01]

They are very nice speakers, and I am curious as to what the towers can do, them look interesting that is for sure.... the books will be on sale soon enough, Ill bet they settle in around $400? what do you think...

Maybe they will come down to around $475 - still worth the full price to me.
JBL has poor marketing in the USA >>> however, could drop to under $450
for a sale price. Right now stock is low, so it could be awhile for some type
of killer deal.

There have been no major complaints about the towers - and they will be
more sensitive.

I am glad they put more into the drivers and crossover, instead of the finish. >
That is an 18 element crossover in the 530. Your brother should be quite happy
with them.

 

[ImcLoud]

He is trying to catch up to me with the bookshelf count, lol He hasn't even heard this pair yet and said he will take them, lol.... Have you heard the cbm170's that is what I tend to compare the $500 and less bookshelfs to and believe it or not its a hard nut to crack, beating the cbm170's they make decent bass {IMO their weak point} but really nice mids and highs, my only complaint about them is the finish, you don't get much cheaper than the finish on them entry level ascends, but the sound and reliability is top notch...

 

[zieglj01]

He is trying to catch up to me with the bookshelf count, lol He hasn't even heard this pair yet and said he will take them, lol.... Have you heard the cbm170's that is what I tend to compare the $500 and less bookshelfs to and believe it or not its a hard nut to crack, beating the cbm170's they make decent bass {IMO their weak point} but really nice mids and highs, my only complaint about them is the finish, you don't get much cheaper than the finish on them entry level ascends, but the sound and reliability is top notch...

Have not heard the Ascend 170 yet - and with all due respect to Ascend, not interested
in anything under the Sierra line. While I do enjoy some budget speakers, I still keep
going back to my higher-end speakers. However, the JBL is still closer to the Snell K7
than one could imagine - except for the bass, the Snell has higher resolution in the mids
and highs.

However, the JBL Studio 5 is still good enough to earn my respect, as an above average
mass market retail speaker, compared to its list/street price point. I respect both the ID
and retail side - and I take no sides. Big companies like JBL/Harman and Boston/D&M can
get good deals on inventory - because of volume and world wide sales.

JBL has a different type sound - and it takes time, for JBL to break some people in.

Maybe one day, I will find away to hear the CBM-170

 

[Dennis Murphy]

Maybe they will come down to around $475 - still worth the full price to me.
JBL has poor marketing in the USA >>> however, could drop to under $450
for a sale price. Right now stock is low, so it could be awhile for some type
of killer deal.

There have been no major complaints about the towers - and they will be
more sensitive.

I am glad they put more into the drivers and crossover, instead of the finish. >
That is an 18 element crossover in the 530. Your brother should be quite happy
with them.

Are these 2-ways? If so, are you sure they have an 18-element crossover? I kind of doubt that. Perhaps there are some caps in parallel to form a higher value single cap? Even if it's a 3-way, 18 elements would be out of the ball park for a relatively inexpensive speaker.

 

[zieglj01]

Are these 2-ways? If so, are you sure they have an 18-element crossover? I kind of doubt that. Perhaps there are some caps in parallel to form a higher value single cap? Even if it's a 3-way, 18 elements would be out of the ball park for a relatively inexpensive speaker.

I could and may be wrong, I am not an expert - so, I will call it 18 parts.
There are some small parts in the crossover, that may be used as bypass,
or parallel. Does your Philharmonitor have a 13 element crossover?

This rotating picture does not show all of the crossover - and is 2-way.

 

[Dennis Murphy]

I couldn't grab a good look at the crossover while it flashed by. There are a lot of parts, but I'm sure some are in parallel and series to add up to a precise component value. Still, it's impressive that they would spend so much money on parts. I can only conclude that the drivers aren't very expensive. The Philharmonitor has 13 discreet elements, and that's the most I've ever used in a 2-way. All of this isn't to say that more is better. It's just that sometimes the particular response of a pair of drivers requires a lot of contouring. The old Dynaco A25 from the late 60's had only one real crossover element--a cap on the tweeter. The woofer ran free, and the speaker would put a majority of current offerings to shame.

 

[zieglj01]

I couldn't grab a good look at the crossover while it flashed by. There are a lot of parts, but I'm sure some are in parallel and series to add up to a precise component value. Still, it's impressive that they would spend so much money on parts. I can only conclude that the drivers aren't very expensive. The Philharmonitor has 13 discreet elements, and that's the most I've ever used in a 2-way. All of this isn't to say that more is better. It's just that sometimes the particular response of a pair of drivers requires a lot of contouring.

Maybe some time in the future, I may send them your way for a visit.

Greg Timbers is known for being big, in crossover work. However, I am
surprised at the parts count. As far as driver cost - Harman is big, and
who knows about the cost.

All I know, is the speaker and overall cohesive sound is good. > Good
enough that the woofer and horn tweeter, seem to be working as one.
The horn sounds balanced with the woofer, and I can not really pick up
any separation between the two.

This speaker is good and enjoyable enough (still not perfect) >> that I
will be saying good-bye to a former speaker, that spent some time with
you and your dogs. JBL for me, sometimes really does good, and the 530
even weighs in at 16 pounds.

Nice of you, to take some time out from your AAL labor work.

 

[zieglj01]

The old Dynaco A25 from the late 60's had only one real crossover element--a cap on the tweeter. The woofer ran free, and the speaker would put a majority of current offerings to shame.

Also, Acoustic Research has done some 1-element crossovers.
Never heard a Dynaco.

I went in the Studio 530 one more time and there are
6 coils
7 capacitors
5 resistors - (2 look to be metal oxide)

It looks like there may be some parallel work - so I will
say 18 parts. 15 more than the JBL HLS-610 speaker.

 

[macddmac]

The dynaco A-25 was ( is) a formidable speaker - at least a half million sold! Trying to trade work right now for a pair..and a marantz 2230.
Cheers, Mac

 

[Dennis Murphy]

Maybe some time in the future, I may send them your way for a visit.

Greg Timbers is known for being big, in crossover work. However, I am
surprised at the parts count. As far as driver cost - Harman is big, and
who knows about the cost.

All I know, is the speaker and overall cohesive sound is good. > Good
enough that the woofer and horn tweeter, seem to be working as one.
The horn sounds balanced with the woofer, and I can not really pick up
any separation between the two.

This speaker is good and enjoyable enough (still not perfect) >> that I
will be saying good-bye to a former speaker, that spent some time with
you and your dogs. JBL for me, sometimes really does good, and the 530
even weighs in at 16 pounds.

Nice of you, to take some time out from your AAL labor work.

The JBL is very unique not only in the parts count, but in the implementation of the horn tweeter. As you know, horns are almost always used to boost sensitivity, and the result is often that characteristic nasal blare that turns people off to horn speakers. But the JBL is only rated at 86 dB, which is actually on the low side of normal. So obviously Harmon chose the horn for other reasons, perhaps controlled dispersion, and they appear to have succeeded in integrating it with the conventional woofer. From what I could make out from the configuration of the crossover components, It's also possible that they're employing a very steep-slope elliptical filter, where closely spaced inductors interact to create steeper roll-offs. As for the old Acoustic Research using single-component crossovers, they never did that in their classic speakers. The AR2 - AR5 series speakers either used textbook 2nd order electrical filters, or, in the case of the AR4, a cap on the tweet and a coil on the woofer.

 

[ematthews]

Here is another thought that I can throw out there in the sound that I am looking for... MY Beyerdynamic T1 headphone is a great example..If I can get a book shelf that is this clear and use a sub for the low end this would be perfect.... Anyone out there have the pleasure of hearing the T1 and can help out? I use to own the Sennheiser 650's and sold them for the T1's.. The Beyer's where a lot more clear with zero sibilance.

 

[zieglj01]

Here is another thought that I can throw out there in the sound that I am looking for... MY Beyerdynamic T1 headphone is a great example..If I can get a book shelf that is this clear and use a sub for the low end this would be perfect.... Anyone out there have the pleasure of hearing the T1 and can help out? I use to own the Sennheiser 650's and sold them for the T1's.. The Beyer's where a lot more clear with zero sibilance.

Here is another thought - you are spinning around on a merry-go-round, and doing a lot of window shopping
down the boulevard - you may want to think about doing some in home auditions - a lot of us tend to hear
things a little different, or have certain preferences - 30 day in home trail can be your friend - why not pick
a couple of speakers and test them out - even if it is JBL. Head-phones and speakers are not easy to compare.

A mystery - one former head-phone fan, did like one of the speakers that were recommended in this thread.

Also, sibilance is not always speaker related - it can come from the source, and a good speaker will not always
cover it up.

However enjoy the adventure - and have fun.

 

[ematthews]

Here is another thought - you are spinning around on a merry-go-round, and doing a lot of window shopping
down the boulevard - you may want to think about doing some in home auditions - a lot of us tend to hear
things a little different, or have certain preferences - 30 day in home trail can be your friend - why not pick
a couple of speakers and test them out - even if it is JBL. Head-phones and speakers are not easy to compare.

A mystery - one former head-phone fan, did like one of the speakers that were recommended in this thread.

Also, sibilance is not always speaker related - it can come from the source, and a good speaker will not always
cover it up.

However enjoy the adventure - and have fun.

A lot of window shopping and a lot of questions here too. Just wish we had a good place nearby to audition speakers. Thanks for all the help.

 

[cschang]

Also, sibilance is not always speaker related - it can come from the source, and a good speaker will not always
cover it up.

Sibilance that starts at the source(and it usually does), shouldn't be covered up by a good speaker.

 

[zieglj01]

Sibilance that starts at the source(and it usually does), shouldn't be covered up by a good speaker.

I know and I agree - I want and like, a speaker with good detail and definition.