Studio 590's

[oznob]

Hello, I haven't posted in some time. I guess I didn't have much to contribute until now. I just purchased a new pair of Studio 590's and I have to say I am very impressed. I had an opportunity to audition a pair that belonged to a friend of a friend and that convinced me to try them. I am running them in a strictly two channel rig powered by a Yamaha A-S801 integrated amp. It's 100 watts per channel and sports a killer ESS DAC with CD and Pure Direct capabilities. I haven't got them to rattle the walls yet but the sound is punchy, accurate without a hint of being too bright. They really shine with vocals and acoustic guitar.

Another major reason I decided to buy them is they were designed by Greg Timbers, how could I go wrong! They do have an unconventional look but my wife actually likes them which is a major bonus. I highly recommended them.

[audiomagnate]

I like 'em too! Congrats on your purchase.

[oznob]

Thanks, if I hadn't been able to listen to a pair completely by accident, I would have never considered them.

On a side note, looks like I have been a member of The Forum for ten years this month. Wow, where did the time go? I have met and unfortunately lost some great friends along the way!

[BMWCCA]

<sub>I've never heard anyone say a bad word about them and I'd love to hear a pair. I've often recommended them based on the reports I've heard.
I keep thinking one day the Harman Tent Sale will sing a siren song of Studio 590 in my direction!

I'm likewise very impressed with the LSR305s I bought on 4313b's recommendation. For the money I can't believe there is anything that can touch them, and they include amps! JBL is really turning out some great new stuff they really aren't getting enough credit for, IMHO.</sub>

[oznob]

I got them from NewAudioVideo which is based out of Los Angeles. They also go by Best of Audio in North Hollywood. I was a bit concerned ordering from them as they get some bad press. They do have a lot of the new higher end JBL Synthesis products at pretty good discounts. I saved $700 off the $2K retail price for the pair. Living in the great state of California, I did have to pay sales tax and of course shipping. I still saved $500 off retail when the dust settled. The shipping was slow but they wrapped them well on a pallet and were delivered to my door without issues. I wish I could have sprung for the LS80's but couldn't justify the additional cost to m better half. It's OK, the 590's sound great!

[Dave_72]

I got them from NewAudioVideo which is based out of Los Angeles. They also go by Best of Audio in North Hollywood. I was a bit concerned ordering from them as they get some bad press. They do have a lot of the new higher end JBL Synthesis products at pretty good discounts. I saved $700 off the $2K retail price for the pair. Living in the great state of California, I did have to pay sales tax and of course shipping. I still saved $500 off retail when the dust settled. The shipping was slow but they wrapped them well on a pallet and were delivered to my door without issues. I wish I could have sprung for the LS80's but couldn't justify the additional cost to m better half. It's OK, the 590's sound great!

Nice! Thanks for the tip on the discounts.

As for the sound, one of our Las Vegas Audio Club http://lasvegasaudioclub.blogspot.com members had a pair, and they were pretty underwhelming. The other club members in attendance thought so too. Particularly to the top end, which was rolled off and diffuse as well as a lack of dynamics. The sound was just boomy, bloated, with muted highs. The system was comprised of all tube electronics, which might have been a problem, however the ancient Klipsch LaScalas he had were knockouts!

Also, has anyone else noticed that the Studio 590s are now part of the Synthesis lineup?

http://www.jblsynthesis.com/products...rs/studio-590/

[1audiohack]

Big T has a pretty acoustically hostile room and the sub he was running I think helped the Lascalias but hurt the 590's

I can agree on the laid back highs but then again I am a large format metal tweeter guy.

I am glad you like them Oz.

Barry.

[Mr. Widget]

Thanks, if I hadn't been able to listen to a pair completely by accident, I would have never considered them. On a side note, looks like I have been a member of The Forum for ten years this month. Wow, where did the time go? I have met and unfortunately lost some great friends along the way!

Welcome back... Congratulations on the new speakers, I think they look pretty cool. I've seen them in person a few times, but I have yet to hear a pair.

Yes the time does fly and we have lost a lot of good friends.


Widget

[oznob]

Thank you Mr. Widget, I appreciate the words of welcome. I remember meeting you briefly at Zilch's (RIP) place a few years ago. I think there was an issue over a horn/compression driver if memory serves.

I have not tried the 590's with a tube amp. I think they sounds great for my purposes in a second two channel system. My other speakers are a big pair of DIY two ways with JBL 2445j compression drivers and matching constant directivity horn. Woofer is a 15" Eminence and custom built crossovers. They are for sale but am having second thoughts. They have a bigger sound than the 590's, naturally, just not as accurate. They are awesome at reproducing live recordings. I will post a picture of one. Ignore the Pyle waveguide on top. They used to be three ways and are just filling the hole.

[LowPhreak]

Grats on the 590's, oznob! I bought mine in spring 2014, and posted a write-up on them here in November: http://www.audioheritage.org/vbullet...590&highlight=

See if you agree or not with some of my observations. The EQ settings I posted have changed slightly, since these are pretty flat across most of the midrange and highs. I notice the rise in the treble around 9kHz so I wouldn't call these particularly laid back, and a couple of dB cut there and at 480Hz sounds good in my set up.

Having owned a few tube amps, I'd say they aren't needed with 590's and 580's. Having horns doesn't automatically mean "tubes" and I think some people make that mistaken assumption. They aren't Klipsches (thank dawg!) and don't need to be thickened up in the bass or a layer of even-order harmonics thrown over them to sweeten the sound, (perhaps the Vegas group should have tried them with a SS front end). They don't shout at you with cupped hands or beam the highs like some Klipsch either.

Here's another FR plot I found:



Enjoy!

[Dave_72]

Big T has a pretty acoustically hostile room and the sub he was running I think helped the Lascalias but hurt the 590's

I can agree on the laid back highs but then again I am a large format metal tweeter guy.

I am glad you like them Oz.

Barry.

Ok, granted. However, the 590s didn't give out much of anything except mush. Again, everyone was unanimous regarding the sound. And Big T ended up selling them as a result.

This is not to say they're bad speakers. I'm just relaying my experiences with them. I wouldn't mind checking them out again to be honest.

[Dave_72]

Grats on the 590's, oznob! I bought mine in spring 2014, and posted a write-up on them here in November: http://www.audioheritage.org/vbullet...590&highlight=

See if you agree or not with some of my observations. The EQ settings I posted have changed slightly, since these are pretty flat across most of the midrange and highs. I notice the rise in the treble around 9kHz so I wouldn't call these particularly laid back, and a couple of dB cut there and at 480Hz sounds good in my set up.

Having owned a few tube amps, I'd say they aren't needed with 590's and 580's. Having horns doesn't automatically mean "tubes" and I think some people make that mistaken assumption. They aren't Klipsches (thank dawg!) and don't need to be thickened up in the bass or a layer of even-order harmonics thrown over them to sweeten the sound, (perhaps the Vegas group should have tried them with a SS front end). They don't shout at you with cupped hands or beam the highs like some Klipsch either.

Here's another FR plot I found:



Enjoy!

Well, it could have just have been a case of a lack of system synergy and a bad room. But still, the old beat up Klipsches sounded better and more realistic in that room and system than the shiny new JBLs...

[Dave_72]

Thank you Mr. Widget, I appreciate the words of welcome. I remember meeting you briefly at Zilch's (RIP) place a few years ago. I think there was an issue over a horn/compression driver if memory serves.

I have not tried the 590's with a tube amp. I think they sounds great for my purposes in a second two channel system. My other speakers are a big pair of DIY two ways with JBL 2445j compression drivers and matching constant directivity horn. Woofer is a 15" Eminence and custom built crossovers. They are for sale but am having second thoughts. They have a bigger sound than the 590's, naturally, just not as accurate. They are awesome at reproducing live recordings. I will post a picture of one. Ignore the Pyle waveguide on top. They used to be three ways and are just filling the hole.

Cool, enjoy.

[oznob]

Hey LowPhreak, my experience is the high end might be a bit laid back but I actually prefer that. My hearing isn't what it used to be and I am very sensitive to overly bright tweeters. That's one of the reasons I removed the Selenium Ti compression drivers out of the big DIY's. They were crossed at 10k hz and I was hearing what sounded like hiss and distortion. Of course the crossovers had to be modified. That 2445j covers a lot of territory so no tweeter was necessary to my ears. I did have to do quite a bit of positioning with the 590's. I have them about two feet from the rear wall, no side walls close and 8' apart with slight toe in. Listening position is around 8'. They throw kind of narrow soundstage but good depth and separation. I'm fresh out of tube amps but can borrow my friends old Sherwood 8000.

Dave 72, I am curious to know what tube amp(s) were used in your listening session? IMHO, the 590's sound is far from mush, oatmeal or any other breakfast cereal for that matter. I have had both home and pro versions of the La Scala. Except for the anemic bass, blaring mids and flat treble, they were fine. I'm not a Klipsch basher, I really like Cornwalls with quality tube gear.

[LowPhreak]

Well, it could have just have been a case of a lack of system synergy and a bad room. But still, the old beat up Klipsches sounded better and more realistic in that room and system than the shiny new JBLs...

Yeah, I'd say bad system choice is an understatement, and likely the placement and/or room had a lot to do with it. I'd also say that if the 590's were brand new (and LaScalas were not) then they needed time to run-in, since mine sounded wooly until they had a few days on them and the woofer impedance could reach nominal value. Mine are about as far from "...the 590s didn't give out much of anything except mush..." as I can think of. I'm surprised the so-called "audiophiles" in that group wrote them off so quickly without blaming not the speakers but the tube rig and/or perhaps syrupy analog source. (?)

But what does that say about tubes vs. SS, or LaScalas, or room placement and acoustics? (BTW, that's one of the reasons I don't do tubes anymore, and I've had some nice ones - ARC Classic 120 monos, Mesa Baron, Golden Tube SE-40, etc.) Had I been there, I might have posed the idea that the 590's were the more accurate in exposing the chain upstream while the LaScalas were the most colored and needed the most "help", including no bottom end below 50Hz and thus the sub was added, where the 590's go to the high 20's Hz and do fine with an EQ bump at 30Hz and no sub. But I guess with 100dB efficiency you can cover a lot of other sins.