LowPhreak
11-03-2014, 01:12 AM
Welp, first I'm surprised that some of you (us) haven't had a statue or something erected somewhere in G.T.'s honor. Amazing what he can do given a $2k retail budget, let alone his other designs. So let's get off our asses and get that done. ;)
Excerpts & edits of what I've written elsewhere on these:
...Other than the rise of 2.5-3dB centered around 8-9kHz, I can't find anything sonically to regret about them, especially considering the price (and my cost was even less than the usual 20% off retail sale like they're having again). So for $1600./pair on sale they're a great deal.
What they do well:
- Dispersion/Soundstage/Imaging
- Realism
- Low distortion and power compression (well...JBL)
- Bottom end
- Vocal/midrange clarity
- No undesirable "horn sound", (cupped hands, nasality, beaming).
I listen to a lot of progressive rock. The 590's have a great ability to keep instruments separated, i.e. things don't mash together on complex music or when you go louder, but I haven't had them much above 100dB yet (neighbors). One area of the frequency response generally doesn't suddenly become louder than the rest. However, I haven't had a high-power amp yet to really push them to their power limits, but they don't suffer with "only" the 150'ish w.p.c. this H/K puts out either. Decent efficiency.
The lower notes on songs like Genesis' 'Firth of Fifth', 'Squonk', or 'Dance On A Volcano', or ELP's 'Lucky Man', or Bruford/Levin's B.L.U.E. sound like they're coming from a good 15" woofer - clean, tight, big, and real, not boomy or wooly - and the rest of the sound is layered and well-defined. Nothing gets lost amongst heavier bass hits, and I hear no sense of strain. They can do 30Hz range easily on test tones and music if you care to boost it a little. On Beck's "The Golden Age", that single, light splash cymbal hit during the first bars is easily heard (yes it was a Paiste and sounded like one), and it's placed correctly in the soundstage. The snare drum on this track that Joey Waronker used sounds very good too, and I should know, I sometimes used to tune one of my snares (a Yamaha 14" x 6.5" copper model) to get the same sound as he had on that track.
I listen to jazz and classical too, world, reggae, blues, funk, etc. Miles' horn on 'Kind of Blue' is real, and stuff like Haydn's Cello and Violin Concertos and Bach's Brandenburg Concertos. Clarinet, piano, and stand-up bass with Bill Bruford's Earthworks acoustic jazz sound very good.
IMO they (and 98% of other speakers) need proper EQ - something that I've migrated to over the years instead of tolerating unhappy FR curves and/or room acoustics, or swapping 137 different cables and components trying to get a decent FR. So for this room (asymmetric 26.5' x 20'), after a lot of listening & experimenting here's what I have on the Soundcraftsmen:
15,360 Hz: +1.5dB
7,680: -4.5
3,840: -3.0
1,920: Flat
960: Flat
480: -1.5
240: -4.0
120: -3.5
60: -2.0
30: +5 or 6.0
I generally leave it there for all music, though personal bias I generally like a bit less in the 100-500Hz range or some frequencies in that range. On test tones there's some reinforcement in the 140-180Hz range in this room, so a good para or 1/3 octave would be nice, or room treatments. The center of the horn (with spikes) is 41" high - IMO a good seated height. It would be nice to have a wood veneer, but for the price I can live with the finish.
Some independent measurements: http://i.nextmedia.com.au/avhub/australian-hifi_reviews_2013_2013-08_jbl-studio-590-loudspeakers-review.pdf No crazy phase angles that matter, fairly easy to drive, nice FR curve, etc.
They beat the last few speakers I've had, including Nautilus 803's, 4412's, big-ass Maggie Tympani IV-D's, and except for sheer power handling & output, SR4725X's. Even used/demo I can't afford 1400 Arrays anymore so 590's are the next best thing.
Excerpts & edits of what I've written elsewhere on these:
...Other than the rise of 2.5-3dB centered around 8-9kHz, I can't find anything sonically to regret about them, especially considering the price (and my cost was even less than the usual 20% off retail sale like they're having again). So for $1600./pair on sale they're a great deal.
What they do well:
- Dispersion/Soundstage/Imaging
- Realism
- Low distortion and power compression (well...JBL)
- Bottom end
- Vocal/midrange clarity
- No undesirable "horn sound", (cupped hands, nasality, beaming).
I listen to a lot of progressive rock. The 590's have a great ability to keep instruments separated, i.e. things don't mash together on complex music or when you go louder, but I haven't had them much above 100dB yet (neighbors). One area of the frequency response generally doesn't suddenly become louder than the rest. However, I haven't had a high-power amp yet to really push them to their power limits, but they don't suffer with "only" the 150'ish w.p.c. this H/K puts out either. Decent efficiency.
The lower notes on songs like Genesis' 'Firth of Fifth', 'Squonk', or 'Dance On A Volcano', or ELP's 'Lucky Man', or Bruford/Levin's B.L.U.E. sound like they're coming from a good 15" woofer - clean, tight, big, and real, not boomy or wooly - and the rest of the sound is layered and well-defined. Nothing gets lost amongst heavier bass hits, and I hear no sense of strain. They can do 30Hz range easily on test tones and music if you care to boost it a little. On Beck's "The Golden Age", that single, light splash cymbal hit during the first bars is easily heard (yes it was a Paiste and sounded like one), and it's placed correctly in the soundstage. The snare drum on this track that Joey Waronker used sounds very good too, and I should know, I sometimes used to tune one of my snares (a Yamaha 14" x 6.5" copper model) to get the same sound as he had on that track.
I listen to jazz and classical too, world, reggae, blues, funk, etc. Miles' horn on 'Kind of Blue' is real, and stuff like Haydn's Cello and Violin Concertos and Bach's Brandenburg Concertos. Clarinet, piano, and stand-up bass with Bill Bruford's Earthworks acoustic jazz sound very good.
IMO they (and 98% of other speakers) need proper EQ - something that I've migrated to over the years instead of tolerating unhappy FR curves and/or room acoustics, or swapping 137 different cables and components trying to get a decent FR. So for this room (asymmetric 26.5' x 20'), after a lot of listening & experimenting here's what I have on the Soundcraftsmen:
15,360 Hz: +1.5dB
7,680: -4.5
3,840: -3.0
1,920: Flat
960: Flat
480: -1.5
240: -4.0
120: -3.5
60: -2.0
30: +5 or 6.0
I generally leave it there for all music, though personal bias I generally like a bit less in the 100-500Hz range or some frequencies in that range. On test tones there's some reinforcement in the 140-180Hz range in this room, so a good para or 1/3 octave would be nice, or room treatments. The center of the horn (with spikes) is 41" high - IMO a good seated height. It would be nice to have a wood veneer, but for the price I can live with the finish.
Some independent measurements: http://i.nextmedia.com.au/avhub/australian-hifi_reviews_2013_2013-08_jbl-studio-590-loudspeakers-review.pdf No crazy phase angles that matter, fairly easy to drive, nice FR curve, etc.
They beat the last few speakers I've had, including Nautilus 803's, 4412's, big-ass Maggie Tympani IV-D's, and except for sheer power handling & output, SR4725X's. Even used/demo I can't afford 1400 Arrays anymore so 590's are the next best thing.