Customer reviews from jbl.com
JBL - Studio 530 5-1/4" 2-Way Bookshelf Loudspeakers (Pair) - Black
Average customer rating
4.8
(136 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 136 reviews
5 Stars
123
4 Stars
5
3 Stars
4
2 Stars
3
1 Star
1
96%of customers recommend this product.
(
78 out of
81)
Customer Reviews for JBL - Studio 530 5-1/4" 2-Way Bookshelf Loudspeakers (Pair) - Black
Customer Rating
5
Best speakers for my room
on January 6, 2013
Posted by: Anonymous
from Central Ohio
Gender:Male
My first JBL's in years and my first speakers with a horn loaded tweeter. In the past I have listened to other brands of speakers with horn loaded drivers and to my ears the JBL Studio 530's have none of the issues I hear with other speakers using horns. Just smooth and detailed treble that I enjoy.
In my small room which is 12 x 15 with the speakers in front of the 12 foot wall the controlled directivity is a plus. My other speakers have such wide dispersion that early reflections can smear and confuse the soundstage. Playing a recording of violin and piano and that is what the Studio 530's gives you. My other more expensive speakers make the recording sound like there is more going on which I find a distortion. Violins sound sweet and the detail of the hammer hitting the piano string is very lifelike and natural.
Vocalists both male and female sound natural. Vocal clarity is always good. My favorite counter tenor, Andreas Scholl, when he sings in his falsetto Is easier to follow with the 530's. Listening to harmonies it is easier to hear the individual voices.
The Studio 530's have probably the most texture in the bass range of any speaker I own. The woofer is fast and light and along with good bass the speed of the driver reproduces drums with all the snap and transients you could want.
I am not sure if the lack of early reflections or the timing of the speakers are why complicated music is easier to enjoy. Jazz and classical music seem to really benefit from these speakers. Of course Godsmack "Live and Inspired" can fill a room with music.
Yes I like the Studio 530's and they are a great fit for my room. I was shopping for speakers in the $1,500 to $2,500 when I learned about the new Studio 5 series. I ordered the 530's out of curiosity and not expecting to keep them. My other two pairs of speakers the Monitor Audio RS6's and Mobile Fidelity OML 1's are in the closet waiting to be sold. There are still great bargains in audio and the Studio 530's is one of them. Great job JBL.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting jbl.com
Customer Rating
5
Horns give Life to any kind of music
on September 10, 2013
Posted by: R2D2
from Paris, France
Gender:Male
Hi,
I just installed a pair of Studio 530 and I am browsing my iTunes library for 7 hours now !
Rock, solo violin, choirs, acoustic guitar, opera singers, everything is a joy to listen to !
Long ago I had a pair oF JBL L15, then modest Mission 731i; but these 530 are amazing. For one year, I have been listening music in my office with a pair of Adam AX7 with a Dynaudio BM14s sub, but the 530 are much faster than the ART ribbon; transients are absolutely amazing and gives a huge sense of realism.
In order to extend basses, I added a BM14s sub, and then I get a huge and wide scene.
I played "das Lied von der Erde" of Malher and I was surprised, when the singer raises his voice at the end of his breath, to litteraly hear the tension of his neck´s muscles.
Rite of spring oF Stravinsky becomes organic with the 530. For jazz, you are sitting in the Club. Bob Florence' serendipity results in a huge stage, horns are blowing. The piano of Nathalie Loriers is authoritative as it must be. In classic, Vengerov's violin is very realistic, Harpsichord (Leonhardt) is outstanding. And all voices are so detailed, the specificities of each are respected (Bobby Mc Ferrin, Franck Zappa, Joni Mitchell, Marisa Monte). Dynaudio BM14s is sufficiently fast and tight to smoothly blend with the 530. The 3 double-bass tune "Splanky" of Christian Mc Bride is a delight and each of the 3 bassists is clearly located and fully heard during his solo.
These 530 are a bargain, and their horns are unbelievably giving life to digital music. To find these horns on such relatively cheap speakers is a Luck of one's life. Compare with similar price Klipsch and you will admit that JBLs are infinitely superior.
I just installed a pair of Studio 530 and I am browsing my iTunes library for 7 hours now !
Rock, solo violin, choirs, acoustic guitar, opera singers, everything is a joy to listen to !
Long ago I had a pair oF JBL L15, then modest Mission 731i; but these 530 are amazing. For one year, I have been listening music in my office with a pair of Adam AX7 with a Dynaudio BM14s sub, but the 530 are much faster than the ART ribbon; transients are absolutely amazing and gives a huge sense of realism.
In order to extend basses, I added a BM14s sub, and then I get a huge and wide scene.
I played "das Lied von der Erde" of Malher and I was surprised, when the singer raises his voice at the end of his breath, to litteraly hear the tension of his neck´s muscles.
Rite of spring oF Stravinsky becomes organic with the 530. For jazz, you are sitting in the Club. Bob Florence' serendipity results in a huge stage, horns are blowing. The piano of Nathalie Loriers is authoritative as it must be. In classic, Vengerov's violin is very realistic, Harpsichord (Leonhardt) is outstanding. And all voices are so detailed, the specificities of each are respected (Bobby Mc Ferrin, Franck Zappa, Joni Mitchell, Marisa Monte). Dynaudio BM14s is sufficiently fast and tight to smoothly blend with the 530. The 3 double-bass tune "Splanky" of Christian Mc Bride is a delight and each of the 3 bassists is clearly located and fully heard during his solo.
These 530 are a bargain, and their horns are unbelievably giving life to digital music. To find these horns on such relatively cheap speakers is a Luck of one's life. Compare with similar price Klipsch and you will admit that JBLs are infinitely superior.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting jbl.com
Customer Rating
5
Surprised
on May 5, 2016
Posted by: Bontz
from Edmonds, WA, United States
I happened to have Chartwell LS3/5A 15 Ohm and ESS Amt1a at the same time to perform a comparison of masterpieces. And I decided to keep STUDIO 530.
LS3/5A kept me from getting another pair of speakers to replace them. Amt1a just happened to enter my place at the same time when I got STUDIO 530. The legendary LS3/5A still has a bit sweeter sound and I considered that an overkill, beautifully inaccurate. Amt1a sounds very much like LS3/5A with stronger bass. But when it comes STUDIO 530, the clearer and more accurate sound outperforms both ancient masterpieces. Amt1a still have more filled field. Sorry for my poor English. I hope you understand. But they cannot locate instruments like 530. 530's bass is as good as Amt1a.
All my friends who are in this field did not believe JBL can do this good job. Iam very happy with them. I hope they last as long as my other two pairs.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting jbl.com
Customer Rating
5
They ended my extensive search for speakers
on January 4, 2020
Posted by: Dave P
from Chicago
I am not an audiophile, but I am picky about what my music should sound like. I won't talk about long listening sessions and break in and other non-sense because there is plenty of material on YouTube. I will focus on my particular setup because it is unusual. All decent speakers, including these ones, have requirements in order to sound good: this many inches away from the wall, this far apart, toed in this much ... I did not want to reconfigure my living room space in order to have quality sound and these speakers made that happen. I have them on the TV stand only 55 inches apart on the left and right side of the TV, 6 inches away from the back wall and 9 inches away from other furniture on each side of the TV stand. I plugged the ports with the provided foam, and I have the speakers connected to a Marantz PM5005. I am using 12-gauge cables but nothing fancy, I have cheap interconnects, and I don't even use a DAC to "clean" the sound input. I use the output for headphones from my TV and control the volume from the TV remote, which is a sin in the audiophile world, but I couldn't care less because they sound great. The driver integration is superb, details sublime, soundstage is wide and tall, instrument separation and location are well defined, they have a wide sweet spot and there is no need to use the amplifier’s EQ. These are a wonderful product for a great price.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting jbl.com
Customer Rating
5
Fantastic sounding bookshelf speaker
on September 17, 2012
Posted by: Lloydy
from Southampton england
Gender:Male
As you guessed I am a real JBL fan, and theses speakers after having bing run in are full of surprises.
I've got them on wall mounts and the sound is so precise you won't believe. You don't need to drive them to get impeccable sound, and the design can't be copied, even the wife likes it
They sound far better than my old XTi's and I never believed that could happen.
So if you want to have a smile back on you're face then there's only one thing to do.
Buy the Studio 530's
I've got them on wall mounts and the sound is so precise you won't believe. You don't need to drive them to get impeccable sound, and the design can't be copied, even the wife likes it
They sound far better than my old XTi's and I never believed that could happen.
So if you want to have a smile back on you're face then there's only one thing to do.
Buy the Studio 530's
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting jbl.com
Customer Rating
1
Disappointed
on April 17, 2014
Posted by: Robert
from Phoenix, AZ
I purchased them a few months ago and returned them the following week afterwards. They were not as I remember how other JBL speakers sounded in the 80's. The horn drivers seemed dull and not as lively as other horns, I have heard. Sorry...
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting jbl.com
Customer Rating
3
Studio 530
on April 20, 2022
Posted by: Tonymako442
from Whitestone NY
Ive been a JBL guy since I was a kid. I still have JBL D103 ,075 tweeters and N 2400 crossovers that sound as good as they did when i bought them in the early 70s. Ive had many JBL products over the years and was always delighted. I still now have a set of JBL Decades that perform fantastically I saw a few revies on the 530s on You tube and was impressed with what I saw.]Z reviews actually said they were the best sounding speakers he ever heard. That pushed me to try a pair. I was so excited waiting for them to arrive. Once delivered, one corner was dented in so it started negatively. I was not impressed with the sound comparing them to my present speaker systems. They can take some ower from the amp and deliver but something is missing in the sound quality. The mids are hollow and the bass is gone. I got them to sound much better when I added a sub. Nice speakers but defiently no the best ive heard.....sorry ZZ reviews.
By Customer Support, April 22, 2022
Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback. We are sorry to hear that our JBL Studio 530 speakers did not meet your expectations. We're always looking for ways to improve so we'll make sure to submit your feedback to our development team.
Written by a customer while visiting jbl.com
Customer Rating
5
wow sound stage wide and clear
on December 12, 2019
Posted by: jkirty
from sac cal
what could i say that everyone els is saying just sound great these could be 1000 dollar speakers
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting jbl.com