Buy Emotiva B1+ (recommended): emotiva.com/products/airmotiv-b1-pair?aff=14 Buy JBL Stage A120: amzn.to/3kOQU9s Buy JBL Stage A130: bit.ly/3cnnQ4r Note: Above links are affiliate links which help me earn a small commission - at no additional cost you - should you choose to purchase through them.
Great job with the measurements and the reviews! Very helpful and much appreciated. If you could help review the Elac Debut 2.0 B6.2 and compare it to the Emotiva B1+, you've probably hit all the good affordable speakers under $300/pair. In fact, I'm holding off on picking up a full home theatre setup based on either the Debut 2.0 or the Airmotiv+ series, and the B6.2 vs B1+ would be very conclusive. Thanks again
Yep, I actually prefer my a130s to my Elac Ubr62s that are $1300. The Elacs just sound too thin in the vocals and the bass seemed less punchy than the JBLs. I have a Rotel A14 with an A/B switch and was pissed when I preferred the JBLs in blind tests after spending the money. I'm not a critical listener, just like lively speakers with a full midrange and forward vocals. Placement made a big difference as well.
Hi, Erin, love your channel! Your down-to-earth, level-headed analysis is very comforting to listen to. Curious, have there ever been instances where you subjectively enjoyed listening to a poorer measuring speaker more than a better measuring one?
Thank you Erin for this review/comparison. I'm late on this, but a few things. JBL has a signature sound, they used to call it the West Coast sound. It is forward, somewhat bright, 'in your face'. Similar to the Triangle Borea series. People who listen to rock, edm, rap tend to love JBL, it gives them just what they want. People who listen to classical and jazz, well, not so much. People should tailor their speaker according to what they listen to. When you buy JBL, you're going to get sharp, clear, clean, and well defined. There's nothing warm, soft, fuzzy about them. Again, it depends on the type of music you like.
Many thanks for this Erin. I have Stage A130s doing front and surround duty in my home theater and I find them really punchy and fun for movies and TV. I don’t like them nearly as much for music; a little muddy and less detailed than I prefer for tunes. But with your data I now have an idea of why I feel the way I do about them - greatly appreciated.
Nice video as usual, ive been debating on switching from klipsch to the emotivas from what I've been seeing and reading it might be a very good upgrade.
I think it's worth a shot. Klipsch has their own sound and if you like that then you may not like the more neutral response of the Emotiva. But I'd recommend it.
@@ErinsAudioCorner what do you think about the svs prime bookshelf and center I bought them but not impressed with the sound clarity what would you recommend thanks in advance.
Dang.. I bought the A130 off the ASR review and others saying these beat RP-500M. I have been on the fence the whole time about these. Demo the RP-150M and I was more wowed. May re-order them and send these back. Yes, they are boomy for bass and seems like some treble cuts out at times ( just my opinion).
You noticed some audio cutting out too? 🤔 I was specifically looking for someone else mentioning this!! Idk if it's the tweeters, I find it happens most noticably in vocals, suddenly the singer sounds like he/she is singing through a cheap radio sitting inside a box🙃 no body, depth, or richness to the voice, instead a subtle crackle noise🤷
@@infinitely_free_to_be_me i have stage 130, never noticed any strange sounding, but i mostly watch movies, used eq setting on denon 1912, to try even the curve, and to me sound is so great, but it needs a sub to bring movies to their maximum :D
JBL shipped thousands of A130 with reversed polarity at the binding posts. They are sonically misaligned. You've gotta put positive to negative at the posts to restore performance. It's a revelation. Ignore anyone who says polarity doesn't matter. It does with these.
@@akia123 yup, I've owned thousands of dollars in Emo gear over the years, because it's awesome for what you pay. And they have levels, they have stuff higher end than the "bas X" stuff but the bas X stuff smashes. Really good equipment.
JBL shipped thousands of A130 with reversed polarity at the binding posts. They are sonically misaligned. You've gotta put positive to negative at the posts to restore performance. It's a revelation. Ignore anyone who says polarity doesn't matter. It does with these.
Good review Erin. I don't understand why manufacturers cannot get crossovers right. Dennis Murphy did a little work on the Emotiva and the response looked very impressive.
Are you going to get a Neumann KH120A to measure soon? There don't seem to be any non manufacturer spinorama measurements of this speaker, despite it being very popular.
Not unless someone has a pair to loan me. Or if you folks want to ask Neumann to loan me a pair to review. It would go a lot further coming from consumers than it would from me and they might be more likely to oblige.
Another great video! Do you plan on ever measuring the Behringer B215XL? There is a lot of chatter about how they stack up to comparably priced HT speakers. Thanks for all the time you out into this. It shows how much you really love this stuff.
I have ELAC 330 CE , CRYSTAL EDITION, it looks like key hole shape , completely aluminum extrusion cabinet , no resonance, dead silent, i bought it 15 years ago , will never change to anything else , , unfortunately production cost was too high for it according to Elac , it has very good base too , sound very natural, In that time I pay 4k US$ for it , MDF, HDF cabinet will lose it shape , special in humidity air. Cheap cabinet with MDF or HDF suck a lot moisture, sound different in dry air , or cold weather, or when room temperature change.
My guess is a couple of 1" square dowels glued between the sides and top/ bottom of the Emo would tame that resonance ( worked well for me on a couple of low cost bookshelves with the same disease) Good comparison, I guess the different results between ASR and yours will remain a mystery; hopefully not the result of a "cost improvement" project. I am another Joe S with Studio 590's that is really happy with them. Different class of speaker though, my in room REW results are flatter than either of the JBL's in this test
Probably so. Thing is, though, there's really not much more space to work in here. They did have some bracing which is more than I can say for many other speakers in this price range.
Can't comment on the technical stuff because its over my head but I love the JBLs. Have a pair of A120's in a small exercise room and they sound deceptively large and detailed. And the white drivers are so damn sexy. Emotiva may be a better speaker but they're ugly. Yep, if I have to look at them every day then they better turn me on.
JBL shipped thousands of A130 with reversed polarity at the binding posts. They are sonically misaligned. You've gotta put positive to negative at the posts to restore performance. It's a revelation. Ignore anyone who says polarity doesn't matter. It does with these.
I'm not a fan of the small cheap AMT tweeters. They are very fatiguing to me. As for the JBLs, the A120 sounds more balanced to be, and the A130 sounds too bright, which is explained by the peak between 1 and 3khz on the A130 vs. the much narrower and so less audible peak on the A120.
Did you use the same mic for the gated measurements? What can have caused the small rise at ≈10k. Not a big deal just curious since i do gated measurements myself. Edit: i see now the blue line is ground plane so nevermind.
I did notice other reviewers liked the JBL Stage a130 bookshelf speakers a lot, and you didn’t. I have a theory about why this could be. I have many of the JBL Charge and Xtreme series Bluetooth speakers, and there’s a little secret about the manufacturing of them: they are made in at least 4 different factories depending on the supply chain and what’s available at the time. Two different JBL charge 5s may look different behind the grill, and might sound slightly different. My theory is that this might also apply to the JBL stage series, and two sets of them might vary in the crossover components, and maybe even have slightly different drivers that just look the same on the front!
Yeah, I've been favoring to upgrade my HT to the Emotiva line up. But I think I'll have to wait til next year for that. This year, I might just scoop up a pair of B1+s. Great video.
JBL shipped thousands of A130 with reversed polarity at the binding posts. They are sonically misaligned. You've gotta put positive to negative at the posts to restore performance. It's a revelation. Ignore anyone who says polarity doesn't matter. It does with these.
Another great review as always... hey Erin when will we have a conversation between the two titans of measurements, you and Amir? Would be extremely profitable if you compared your experiences
JBL shipped thousands of A130 with reversed polarity at the binding posts. They are sonically misaligned. You've gotta put positive to negative at the posts to restore performance. It's a revelation. Ignore anyone who says polarity doesn't matter. It does with these.
Tell me about it. I'm just starting on the audio journey and bought A130s (based on the cheapaudiomans' review), because I'm starting from scratch I'm very happy with my purchase but appreciate it's all relative (paired with a Fosi AMP). The great thing I like about Erin's channel is going with the data the only curveball now is working out how the data relates to your specific tastes - interpreting this I think is the missing link for us beginners and if it could be quantified would put Erin a country mile above the rest because it eliminates subjectivity.
JBL shipped thousands of A130 with reversed polarity at the binding posts. They are sonically misaligned. You've gotta put positive to negative at the posts to restore performance. It's a revelation. Ignore anyone who says polarity doesn't matter. It does with these.
Projects more real-🌎 advice ... Hafta' say Erin communicates this review in more relatable terms than "Cheap Audio Man", EX: being Erin's discussion of the predictable 80-100Hz bump in the JBL models whereas "C.A.M." tends to ride the proverbial fence, throwing props a bit too equally `to both JBL & emotiva. Heck, I'd vote for emos based solely on the accuracy & wider band ribbon Twtr. & the cabinet's cool, anti-diffraction design'!
I have the q150. And I’m not satisfied with the sound. I am thinking of switching these out and getting the b1+. I actually also have the sscs5 and I really liked the sound of those as well, but those are going into the garage for the gym. I guess the q150s are just too warm for me. Also using an rsl sub. Do you think b1+ would be a better listen?
The A130's alignment is polarity dependent. JBL intentionally flipped the polarity to reduce the performance of this speaker after a certain year. It easily explains the conflicted measurements. Just swap polarity at the terminals to make them shine. When alignment is restored they have neither boomy mid-bass nor recessed vocals. They will have mind bending texture and improved imaging.
I've ordered A130 before I watch this video, I received it a few days ago, and I wish you were wrong here and your sample was defective, but you are right, I can't listen to A130 as a nearfield speaker for my PC, I just throw it now as my rear speaker after cutting the high end by reducing the treble to half, that enhanced it a bit but still, my $30 deliver better vocal than this A130 which I can't hear the dialog very clearly, so now I'm back to my $30 on my PC. I don't know how hard is to make a speaker to sound natural? if $30 Indian (Intex) speaker can, then why $200 JBL can't? makes no sense at all, yes it has better bass but what's the point if you can't hear a simple dialog clearly? I wish I went with Elac, emotiva, or even neume bs5.
I bought them too (strange sale price, $126/pair😅🤷).. but the vocals sound really bad! I "upgraded" from outdoor Yamaha speakers I bought for $10, were sitting in snow when I picked them up... And the vocals sound much better than the JBLs 😑🙄🤷
@@infinitely_free_to_be_me I added below to my wishlist: Kali In 5 Polk R100 Kef Q150 Klipsch rp-500m ii wharfedale diamond 12.2 Based on Erin reviews, this new Klipsch is good, UB51 had a nasty resonances based on audiosciencereview. I'm leaning toward Kali In 5 since its 3 way so the mid should be super clear.
MiniDSP is one way. Some AVRs and pre/pros have EQ built-in. You can also buy analog PEQs but I don't know what the market is for those anymore; been a long time since I've shopped those.
@@Eron55555 Outlaw Audio LCRv2, for one. They're Snell Audio clones from the same Snell design team, including Joe D'Appolito. They measured very, very well in the various tests on Audioholics once set vertically as they were originally designed. One of the better large bookshelf Joe D'Appolito MTM monitors they have run across. I bought a pair myself to try as lower cost surrounds for my Triad Gold LCR fronts. They are surprisingly similar in their sound signature and match quite well.
@@Eron55555 Get the B-stock versions instead. They have the same warranty as new and are inspected to perform as A stock units. They seem to mainly be units that have slight external cosmetic flaws from the factory.
@@ErinsAudioCorner I tend to believe you over anyone else doing this thing. It’s just I pick a speaker, having very limited funds, and EVERYONE I pick…here comes Erins’ review! 😂😂😂
@@dawolyan13 the Emotiva B1+ is a good option at $250. I say use the extra $200 from this and buy a good subwoofer. I liked the Jamo C912 I reviewed or if you want to go cheaper (but less low bass) then the ELAC SUB1010 is a good option at about $120.
Personally I love magnetic grills but having kids it’s way to easy to take them off with the jbl they can’t take it off at all and my speaker drivers are safe also with regards to price there is msrp and regular listed prices jbl are never at msrp from what I seen and emotiva aren’t as sale friendly . Also emotiva are 4ohm right ? Where as the jbl are 6ohm
I just changed out my home theater to JBL but the Studio series, 570 mains, 520C. Before I got the 520C I had the A125C and thought it was pretty good. The 520C is better though.
They're like the B1+ in that you need to cross them over in the 80-100 Hz range if you want to play them loudly. Contrary to popular myth, the 530's don't use the same compression driver as the 570 and above (they have a smaller internal form factor). Therefore, they cannot hit the higher SPL's of the towers and are not suitable for large home theaters.
You may order it direct from the company and they'll ship it direct to you. I did that when I was in Bahrain. Btw, Emotiva has no dealers. They sell direct.
The D320 is an amazing speaker for the price, too amazing in fact, because it was killing sales of the more expensive Diamond series, since the 12.2 is the only one significantly better than the 320, which is, IMO, better than the 12.0 and 12.1. That's why Wharedale has discontinued the D series. However, Amazon has the Crystal 4.1 for $150 a pair, which also have a Kevlar woofer and soft dome tweeter. They don't have very deep bass though, as they're more equivalent to the D310 than the 320.
@@ErinsAudioCorner I choose between denton 85 and emotiva b1+, I need it for a small room. The price is not important, they cost the same in the local store
Music from any source sound different to everyone . please don't go on one review, stats me nothing it's what delivers in your ears . Remember amplifiers play a major role in how any speakers sound . Go out and listen to them . You see the borea br02 sounds fab but may not to you .
JBL are making the most advanced loudspeakers in history. What happened is they sold thousands of A130 with reversed polarity at the binding posts. They are sonically misaligned. I think they did it on purpose. I have a pair with positive to negative at the posts and they are restored to mind boggling sonic properties. Bass is no longer boomy, vocal presence is glorious, texture, imaging, timbre just extraordinary. Try it.
JBL are making the most advanced loudspeakers in history. What happened is they sold thousands of A130 with reversed polarity at the binding posts. They are sonically misaligned. I think they did it on purpose. I have a pair with positive to negative at the posts and they are restored to mind boggling sonic properties. Bass is no longer boomy, vocal presence is glorious, texture, imaging, timbre just extraordinary. Try it.
On the JBL's, It looks like they're using a lazy single order crossover on the woofer that's way too low and and low order crossover on the tweeter causing this mess. It's because they're being cheap.
JBL pulled a bait and switch on the stage series... Don't buy them, you'll regret it for sure! I bought a130's and the a190... Both sound TERRIBLE.. the vocals sound like a $20 radio inside of a cardboard box.
Buy Emotiva B1+ (recommended): emotiva.com/products/airmotiv-b1-pair?aff=14
Buy JBL Stage A120: amzn.to/3kOQU9s
Buy JBL Stage A130: bit.ly/3cnnQ4r
Note: Above links are affiliate links which help me earn a small commission - at no additional cost you - should you choose to purchase through them.
Great job with the measurements and the reviews! Very helpful and much appreciated. If you could help review the Elac Debut 2.0 B6.2 and compare it to the Emotiva B1+, you've probably hit all the good affordable speakers under $300/pair. In fact, I'm holding off on picking up a full home theatre setup based on either the Debut 2.0 or the Airmotiv+ series, and the B6.2 vs B1+ would be very conclusive. Thanks again
Yep, I actually prefer my a130s to my Elac Ubr62s that are $1300. The Elacs just sound too thin in the vocals and the bass seemed less punchy than the JBLs. I have a Rotel A14 with an A/B switch and was pissed when I preferred the JBLs in blind tests after spending the money. I'm not a critical listener, just like lively speakers with a full midrange and forward vocals. Placement made a big difference as well.
I love the way Erin caresses speakers. You can't fake that kind of love and passion.
😂😂😂
he does the same thing to me....
@@EchoBaseNetwork 😂😂😂😂😂
@@EchoBaseNetwork 🤣😂😭
Hi, Erin, love your channel! Your down-to-earth, level-headed analysis is very comforting to listen to.
Curious, have there ever been instances where you subjectively enjoyed listening to a poorer measuring speaker more than a better measuring one?
"The Emo" 🤣
Good vid bro! You’re one of the few measurements focused guys I really like. You have a good mix of common sense and humanity to it.
Thank you Erin for this review/comparison. I'm late on this, but a few things. JBL has a signature sound, they used to call it the West Coast sound. It is forward, somewhat bright, 'in your face'. Similar to the Triangle Borea series. People who listen to rock, edm, rap tend to love JBL, it gives them just what they want. People who listen to classical and jazz, well, not so much. People should tailor their speaker according to what they listen to. When you buy JBL, you're going to get sharp, clear, clean, and well defined. There's nothing warm, soft, fuzzy about them. Again, it depends on the type of music you like.
Appreciate this review b/c I’m considering these exact speakers, B1’s or A130. Thanks Erin for this great channel! 👍🏼😎
Definitely the B1's.
Many thanks for this Erin. I have Stage A130s doing front and surround duty in my home theater and I find them really punchy and fun for movies and TV. I don’t like them nearly as much for music; a little muddy and less detailed than I prefer for tunes. But with your data I now have an idea of why I feel the way I do about them - greatly appreciated.
Nice video as usual, ive been debating on switching from klipsch to the emotivas from what I've been seeing and reading it might be a very good upgrade.
I think it's worth a shot. Klipsch has their own sound and if you like that then you may not like the more neutral response of the Emotiva. But I'd recommend it.
@@ErinsAudioCorner what do you think about the svs prime bookshelf and center I bought them but not impressed with the sound clarity what would you recommend thanks in advance.
For clarity I use them 80% movies/TV the other 20 for music.
For own price Emotiva very good speakers. And for budget class, have very good frequency response! 👍
I'd like a review of that BMX frame back there! I still have my old Schwinn Super Stock 1 Brian Foster Edition.
Dang.. I bought the A130 off the ASR review and others saying these beat RP-500M. I have been on the fence the whole time about these. Demo the RP-150M and I was more wowed. May re-order them and send these back. Yes, they are boomy for bass and seems like some treble cuts out at times ( just my opinion).
You noticed some audio cutting out too? 🤔 I was specifically looking for someone else mentioning this!! Idk if it's the tweeters, I find it happens most noticably in vocals, suddenly the singer sounds like he/she is singing through a cheap radio sitting inside a box🙃 no body, depth, or richness to the voice, instead a subtle crackle noise🤷
@@infinitely_free_to_be_me i have stage 130, never noticed any strange sounding, but i mostly watch movies, used eq setting on denon 1912, to try even the curve, and to me sound is so great, but it needs a sub to bring movies to their maximum :D
JBL shipped thousands of A130 with reversed polarity at the binding posts. They are sonically misaligned. You've gotta put positive to negative at the posts to restore performance. It's a revelation. Ignore anyone who says polarity doesn't matter. It does with these.
Hahaha. I thought the emotiva was a graphic overlay at first.
Anyway. I'm sad JBL wasn't up to par here. Oh well, I'm extremely happy with my 590's.
Tough to beat Emotiva for the money. The whole point.
Ha me too was going say nj
@@akia123 yup, I've owned thousands of dollars in Emo gear over the years, because it's awesome for what you pay. And they have levels, they have stuff higher end than the "bas X" stuff but the bas X stuff smashes. Really good equipment.
Its a much cheaper speaker than the 5 series
JBL shipped thousands of A130 with reversed polarity at the binding posts. They are sonically misaligned. You've gotta put positive to negative at the posts to restore performance. It's a revelation. Ignore anyone who says polarity doesn't matter. It does with these.
Good review Erin. I don't understand why manufacturers cannot get crossovers right. Dennis Murphy did a little work on the Emotiva and the response looked very impressive.
They are penny pinching.
Are you going to get a Neumann KH120A to measure soon? There don't seem to be any non manufacturer spinorama measurements of this speaker, despite it being very popular.
Not unless someone has a pair to loan me. Or if you folks want to ask Neumann to loan me a pair to review. It would go a lot further coming from consumers than it would from me and they might be more likely to oblige.
Another great video! Do you plan on ever measuring the Behringer B215XL? There is a lot of chatter about how they stack up to comparably priced HT speakers. Thanks for all the time you out into this. It shows how much you really love this stuff.
No immediate plans for the Behringer. Thanks for recognizing my passion. I'm glad it shows through in these videos. :)
Great contrast and comparison. Thanks
I have ELAC 330 CE , CRYSTAL EDITION, it looks like key hole shape , completely aluminum extrusion cabinet , no resonance, dead silent, i bought it 15 years ago , will never change to anything else , , unfortunately production cost was too high for it according to Elac , it has very good base too , sound very natural, In that time I pay 4k US$ for it , MDF, HDF cabinet will lose it shape , special in humidity air. Cheap cabinet with MDF or HDF suck a lot moisture, sound different in dry air , or cold weather, or when room temperature change.
My guess is a couple of 1" square dowels glued between the sides and top/ bottom of the Emo would tame that resonance ( worked well for me on a couple of low cost bookshelves with the same disease) Good comparison, I guess the different results between ASR and yours will remain a mystery; hopefully not the result of a "cost improvement" project.
I am another Joe S with Studio 590's that is really happy with them. Different class of speaker though, my in room REW results are flatter than either of the JBL's in this test
Probably so. Thing is, though, there's really not much more space to work in here. They did have some bracing which is more than I can say for many other speakers in this price range.
Can't comment on the technical stuff because its over my head but I love the JBLs. Have a pair of A120's in a small exercise room and they sound deceptively large and detailed. And the white drivers are so damn sexy. Emotiva may be a better speaker but they're ugly. Yep, if I have to look at them every day then they better turn me on.
JBL shipped thousands of A130 with reversed polarity at the binding posts. They are sonically misaligned. You've gotta put positive to negative at the posts to restore performance. It's a revelation. Ignore anyone who says polarity doesn't matter. It does with these.
I'm not a fan of the small cheap AMT tweeters. They are very fatiguing to me. As for the JBLs, the A120 sounds more balanced to be, and the A130 sounds too bright, which is explained by the peak between 1 and 3khz on the A130 vs. the much narrower and so less audible peak on the A120.
AMTs sound better with tubes for me
Did you use the same mic for the gated measurements? What can have caused the small rise at ≈10k. Not a big deal just curious since i do gated measurements myself.
Edit: i see now the blue line is ground plane so nevermind.
I did notice other reviewers liked the JBL Stage a130 bookshelf speakers a lot, and you didn’t. I have a theory about why this could be. I have many of the JBL Charge and Xtreme series Bluetooth speakers, and there’s a little secret about the manufacturing of them: they are made in at least 4 different factories depending on the supply chain and what’s available at the time. Two different JBL charge 5s may look different behind the grill, and might sound slightly different. My theory is that this might also apply to the JBL stage series, and two sets of them might vary in the crossover components, and maybe even have slightly different drivers that just look the same on the front!
could very well be the case!
Yeah, I've been favoring to upgrade my HT to the Emotiva line up. But I think I'll have to wait til next year for that. This year, I might just scoop up a pair of B1+s.
Great video.
JBL shipped thousands of A130 with reversed polarity at the binding posts. They are sonically misaligned. You've gotta put positive to negative at the posts to restore performance. It's a revelation. Ignore anyone who says polarity doesn't matter. It does with these.
That's sad. I was thinking about buying the a130's but was wondering about consistency. This answers my question. Thanks.
Glad I could help!
Hey Erin. Have you considered your reference amplifier just might not be a good match for the JBL's?
Got the jbl a120 the other day for the bedroom tv definitely want a subwoofer with them but they aint bad especially for the size and price
Hope you get a chance to check out Polk's new affordable range that just came out - Signature Elite and Monitor XT
I wanted to get the JBL A130 so much but it's unavailable in EU. Then i got elac dbr62 for 380€ on an offer. I guess I dodged a bullet
Another great review as always... hey Erin when will we have a conversation between the two titans of measurements, you and Amir?
Would be extremely profitable if you compared your experiences
The JBLs actually look like they would EQ well.
JBL shipped thousands of A130 with reversed polarity at the binding posts. They are sonically misaligned. You've gotta put positive to negative at the posts to restore performance. It's a revelation. Ignore anyone who says polarity doesn't matter. It does with these.
Its interesting how different reviewers have completely opposite reactions. Others have said they love the A130s
Indeed.
Tell me about it. I'm just starting on the audio journey and bought A130s (based on the cheapaudiomans' review), because I'm starting from scratch I'm very happy with my purchase but appreciate it's all relative (paired with a Fosi AMP). The great thing I like about Erin's channel is going with the data the only curveball now is working out how the data relates to your specific tastes - interpreting this I think is the missing link for us beginners and if it could be quantified would put Erin a country mile above the rest because it eliminates subjectivity.
JBL shipped thousands of A130 with reversed polarity at the binding posts. They are sonically misaligned. You've gotta put positive to negative at the posts to restore performance. It's a revelation. Ignore anyone who says polarity doesn't matter. It does with these.
I have the JBL studio 230. They really shine when matched with a competent subwoofer. I have always wondered if the stage 130 is any different.
Thanks! Good Work! :)
Thank you too!
Projects more real-🌎 advice ...
Hafta' say Erin communicates this review in more relatable terms than "Cheap Audio Man",
EX: being Erin's discussion of the predictable 80-100Hz bump in the JBL models whereas "C.A.M." tends to ride the proverbial fence,
throwing props a bit too equally `to both JBL & emotiva.
Heck, I'd vote for emos based solely on the accuracy & wider band ribbon Twtr. & the cabinet's cool, anti-diffraction design'!
Try the comparison. Also use the Paradigm Atom which are $299. Should be a good shootout vs the Emotiva.
I have the q150. And I’m not satisfied with the sound. I am thinking of switching these out and getting the b1+. I actually also have the sscs5 and I really liked the sound of those as well, but those are going into the garage for the gym. I guess the q150s are just too warm for me. Also using an rsl sub. Do you think b1+ would be a better listen?
Close relative had the non JBL speakers at his desktop. For some reason, the tweeter stopped working. I like dome tweeters.
The A130's alignment is polarity dependent. JBL intentionally flipped the polarity to reduce the performance of this speaker after a certain year. It easily explains the conflicted measurements. Just swap polarity at the terminals to make them shine.
When alignment is restored they have neither boomy mid-bass nor recessed vocals. They will have mind bending texture and improved imaging.
The NHT SuperOne 2.1 is worth a look. It fits right into that price category.
Amir has tested NHT (2 models I think), they were average for the money.
@@homeboi808 I really don't care what was tested over there. I'm talking the budget SuperOne 2.1. This channel is so much more credible.
It's worth more than a look!
how would the emotivas compare to the gr research xls encores? are both of this on the same league, or the encores are much better?
I've ordered A130 before I watch this video, I received it a few days ago, and I wish you were wrong here and your sample was defective, but you are right, I can't listen to A130 as a nearfield speaker for my PC, I just throw it now as my rear speaker after cutting the high end by reducing the treble to half, that enhanced it a bit but still, my $30 deliver better vocal than this A130 which I can't hear the dialog very clearly, so now I'm back to my $30 on my PC.
I don't know how hard is to make a speaker to sound natural? if $30 Indian (Intex) speaker can, then why $200 JBL can't? makes no sense at all, yes it has better bass but what's the point if you can't hear a simple dialog clearly?
I wish I went with Elac, emotiva, or even neume bs5.
I bought them too (strange sale price, $126/pair😅🤷).. but the vocals sound really bad! I "upgraded" from outdoor Yamaha speakers I bought for $10, were sitting in snow when I picked them up... And the vocals sound much better than the JBLs 😑🙄🤷
@@infinitely_free_to_be_me let me know if you find anything better.
@@mhnoni I've been eyeing the Elac UB51.. currently on clearance for $280. I think we'll be much happier with these 👍
@@infinitely_free_to_be_me I added below to my wishlist:
Kali In 5
Polk R100
Kef Q150
Klipsch rp-500m ii
wharfedale diamond 12.2
Based on Erin reviews, this new Klipsch is good, UB51 had a nasty resonances based on audiosciencereview. I'm leaning toward Kali In 5 since its 3 way so the mid should be super clear.
For contrast I don't find the JBLs A130s bad at all, better after a little EQ love to my ears :P
When you are talking about a chart, please show it.
How are people putting parametric eq on speakers that aren't connected to a computer? The "pro" products I see are in the $1k+ range.
MiniDSP is one way. Some AVRs and pre/pros have EQ built-in. You can also buy analog PEQs but I don't know what the market is for those anymore; been a long time since I've shopped those.
I think that there SHOULD be a component called a "revistor". Call me crazy (everyone else does), but it sounds right to me....
Erin have you heard or do you think you'll be testing any of the emotiva towers?
They're on the Klippel NFS at this very moment. T2+.
Love my Emotiva B1+s. For the money, I'm not sure they can be beat.
Sure, but if you are willing to save up a little bit, there are even better choices than the B1+.
@@dan_hitchman007 Like?
@@Eron55555 Outlaw Audio LCRv2, for one. They're Snell Audio clones from the same Snell design team, including Joe D'Appolito. They measured very, very well in the various tests on Audioholics once set vertically as they were originally designed. One of the better large bookshelf Joe D'Appolito MTM monitors they have run across. I bought a pair myself to try as lower cost surrounds for my Triad Gold LCR fronts. They are surprisingly similar in their sound signature and match quite well.
@@dan_hitchman007 Very interesting thanks. But 599 a speaker.. I'm trying to buy a new pair of bookshelves.. Can't decide on b1+ or KEF q150.
@@Eron55555 Get the B-stock versions instead. They have the same warranty as new and are inspected to perform as A stock units. They seem to mainly be units that have slight external cosmetic flaws from the factory.
You are LITERALLY the only reviewer to vote no on the JBLs. Hmmm…what to make of that.
I like a lot of JBL’s other stuff but these really fell short of expectation.
@@ErinsAudioCorner I tend to believe you over anyone else doing this thing. It’s just I pick a speaker, having very limited funds, and EVERYONE I pick…here comes Erins’ review! 😂😂😂
@@dawolyan13 the Emotiva B1+ is a good option at $250. I say use the extra $200 from this and buy a good subwoofer. I liked the Jamo C912 I reviewed or if you want to go cheaper (but less low bass) then the ELAC SUB1010 is a good option at about $120.
Looks like some bloke in Upstate New York just mastered the A130 puzzle.
To bad they stopped making the Studio 220/230s. What a gem(s)!!!!
Personally I love magnetic grills but having kids it’s way to easy to take them off with the jbl they can’t take it off at all and my speaker drivers are safe also with regards to price there is msrp and regular listed prices jbl are never at msrp from what I seen and emotiva aren’t as sale friendly . Also emotiva are 4ohm right ? Where as the jbl are 6ohm
What is the difference between JBL STAGE A 130 and JBL ARENA A130?
Any chance the a170/a180/a190 get the same treatment?
I wonder too.. I snagged a deal on a190 and can't find tests like these for them.
Whats a good
You need a time machine for that
Nice =)
Do you still have your Klippel? Are we going to see more reviews with tons of data…?
Yup. I just started reviewing stuff again. Posted this last Friday: Triad Gold In-Room LCR Review
czcams.com/video/gNKs0Dj2v5E/video.html
@@ErinsAudioCorner Great to see ya up and about again! Looking forward to more of your reviews!
I just changed out my home theater to JBL but the Studio series, 570 mains, 520C. Before I got the 520C I had the A125C and thought it was pretty good. The 520C is better though.
Try and track down Studio 220/230s for surround! Brilliant!!!
How do they compare to Neumi BS5?
B1+
@@ErinsAudioCorner Thx. And vs JBL?
@@TheRedSign B1+
@@ErinsAudioCorner I meant JBL A130 vs Neumi BS5. It's a price issue in my country. Hard to get Emo's for 250 after all the Tax/Customs.
Interesting
Didn't realize speakers could be emo 🤔
Hey can I send you some drivers to measure?
Can you tell me what's better in speakers....8 ohm or 6 ohm?
Neither is inherently better.
What’s a better center? Stage 125c or studio520c?
Both are unfortunately similar bad :/
the sound of your voice is like warm butter being poured over fresh popcorn.....you give me the tingles Erin....
What can I say... when you've got it, you've got it.
Where does the JBL Studio 530s fall into this group?
No idea, tbh. I'd like to get some to review but I am tapped out after spending $1200 on subwoofers for my 12-inch subwoofer shootout video.
@@ErinsAudioCorner And a pair of SVS SB 1000 would have been money better spent!
They're like the B1+ in that you need to cross them over in the 80-100 Hz range if you want to play them loudly. Contrary to popular myth, the 530's don't use the same compression driver as the 570 and above (they have a smaller internal form factor). Therefore, they cannot hit the higher SPL's of the towers and are not suitable for large home theaters.
Emotiva B1+ want it but no dealer in my country.
You may order it direct from the company and they'll ship it direct to you. I did that when I was in Bahrain. Btw, Emotiva has no dealers. They sell direct.
If he prefers the emo, it must be 2005 again
I'm gonna go listen to My Chemical Romance now. 😂😂
How does the wharfedale d320 compare to these?
No idea, to be honest.
The D320 is an amazing speaker for the price, too amazing in fact, because it was killing sales of the more expensive Diamond series, since the 12.2 is the only one significantly better than the 320, which is, IMO, better than the 12.0 and 12.1. That's why Wharedale has discontinued the D series. However, Amazon has the Crystal 4.1 for $150 a pair, which also have a Kevlar woofer and soft dome tweeter. They don't have very deep bass though, as they're more equivalent to the D310 than the 320.
Is Emotiva better than wharfedale denton 85th ?
Heck, no. But they’re about 1/6 the price of the Linton. And they do sound good.
@@ErinsAudioCorner I choose between denton 85 and emotiva b1+, I need it for a small room. The price is not important, they cost the same in the local store
@@alexlex5104 sorry, I was thinking of the Linton. My bad. I don’t have any experience with the Denton so I can’t say.
@@ErinsAudioCorner Thank you for the answer
Batman slept upside down 😂😂😂😂
I use cheap Adam T5V for my pc playback.
In a smaller room they play really nice.
Think I paid 300 euro for the pair.
Music from any source sound different to everyone . please don't go on one review, stats me nothing it's what delivers in your ears . Remember amplifiers play a major role in how any speakers sound . Go out and listen to them . You see the borea br02 sounds fab but may not to you .
JBL are making the most advanced loudspeakers in history. What happened is they sold thousands of A130 with reversed polarity at the binding posts. They are sonically misaligned. I think they did it on purpose. I have a pair with positive to negative at the posts and they are restored to mind boggling sonic properties.
Bass is no longer boomy, vocal presence is glorious, texture, imaging, timbre just extraordinary. Try it.
No one who listens to real music with natural instruments can say a kevlar cone speaker sounds natural or real
Maybe the JBL are trying to give you a "live on stage" sound lol. Punchy boomyness and "air", with upper midrange presence.
That is basically it, but done cheaply ,not in a good way.
JBL are making the most advanced loudspeakers in history. What happened is they sold thousands of A130 with reversed polarity at the binding posts. They are sonically misaligned. I think they did it on purpose. I have a pair with positive to negative at the posts and they are restored to mind boggling sonic properties.
Bass is no longer boomy, vocal presence is glorious, texture, imaging, timbre just extraordinary. Try it.
On the JBL's, It looks like they're using a lazy single order crossover on the woofer that's way too low and and low order crossover on the tweeter causing this mess. It's because they're being cheap.
It's a cheap speaker!
So which sounds better? 🤣🤣
Yes.
I guess you can't get emo unless you pay border fees eh?
JBL pulled a bait and switch on the stage series... Don't buy them, you'll regret it for sure! I bought a130's and the a190... Both sound TERRIBLE.. the vocals sound like a $20 radio inside of a cardboard box.