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2M views 18K replies 1K participants last post by  mfaifman 
#1 ·
Okay, after much discussion, it has been decided that this thread should be Re made in this forum. So here it is! Post all your JBL questions/opinions/set ups
here
 
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#15,281 · (Edited)
I ordered my JBL 530's via Amazon Warehouse. They are suppose to be "Like-New" condition however it is missing all the damn accessories!

Never had that happen before for a Amazon Warehouse item. I mainly would like the rubber feet and the grills that cover the speaker.

Think JBL would be willing to send me the grill for free or low fee? If not, guess I will have to return them... too bad they do not have anymore "Like-New" in stock. Grrr. :c(
 
#15,284 · (Edited)
Hi there!

I just finished my basement, and am looking for a 5.1 Home Theatre set.

What do you think of the:

JBL Studio 180 x2 for Front (or should I go for 190?)
JBL Studio 130 x2 for Rear
JBL LC2 for Center (this will placed in a cabinet/wall mount - other Centers seems to have a rear firing port ...)

Will the LC2 be OK for this?
I keep getting the impression that the Center speaker is the Most important for movies/TV :)

For Rear speakers ... I could go for Pillar/Wall Mount, or Ceiling mount also ..
any good JBL wall/ceiling mount you could suggest for this setup? :)

Not looking to spend a tonne of $, since the basement reno already costed me over $20K @.@
180/190 seems to be very good at $149 price range, non?

Oh yea .. do I need a Sub? Which would you recommend?

ANY advice is Greatly appreciated!

Oh, and any Onkyo Receiver advice? :)
I got one already and really like it! I got the 509 I believe.

Thx! :)
 
#15,285 ·
The few times I have dealt with JBL support they have always been very helpful if they can. It certainly doesn't hurt to ask.
JBL parts department told me they no longer make the grills for the 530. :c( At least they were very quick with response.

I will have to talk to Amazon and see what they can do.
 
#15,286 ·
JBL parts department told me they no longer make the grills for the 530. :c( At least they were very quick with response.

I will have to talk to Amazon and see what they can do.
Huh?????
I think someone may have gotten their info screwy.
How could they not have parts for the current models being manufactured and sold?
I would ask again, putting an emphasis on getting the right information.

I also just spent lots of time SEARCHING for the online parts store that used to be easily accessible.
Apparently it is gone and the ONLY way to get parts might be to call or email?
That is absolutely ridiculous. Knowing that they refuse to sell parts for your speakers,
pretty much forcing you to buy new speakers if one part breaks, will surely make me think twice about buying any more of their speakers in the future.
I can come to no other conclusion... WHERE IS THEIR PARTS STORE? I don't get it. :(
 
#15,287 ·
The parts department sent me a diagram with part numbers and a diagram, with arrows pointing to each part. I am 100% it is the correct part. Here is the response I received.

" Hello,

Thank you for your inquiry.

Unfortunately, we no longer have these grilles available.

There are some companies that do make custom grilles. Here is a list.

Speakerworks 918-664-6299 or 800-526-8879 in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Midwest Speaker 651-645-7174 in St. Paul, Minnesota
HJS Sound 260-493-1522 in New Haven, Indiana
Orange County Speaker 714-554-8520 in Garden Grove, California
Speakerworks 602-230-0344 in Phoenix, Arizona
Custom Music House 415-388-5711 in Mill Valley, CA

I hope this helps.

Thanks & regards,

Pallavi Gupta
Parts Department
Harman International
Lifestyle Division"
 
#15,288 ·
Anyone have Grills for the JBL 530 that they are not using? I will gladly buy them.

Would like to avoid shipping back these heavy speakers, plus they sound very good!
 
#15,289 · (Edited)
I finally found a parts site that is apparently some kind of secret, but here it is.
https://www.harmanaudio.com/search_browse/partlist.asp?Parts=STUDIO 530BK&BrandId=JBL&MarketId=HOM
The section for the 530 shows no parts available, which is outrageous IMO.
If that is the case, I will NEVER buy the Studio series for fear of one part breaking and then have to throw the whole speaker in the trash.

EDIT: Toggling through the site, selecting random speakers that I own, used to own, or might own, every part is "NOT AVAILABLE".
Apparently JBL is just going to now screw all owners for replacement parts.
I REALLY hope I am wrong about this. Up until now I was a big JBL fan.
Hopefully my L-series never break. :/
 
#15,290 ·
There have been rumors for a couple years that Harman was phasing out all warehousing of parts. I suspect that drivers, crossovers and related hardware might be kept around for a while, particularly for those items with 3 and 4 digit price tags. But for entry and mid-level models I think that parts are a thing of the past. With some items that might be common to pro models, there is some hope for going through the pro parts department.

Frankly if I bought a pair that were advertised as "like new" and came without grills or hardware, they would be returned pretty fast.
 
#15,291 ·
I finally found a parts site that is apparently some kind of secret, but here it is.
https://www.harmanaudio.com/search_browse/partlist.asp?Parts=STUDIO 530BK&BrandId=JBL&MarketId=HOM
The section for the 530 shows no parts available, which is outrageous IMO.
If that is the case, I will NEVER buy the Studio series for fear of one part breaking and then have to throw the whole speaker in the trash.

EDIT: Toggling through the site, selecting random speakers that I own, used to own, or might own, every part is "NOT AVAILABLE".
Apparently JBL is just going to now screw all owners for replacement parts.
I REALLY hope I am wrong about this. Up until now I was a big JBL fan.
Hopefully my L-series never break. :/
I recently needed a new tweeter for one of my L820s that I found had a dented tweeter after unpacking. I went to the website and found the same thing you did - all parts unavailable. However, I emailed them regarding the part (parts@harman.com) and had a response within 2 days. The part was available and it was shipped to me within a week. I would hope that would work for the Studio 5 series as well.
 
#15,292 ·
I recently needed a new tweeter for one of my L820s that I found had a dented tweeter after unpacking. I went to the website and found the same thing you did - all parts unavailable. However, I emailed them regarding the part (parts@harman.com) and had a response within 2 days. The part was available and it was shipped to me within a week. I would hope that would work for the Studio 5 series as well.
That's good to hear. However I think it's ridiculous that he can't get a replacement grill for a (not so cheap) speaker
that is currently being sold as the latest model in stores.
I know there are other places that sell JBL parts too, but at this point it seems to be luck of the draw if you can actually
get the part you need. Just call or email them and HOPE they have it. Not good.
I can understand this for "vintage" speakers, but for almost anything that has been manufactured in the last 10 years,
parts should be available IMO.
 
#15,294 ·
There have been rumors for a couple years that Harman was phasing out all warehousing of parts. I suspect that drivers, crossovers and related hardware might be kept around for a while, particularly for those items with 3 and 4 digit price tags. But for entry and mid-level models I think that parts are a thing of the past. With some items that might be common to pro models, there is some hope for going through the pro parts department.

Frankly if I bought a pair that were advertised as "like new" and came without grills or hardware, they would be returned pretty fast.
So are the L series and Studio series considered not high end enough to bother stocking replacement parts for?
If so then that's ridiculous IMO. Those speakers cost THOUSANDS of dollars for a full set.
I'm quite sure most of the people who have paid that do not consider them to be "disposable" speakers.

I now feel like I'm one of those people making a big deal out of nothing that everyone rolls their eyes at because I'm going on and on about it,
but I think this is a big deal. If this is how they are going to treat their customers, it will almost assuredly keep me from ever buying any more
JBL speakers.
 
#15,295 ·
I suppose if one is concerned about availability of replacement parts, the best source of info would be Harman. Barring availability, you can do what JBL fans have been doing for many years and just buy used gear to part out. Generally its cheaper because you can sell what you don't need.
 
#15,296 ·
I've had the JBL Studio 530's for about a month now, and they are without a doubt the best speakers I've ever owned. You'd never guess they have a bi-radial horn by the sound (think the exact opposite of Klipsch here), other than they are so much more focused, and suffer so much less sidewall reflections than any conventional dome tweeter speakers I've owned. The tonal balance of them is spot on, never harsh and always great upper frequency detail. Dynamics are great, and the sense of scale to the music is much larger than it seems it would be considering their size.

I have no desire to change them for anything else. These have the sound quality that I've spent years searching for, without having to go broke doing it. They were an incredible buy at $475 from Amazon. I've considered buying another pair just to have a backup set in case JBL quits making them, and I ever have an issue with the set I currently have. In my opinion, they really are that good. They easily fill my 19x13' listening room, so I have no real need for the tower models, but if I had a much larger space, I'd buy either the 580 or 590 no doubt.
 
#15,298 ·
I recently purchased a Minidsp, along with a Unimik-1 and REW software to eq my 3 subs, and it took my system to a much higher level, and I thought it was pretty good before.

That combo is well worth the money for those that want to extract the best performance from their subwoofers. My rooms response was way worse than I would have guessed it was before I had a way to measure it. The bass is very accurate sounding now, which actually helped the already great clarity of the JBL's.
 
#15,299 ·
I recently purchased a Minidsp, along with a Unimik-1 and REW software to eq my 3 subs, and it took my system to a much higher level, and I thought it was pretty good before.

That combo is well worth the money for those that want to extract the best performance from their subwoofers. My rooms response was way worse than I would have guessed it was before I had a way to measure it. The bass is very accurate sounding now, which actually helped the already great clarity of the JBL's.
I hope that once I break out the MiniDSPs to EQ my setup that it takes it up to the next level... Even though it sounds great now.
 
#15,300 ·
Yep, love my 530's too but ended up adding a couple of 580's and moving the 530's to the rear, then a Rythmik E15, and now I have an Oppo 103 on the way.

I blame the guys here at AVS Forums for a quality of sound I would never have arrived at otherwise, which is truly amazing !!
Harley, do you have the 520 center? I have not bought the 520 center yet and I wonder if having it would be worth.

Cheers!
 
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