I own a pair of JBL Studio 590s - which on looks and brand reputation alone one might be forgiven for thinking they belong in a frat house or most suitable for younger people only interested in slam and in-your-face sound. However, that would be a mistake - and like the Everest and K2 they were designed by Greg Timbers, with a horn loaded compression driver taking all frequencies north of 1.5kHz. I also believe they, again like the Everests, are part of the Synthesis line. https://www.jblsynthesis.com/productdetail/studio_590.html (really wish the wood grain finish was available in the U.S.).
I’m not the biggest fan of the form factor or the build quality (tho it’s not bad), but in the right system these things are simply unequaled for the price and probably for a few grand more. Disclosure: I only bought them because Harman reduced the price to $474 each on their ebay store last December. I’m glad I did.
All the glowing YouTube and written reviews are true - the Studio 5XX series compression/horn setup is unreal and offers a level of ’intimacy’ and detail that you really will be surprised to hear. Voices - and certain instruments like saxophone (think Stan Getz) or trumpet (Lee Morgan) are rendered as though they are in the room with you.
These are the largest in the series so they need a relatively large room, but with proper placement (and use of the ’bungs’ they provide) bass response can be anything from understated to overwhelming. Off-axis listening is hardly a compromise with the horn treatment as well. There is ZERO compression (used in the audible sense, not referring to the driver) at insanely high volumes and they have between 91db and 93db sensitivity, so they are also very pleasant at lower volumes. They do have the tendency to be very revealing at any frequency above the crossover point at 1.5kHz, but with the right system feeding them, they have become my ’reference’ large room speaker, as silly as that might sound for a guy in his 40s who’s been tinkering with hi-fi since the mid 1980s. There is a very slight dropoff in lower midrange frequencies befitting the fact that it's a 2.5 way design and that it's 8" woofers being asked to move lots of air for bass, but also to handle baritone frequencies. Someone above me made a similar comment about the Everests or K2s, so it made sense to me.
I imagine the Everests sound awesome, especially with the right system, but they are way too damn expensive strictly on the basis of the main technologies and types of drivers utilized. Direct radiating loudspeakers with compression drivers simply don't need to cost $44,000 a pair to engineer or manufacture. I’m sure the cabinets are rock solid and made of the best materials, as they weigh a ton, but still no matter how much disposable income I had anything over $10K for a speaker system strikes me as conspicuous excess and a status symbol rather than a means of enjoying your music. Plus, if you’re going to spend that much on speakers, what are you going to drive them with? You’d almost be compelled to buy a $5K power cable for your amp, LOL - and the amp itself would probably cost $20K.
In summary the reason that the Everest is not that "popular" in the U.S. is because they aren’t practical speakers for anyone but obscenely wealthy hedge fund managers. That’s not intended to be a hateful or mean comment, nor does it convey any jealousy, but again I think that it’s very unlikely there are no speakers that cost less than half the cost of Everests which would be just as suitable to even the richest person’s listening preferences, and I say once again that they’re more a status symbol than an audio component. I still wouldn't hesitate to give them a listen if I got the chance and even better compare them in an A/B situation with equally expensive LS or even "budget" models.
I’m not the biggest fan of the form factor or the build quality (tho it’s not bad), but in the right system these things are simply unequaled for the price and probably for a few grand more. Disclosure: I only bought them because Harman reduced the price to $474 each on their ebay store last December. I’m glad I did.
All the glowing YouTube and written reviews are true - the Studio 5XX series compression/horn setup is unreal and offers a level of ’intimacy’ and detail that you really will be surprised to hear. Voices - and certain instruments like saxophone (think Stan Getz) or trumpet (Lee Morgan) are rendered as though they are in the room with you.
These are the largest in the series so they need a relatively large room, but with proper placement (and use of the ’bungs’ they provide) bass response can be anything from understated to overwhelming. Off-axis listening is hardly a compromise with the horn treatment as well. There is ZERO compression (used in the audible sense, not referring to the driver) at insanely high volumes and they have between 91db and 93db sensitivity, so they are also very pleasant at lower volumes. They do have the tendency to be very revealing at any frequency above the crossover point at 1.5kHz, but with the right system feeding them, they have become my ’reference’ large room speaker, as silly as that might sound for a guy in his 40s who’s been tinkering with hi-fi since the mid 1980s. There is a very slight dropoff in lower midrange frequencies befitting the fact that it's a 2.5 way design and that it's 8" woofers being asked to move lots of air for bass, but also to handle baritone frequencies. Someone above me made a similar comment about the Everests or K2s, so it made sense to me.
I imagine the Everests sound awesome, especially with the right system, but they are way too damn expensive strictly on the basis of the main technologies and types of drivers utilized. Direct radiating loudspeakers with compression drivers simply don't need to cost $44,000 a pair to engineer or manufacture. I’m sure the cabinets are rock solid and made of the best materials, as they weigh a ton, but still no matter how much disposable income I had anything over $10K for a speaker system strikes me as conspicuous excess and a status symbol rather than a means of enjoying your music. Plus, if you’re going to spend that much on speakers, what are you going to drive them with? You’d almost be compelled to buy a $5K power cable for your amp, LOL - and the amp itself would probably cost $20K.
In summary the reason that the Everest is not that "popular" in the U.S. is because they aren’t practical speakers for anyone but obscenely wealthy hedge fund managers. That’s not intended to be a hateful or mean comment, nor does it convey any jealousy, but again I think that it’s very unlikely there are no speakers that cost less than half the cost of Everests which would be just as suitable to even the richest person’s listening preferences, and I say once again that they’re more a status symbol than an audio component. I still wouldn't hesitate to give them a listen if I got the chance and even better compare them in an A/B situation with equally expensive LS or even "budget" models.