T2+ vs JBL Studio 59

[eurorom]

I can not make a decision on which speakers to purchase next.
Two Stereo leasening only
12x25x15 Room
Average 95DB's peaks.
Class D amplifiers only
CD PLAYBACK ONLY

Which speakers would you recommend? And why?

[garbulky]

I didn't even have to think. The T2 is exceptional value and one of the best sounding speakers I've heard.

[brutiarti]

If they are the same price I will go with the direct to consumer company because I know I’m getting more for my money.

[Boomzilla]

I'll tell you why - and then which.

You listen LOUDLY! 95dB peaks are really, really LOUD. Your room isn't tiny, either. That means you'll be putting a LOT of Class D amplifier power to the speakers. My experience with speakers is that distortion rises with volume. It doesn't just rise a little - it rises a LOT. In fact, many speakers played at 95dB have SO much distortion that the output just sounds like a loud roar.

There are several ways to reduce distortion at a given volume. But the most common way is to reduce cone excursion. The less the cones have to move to produce 95dB, the less intermodulation distortion they'll produce. The Klipschorn, for example, is one of the lowest distortion speakers ever produced (which may be why it's still in production after all these years). The K-horns use a 15 inch woofer. That reduces cone travel at a given loudness. But they ALSO horn-load the bass (that further reduces cone movement by an order of magnitude).

So school is now out. You can't afford K-horns (mostly nobody can), but you CAN minimize cone movement in your speaker choices. The JBL Studio 590 (if I've got the right speaker) is a two-way system with two 8 inch mid-woofers. When you get them up to 95dB peaks, the midrange has some measurable intermodulation distortion where those cones are trying to BOTH reproduce the bass AND reproduce the midrange.

The Emotiva speakers, on the other hand, are 3-way speakers, where the midrange has its own driver and is unaffected by the bass. So if you care about midrange clarity, the Emotiva speakers should (at least in theory) do better.

But there's another option that you might want to think about. And that is - use a subwoofer. If you unload all the low bass frequencies to a dedicated sub, the cones in the main speakers don't have to move so much, therefore seriously reducing intermodulation distortion and making even loud volumes more clear and less distorted. Note that to gain this benefit, you MUST prevent those low frequencies from reaching your main speakers. This can be done with an electronic crossover or with digital signal processing.

In my opinion, to get 95dB peaks with clean sound, the 3-way Emotiva would be a better choice than the 2-way JBL. And the sound would get even cleaner if you unloaded the bass frequencies to a subwoofer.

Cordially - Boomzilla

PS: If you absolutely are unwilling to consider a subwoofer, you might want to check out the Magnat Transpuls 1500 speakers. They have 15 inch woofers and are also 3-way systems. They cost $1,000 per pair and will easily do 95dB peaks all day long - even in your room. They're well reviewed and are very popular in Europe.

[Sayer]

In addition to what Boomzilla said, the T2+ have a higher build quality as suggested in this review:
h-m-entertainment.com/jbl-studio-590-review

I have the T2+ and love them. They are set to "small" with the crossover set to 40hz. Everything below that goes to the subwoofer.
One thing I especially like is that even at lower volumes they sound very full and detailed. They are powered by an Emotiva XPA-5.

[housetech]

I agree with Boom about a subwoofer with two-way speakers and I'll add something few talk about that I found to be helpful. Since your system is stereo only, find a sub with high level inputs and outputs, run the stereo amp's output to the subwoofer High Level Input, then to the High Level Output to the speakers. Allow the sub's high pass filter to direct the low frequencies to the subwoofer and pass the frequencies the 2-way speakers (or any speaker) will reproduce better. I found the transition to be seamless in this configuration. I've talked with two audio engineers who strongly suggest this config.
I have quality 2-way bookshelves that sounded pretty good in full range, but when connected in the above configuration, the improvement was beyond anything I expected- they've never sound so clean. The other advantage of the configuration is the subwoofer is between the two speakers and they seemed to image better. 
I quit doing that configuration for years and used the processors crossover, then went back to it and it's the only way I'll run a 2-chan system now.

r
Image of High Level speaker connections.
These type subwoofers also allow the use of a totally analogue amplifier to be a 2.1 system.

[drtrey3]

In my room the T2s run straight no chaser or subwoofer. I miss the big black speaker for boom boom movies but for music it is not an issue.

Trey

[eurorom]

So I placed an order for the great T2+ speakers…which Amplifier do you guys recommend and why? Since my speakers are 4 ohms I want to make sure the Amplifier that I use does not overheat nor shots down. Mainly music, ocational movie in 2 channel Dolby mode. So it has to hit the 105dbs on peaks at 10 ft from speakers. Peaks of 95dbs.
Looking forward to your suggestions. Oh! It must be an Emotiva Amplifier.

[garbulky]

Dec 30, 2021 17:31:39 GMT -5 eurorom said:

So I placed an order for the great T2+ speakers…which Amplifier do you guys recommend and why? Since my speakers are 4 ohms I want to make sure the Amplifier that I use does not overheat nor shots down. Mainly music, ocational movie in 2 channel Dolby mode. So it has to hit the 105dbs on peaks at 10 ft from speakers. Peaks of 95dbs.
Looking forward to your suggestions. Oh! It must be an Emotiva Amplifier.

Emotiva makes no class D amplifiers. But they used to make the emotiva pa-1 that you could probably get used for $230-250. These are fully balanced monoblock class D amps using a low powered ICE module. However for those extremely loud peaks it may not be enough. I don't know what you're budget is but I can't think of any amp better than the XPA-1 gen 2 or the XPA-2 gen 2 - these will be used or Emotiva may have some old B-stock for you if you call them. I can't reccomend the current gen 3. But if you must then the XPA-2 gen 3 will have the power you want.

[Sayer]

Dec 30, 2021 17:31:39 GMT -5 eurorom said:

So I placed an order for the great T2+ speakers…which Amplifier do you guys recommend and why? Since my speakers are 4 ohms I want to make sure the Amplifier that I use does not overheat nor shots down. Mainly music, ocational movie in 2 channel Dolby mode. So it has to hit the 105dbs on peaks at 10 ft from speakers. Peaks of 95dbs.
Looking forward to your suggestions. Oh! It must be an Emotiva Amplifier.

I run the T2+, C2+, and B1+ using an XPA-5. Sounds fantastic. Something that surprised me with this combination is how full and dynamic they sound even at lower volume levels.

The crossover on the XMC-2 for the T2+ are set to 40hz, everything below goes to the subwoofer. This allows the T2+ to sound very clear and tight in their bass response.