Joseph Audio Perspectives (originals) - Rendition of symphony orchestras

I don’t have any first-hand experience with the Joseph audio perspectives, so take this with as many grains of salt as you wish. I’m sure they are great speakers and I’ve seen many positive reviews. However, Stereophile reported and measured that the original perspectives have a pretty lively top end which could impact the tone and timber of classical music. When I hear tone & timber & classical music, I tend to think of a flat or slightly dampened treble response. Secondly, there’s only so much bass slam that a 2 1/2 way speaker with 5.5 inch mid range/woofers can generate. You may need a speaker with bigger drivers

nightrunner,


I own the Joseph Perspectives (original).   I also own Thiel 2.7 floor standing speakers (which replaced my larger Thiel 3.7 flagships). 



When I had to replace my big Thiel 3.7s it was tough because I was looking for a smaller speaker that still had to "play and sound big."


The two speakers that did that best, in my auditions, where the Joseph Perspectives and the Devore O/96 and O/93 speakers.


The Josephs play all music with dynamics and almost peerless timbral purity, IMO.    Given their size, they are outstanding on orchestral music because they have this ability to "puff up and sound larger" when demanded, e.g. orchestral climaxes.   John Atkinson noted being thrilled with this aspect in his review too.


They have a way of swelling dynamically, the bass rumbling forward like waves, as the music swells, making for a very "emotional" connection beautifully in tune with the dynamics of classical music.  (I like classical music, but I'm an even bigger soundtrack fanatic, so my speakers had to be great for this stuff).


Now, my larger Thiel speakers do sound more rich and full, top to bottom, giving the actual orchestral instrument sizes a bit more heft. And the Devore speakers went even further in this regard.  Strings on the Devore sound thicker and more substantial than on the Joseph speakers.


The flipside is the Josephs have such timbral precision and beauty that it helps make up ground this way.   In fact during one audition of the Josephs it was listening to some Ravel pieces I knew well that stuck in my mind.   The sheer timbral realism, the way horns cut through with such metallic, but subtle brassiness, the boxy woodiness of the string tone, the reedy sound of the woodwinds, literally raised the hair on my arms with how much it reminded me of the sound of a real orchestra.


And they have continued to amaze me since I've owned them.


So...yes they convey the feel and dynamics of orchestra music beautifully.  You feel it.   And they are gorgeous in tonal reproduction.And they can cast an enormous soundstage.   I've sometimes spread them up to 9 feet apart (seating 7 feet away), with no loss of center-fill, and the entire wall behind them just melts away in to a giant stage.  I was playing one of my favourite soundtracks, Conan The Barbarian, a newer performance release, and it was just insane on the Perspectives.   Huge, thundering kettle drums and roaring deep brass, absolutely thrilling.



They are bettered by some other speakers in terms of the sense of body and heft to instruments, string sections etc, which is one of the reasons I also like the Devore speakers and my Thiels.   But neither of those better the clarity and timbral realism of the Josephs.


Your Pass amp should work perfect with the Josephs.  I have conrad johnson premier 12 tube monoblocks, 140W/side and they work great.  Though a Bryston 4B3 I borrowed, 300w, did give symphonic music that much more solidity and realism.


Hope that helps.

OK, glad you responded prof.  The  (epic) quest you documented "here" drove me to look at the Perspectives in the first place.
The only other serious option for me is the Reynaud Orfeo (Jubile).
Have been entertained, educated (and inspired?) by your reportage.  Thanks for that.

I have a 2.3 watt tube amp (Decware) that does solo and small ensemble acoustic music in a way that works very well for me (using a speaker designed by them).  But it's unfair to say it only does that small corner of musical reproduction.  And I don't know where I'd draw the line on the continuum from where it excels to symphony orchestras but I do want something that reproduces that sound - that end of the spectrum.

I've also looked at the Thiel 3.7's and a pair is available (for the time being ... ).  Gawd those things seem too big and heavy.