The writers at Part Time Audiophile have swooned over the Joseph Audio speakers/demos for years.
Two of the main writers agreed if they were ever to settle down with one speaker, it would be the Joseph Audio Perspectives.
New Joseph Audio Pulsar Graphene 2
Just wanted to update my prior thread where this topic may have gotten lost. As many of you may know by now, Joseph Audio has come out with the new Pulsar Graphene 2. This new iteration of the venerable Pulsars has a graphene coated magnesium midrange-woofer cone, and the drive motor, suspension system, etc., have been revamped. From what I have been told, the upgrade is pretty significant ... the sound is fuller and has greater ease, yet is very resolved. Jeff Joseph advises that an upgrade path will be available for existing owners of the Pulsars, too. Also, note that the price quoted in the Soundstage piece was in Canadian dollars ... Jeff informs me that the price in USD is $8,999 per pair. I am eager to hear the new Pulsars.
Showing 50 responses by prof
Thanks Mark. Certainly a promising show report! Note that stereophile’s editor mentioned in the comments section that John Atkinson has a follow up review of the Perspective2 coming in the July issue. I’ll be VERY interested in that review as his earlier review of the Perspectives raised some eye-brows, seemingly a luke-warm review. As mentioned earlier in this thread Stereophile is also reviewing the Pulsar2s. |
Great, thanks for letting us know darren. I get the feeling the new graphene models will have upped the popularity of the Joseph Pulsar/Perspective speakers. I'm really intrigued by what JA at Stereophile will have to say about the new Perspectives in the July issue. Apparently he's already written the review. |
kenjit, You can often find John Atkinson of Stereophile describing various deficiencies or oddities he's hearing in a speaker, whether he's reviewing it, or explaining his measurements. JA expressed clear reservations about the performance of the original Joseph Audio Perspectives - found them a bit too bright/unforgiving in the upper frequencies, and found the bass to be less defined than he'd like. So I'm curious if he will find the new version sounds different in those parameters. |
Essentially JA has lost his hearing and wants you to hear like he does, and for the most part he’s accomplished it. You can’t possibly mean that the speakers I like has been decided by my reading what JA has written....can you? I mean, it couldn’t be that I have heard the speakers in question, before JA did his review, and found he reported what I heard? I liked the Perspectives more, it seems, than JA did. He raved much more about speakers that leave me cold. I also love the Devore speakers which JA would never want to own.
Really? Atkinson has raved about the Revel Salon2 speakers, stating: John Atkinson wrote: That the Salon2 can offer such resolution along with the ability to play at high levels with full-range low frequencies, and has a neutral, uncolored midrange, and offers superbly well-defined and stable stereo imaging, and has silky-smooth top octaves courtesy its beryllium-dome tweeter, and features sonic coherence from bottom to top of the audioband, makes it both a Class A speaker in Stereophile’s "Recommended Components" listing, and gave me no choice but to make it my "Editor’s Choice" for Stereophile’s 2008 Component of the Year. And enough of the magazine’s reviewers agreed with me that the Salon2 was also voted Joint Loudspeaker of 2008. The Revel speakers certainly do not fit this standard B&W wonky frequency response profile you insist JA favors to the exclusion of more neutral speakers. Are you saying you DIYers would never build anything like the Revel speakers that JA found to be superb? That would say more about you guys, than JA ;-) This is why, when I actually look at the breadth of Atkinson’s comments and reviews, I find that you need to cherry-pick your examples in order to support your thesis, ignoring instances (as you are again downplaying his Perspectives review) that don’t support your view of him. Anyway, been through this before. That’s my last comment on that, back to the Joseph Audio discussion. |
JA at Stereophile is the last person whose hearing I would trust. Disagree. I know dissing JA is a hobby horse of yours, but I find him to be quite perceptive. The measurements of the Perspectives showed characteristics (e.g. rising treble response, bass node at least in his room) that matched his subjective report pretty well. (He also often hears artifacts, ratified in his measurements, that his other reviewers sometimes miss). |
erik, Then how do you explain that JA found the Perspectives to be on the bright, unforgiving side, and his later measurements (taken afterwards) supported what he perceived? He correctly perceived what his measurements later showed. And he didn’t like the brightness. Having auditioned the original Perspectives numerous times, and in my own room as well, I found JA’s review quite perceptive - he heard what I heard. I could find the Perspectives brighter and a bit more "scrunch down my ears" on material that don’t sound as bright on many other speakers. I also found the bass could be a bit "woofy" at the bottom. Obviously that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t buy them, as I’m clearly enamored by the Perspectives. I think the way the Perspectives manage to sound so smooth and free of grain or etch allows them to have that rising top end without the usual costs of uncomfortable treble found in other speakers. So in most cases what you get is a superb sense of clarity, aliveness and detail retrieval, but sometimes that rising top end does show itself. That’s one reason why I’m intrigued by comments by Mark and others that the speaker’s top end and midrange sounds even smoother and more refined in the new model. And with tighter bass. If Joseph Audio has managed to keep what I love about the Perspectives while addressing those concerns, that would be just the ticket. As JA was pretty much the only reviewer who reported exactly those characteristics, I’m glad he’s the one doing the follow up review. I've found JA to be among the most perceptive, straight-shooting reviewers in the subjective reviewing trade. |
It looks like this website will be reviewing the new Perspective 2: https://www.monoandstereo.com/2019/05/alluxity-and-joseph-audio-at-munich.html |
Another nice show report on the Perspective2: https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2019/05/15/joseph-purist-alluxity-doshi-high-end-2019/ |
More reports... http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/munich-high-end-2019-loudspeakers/ ABSOLUTE SOUND: "Joseph Audio’s $15k Perspective2 Graphene two-and-a-halfway sourced by a Technics tape deck was, alongside the Elac Carina (see below), the best buy I came across in Munich—just wonderful on an Elvis tape of spirituals and a Wes Montgomery tape as well. The sound was outstandingly solid, edgeless, powerful, and well defined." |
I appreciate the experience and knowledge you bring to this, erik. I personally am downplaying my own expectations of what I'll hear with the new graphene version. As to inferring the sonic significance of the new drivers, it seems to me that we'd have to consider both whatever alterations have been made to the drivers AND whatever alterations Jeff Joseph may have made to the design in redoing his crossovers etc. A number of people reporting conversations with Jeff say Jeff talked about significant work on the new design, so perhaps it includes some alterations that re-voice slightly, or further optimize the design. Does that make sense? |
The new Joseph Graphene speakers sure have received a lot of great reports, especially the perspectives. They seem to be featuring in many people’s Best Of Show for Axpona and Munich. Jonathan Valin included them as BIS for Munich, Myles Astor as well, Part Time Audiophile, as well as great notices from many other audio web sites. It suggests Jeff Joseph has some real winners on his hands. A couple more notices: Positive Feedback: https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/impressions-my-audio-oasis-awards-from-axpona-2019-par...
The Sound Advocate: https://www.thesoundadvocate.com/2019/05/joseph-audio-perspective-and-pulsar-updates-axpona-2019/
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I just received my digital version of the July Stereophile in which John Atkinson does a follow up review of the new Perspective2 Graphene speakers. JA’s review of the original Perspectives caused some head-scratching because it seemed somewhat reserved, with some obvious caveats - the speakers "didn’t work" in one reviewers room and JA, despite saying some good things about the clarity and imaging, mentioned concerns about too much high frequency presence leading to brightness and less than well controlled bottom end. I’d say that I generally agreed with JA’s original review. Though I was far more smitten with the Perspectives than JA, I did find that some tracks I’m used to sounded a bit ear-squelching on the Perspectives, and the bottom end could get a bit bloomy. Those were my main concerns with the speaker - especially as I have sensitive ears - so I was very interested in JA’s follow up on the new version. Turns out he was super impressed. He wrote that the high frequencies were now a bit more linear and less emphasized (both measurably and audibly), allowing him to listen at high levels with no discomfort at all, to the same recordings that he had found too bright in the first version. He was really impressed with the bass punch and depth, saying the pitch control rivaled sealed-box designs. As well, JA mentioned he could play the speakers very loud without a sense of compression or harshness or obscuring of fine orchestral detail. Measurements showed the Perspective2 to be essentially the same sensitivity as the previous (even a tiny bit lower possibly), with slight changes in impedance here and there, and with a more linear high frequency. Overall it seemed to me a clear, unreserved...even rave. review, saying the Perspective2 is a "superbly balanced" loudspeaker that he recommended over the original. Sounds like just the ticket for me if I ever get the funds together! |
Yes Mark, that whole review was as high praise as I've seen from Atkinson. He was clearly taken by the speaker. Funny how even a little tweak can change things. I bet Jeff Joseph was eager to get the new speaker to Stereophile knowing it was tweaked in just the ways Atkinson would approve of. (Not that Joseph did the design just for Stereophile of course). |
markalarsen Wow, you also have YG Carmels? Those are supposed to be terrific speakers! I guess you have two systems? What do you like about your YG speakers? BTW, agreed about pulling speakers out from the back wall as a general principle. It's almost always worked best for me, and since I switched my room around some years ago giving me more restricted placement options, fortunately speakers still end up about 4 feet out from the back wall to the back of the speaker. (Currently my Thiel speakers are about 66" from back wall to the tweeters, and I get really even sound). |
As a prospective future customer for the Joseph speakers, my worry remains based on the many reports of "richer bass" that the Perspective 2s may overload my room. The original Perspectives were on the edge. My room is actually very good for getting even bass from most speakers, and I've yet to have any speaker truly be a problem bass-wise, but it always depends on the design of the speaker, too. |
Cool story, bro! They way you tell it, I'm sure it was Jeff Joseph who was being the jerk in that conversation. I'm never going to buy a pair of his speakers! And thanks for the insight on those speakers! I'm definitely going to heed your balanced, considered words of wisdom on the sound of Joseph speakers, Kef LS50 and Blades, over the many rave reviews and my own ears. |
allhifi, No, not mine, but perhaps every single professional review on any of the current KEF Reference -and critical/expert listener’s/owners themselves. ....^^^^ Says the guy who wrote this: allhifi: Kef Blades and/or LS50 are the shitty KEF’s Vs this:
https://www.stereophile.com/content/kef-blade-two-loudspeaker-measurements#gLZULFLJp20LuMl1.99 The Blades were universally raved, and the LS50 were so widely praised they became a hugely popular modern classic. Note also that reviews for the Joseph Pulsar speakers are universally RAVE reviews. But don’t let that little "consistency" problem bother you of ignoring opinions that don’t support your claims. You go right on telling us what’s-what in the hi-fi world. |
For anyone who doesn't have a Stereophile subscription and who was interested in JA's follow up review of the Perspective 2 Graphene, that follow up review is not online here: https://www.stereophile.com/content/joseph-audio-perspective-loudspeaker-perspective2-graphene JA now seems to recommend the Perspectives without any reservations. |
Some people keep mistaking their "opinion" as objective reality. Yes KEF Reference speakers get good reviews. So do the Joseph speakers, which you just ignore because you are so fixated on dissing them and pumping up KEF speakers. I could absolutely FLOOD this page with rave reviews for the Joseph speakers, from pro reviews to show reports to owners. But why bother? Not gonna make a dent in your bizarre obsession with trying to push people to the KEF speakers. Why does it mean so much to you to enter a thread on Joseph speakers and trumpet "The speaker I like is WAY better than the speaker YOU like!!" There are many fine products, the Joseph speakers are one of them getting constant rave reviews. People have different tastes than you. Why not deal with that in a more mature way instead of producing flame bait? |
IMO, if people cannot describe their “feeling” when they listen, there is close to zero value to their input. Personally, I have no use for people describing their "feelings" when describing audio gear. If they can relay how it sounds, that's helpful.But emotional reactions completely vary between people - I can be utterly unmoved by a speaker that makes someone else swoon.(And that's also why "sounds like music" is the most useless phrase in all of audio reviewing). |
However JA price increases have gone too far for me. Same here. I’d planned on buying new Perspectives a year ago, had to wait, and now the Perspective 2s are too much too afford (much worse here in Canada). So my only hope at this point is snagging a pair of used original Perspectives. (And then when money permits, send them to Jeff for the upgrade them to graphene 2). |
The introduction of the new Pearl3 Graphene has garnered many enthusiastic notices. Here’s one from The Absolute Sound: http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/rocky-mountain-audio-fest-2019-loudspeakers/ Best sound, cost-no-object: "I could have gone Vandersteen, Wilson, or YG but my heart kept returning to the Joseph Pearl 3 with Berkeley Audio Design sourcing Doshi Audio power. Even in a smallish room the sound was effortless, and brimming with musicality and warmth. Take my money, please." Joseph has been demoing versions of the Pearl for years, often garnering among the best-of-show mentions, so it's seems odd that it's never been reviewed anywhere! I'd really enjoy reading what TAS of Stereophile would say of Joseph's flagship. |
Heh, I just set up the MBLs because the buyer wants to listen before buying. I played some stuff and thought "what am I crazy? These are insane!" But...they just don’t end up getting as much play in my system as they deserve, and ultimately a pair of fuller range floor standing speakers will suit me better. The Joseph speakers are something of a gamble too. I know what I really like about them, but also remember an issue or two, but as it sounds like the Graphene version addressed those issues it looks like I’ll roll the dice. I have back up speakers I love if they don’t work out :-) |
It's looking more like I will have some Perspectives in my early future.Local dealers are selling off their demo models. I have money left over from selling my Thiel 3.7 speakers and I just listed my MBL 121 monitors. They literally sold in 5 minutes! I hope to grab a pair of used Perspective (1s) within the next week, if things go as hoped. Then the plan would be to upgrade them to the Graphene version when I can. |
astewart, I'm pretty close, but I'm holding off pulling the trigger until I figure a couple things out. mapman, I didn't quite follow your last post. IMO: The Joseph Perspectives have a disappearing/soundstaging/imaging act that can remind me of the MBLs to a degree, and a similar type of transparency (though hard to beat the MBL), but with some more richness in the midrange and a more traditional sense of drive in the bass. |
mapman, Believe me, I couldn't let go of the MBLs for the last ten years! I truly thought I would never sell them as they were a "unicorn speaker"I happened upon for a once-in-a-lifetime price. But given I switch around my speakers I couldn't help but notice other speakers spending more time in my system, a bit easier-listening, traditional speakers (and some floorstanders like the Thiels with deeper bass). I'd put the MBLs in and go "wow" for a while, but for whatever reason other speakers would end up as my mainstay. I actually have a very good room for the MBLs, one designed with an acoustician, and with very good flexibiity in terms of modulating how much reflectivity is happening. So I dialed in those MBLs really nicely. I set them up again the night before the buyer was to show up and was again gobsmacked at what they could do in terms of imaging and transparency, even these small MBL 121s could do an amazingly persuasive orchestral spread - very convincing for eyes-closed listening. |
I did consider a sub, in fact bought two JL subs with the JL audio crossover (was going to use them with my Thiels too). The whole sub thing was such a hassle I put it on hold. I've hung on to the subs and crossover in case I feel the need to even out the bass in a speaker, for instance if the Joseph speakers prove at all problematic in the bass. |
^^^ Well...that was snippy! celo’s point is not unreasonable. Many audiophiles, myself included, have listened to various speakers within a company's line, and have found that certain designs hit a sweet spot to our ears. In other words, I may find a model in the mid/upper range that pushes all my buttons, and while the bigger, more expensive model may sound bigger, it may not necessarily sound "better" to my ears. Adding ever more complexity doesn’t determine better sonics.It certainly CAN, but doesn’t always. Now, whether this is the case with Joseph Audio I can’t say. I heard the Pearls once, with limited content and they were amazing. And Jeff Joseph is a heck of a speaker designer, so I would not be surprised if the Pearls outperform the Perspectives. But celo was making a general point that on principle is valid: bigger and more expensive does not automatically entail better. Many of us have direct experience of this, so it’s best not to assume. |
riaa_award_collectors_on_facebook So do you actually disagree with the point that bigger and more expensive doesn't mean "better?" Like celo, I've heard $100,000 speakers that I would never take over my Joseph Perspectives (or my Thiel 2.7s). Surely you can agree with that main point? And if you can dial down the confrontational attitude a bit... You own the Pearls? How do you like them? And I would be interested in knowing that long list of speakers you own. |
Re-visiting this thread since I’ve been happily listening to my JA Perspectives for several weeks. They continue to stun me with their clarity, resolution and tonal finesse.The upper frequencies are so extended and pure, when certain drum cymbals or tiny chimes/metal triangles etc are played, they have this amazing "pop in the room" presence and super realistic tone. And wow, the bass quantity and quality! The comments that intrigue me most about the new Graphene version are that it’s actually more resolution. That’s almost hard to conceive of given how much the original Perspectives seem to be putting out in my room. |
radiohead, I look forward to reading about your experience with the new Perspectives. I hope I’m in a position to send mine in for the upgrade some time in the next year. But I’m sure enjoying this original pair. The Perspectives are certainly dynamic. I especially hear this with drummers, where I’m made aware of their emphasis, slamming the bass drum harder for this shot, cymbal splashes jumping out with energy. Interesting what you say about the Devore Super 9s (as those were on my list to audition - never did) being dynamically restrained and not great for all types of music. I would have thought the opposite (and I think I’ve seen at least one reviewer who felt the opposite). The JA speakers maintain their signature clarity and ease no matter how complex the music becomes, or as the volume increases. I was actually a bit worried that I’d find them a tad bright and opt for lower volume listening. It’s been completely the opposite. They are so relaxed and pure sounding that I find myself playing them louder, without ears bothering me, than any speaker I’ve owned before. -------------- riaa, I myself was tormented in choosing between the JA and the Devore O speakers, so I can completely understand why someone would move from one to the other. The Devores excel in a sense of palpable "in room" texture, density and palpability. |
There was some discussion about the graphene coating and IIRC seas also emphasized it's use for preventing, I think, Oxydization especially in certain climates. So I think there is truth to what gadios wrote. However, the new Graphene Seas drivers were more than the coating - other aspects of the driver were re-designed, which is one reason the crossovers had to be re-designed/tweaked for their use. All together, with the sight changes in the drivers and Jeff Joseph tweaking the crossovers, it makes sense the new Joseph Graphene speakers would have evolved their sound somewhat. My local JA dealer finally got the graphene Perspectives in so I'll probably hear them this week or next week. |
cd318 I believe that, in the right hands, the problems with metal drivers were mitigated long ago. In fact, it was Paul Hales' Transcendence series of speakers in the late 90's, using the Seas drivers of the time, that ameliorated my "fear" of metal drivers. I'd never heard sound so smooth, so utterly grain free and timbrally beautiful as when I encountered those speakers (I ended up with the Hales T5 floor standers, now gone, but I still own the Hales T1 and T Center channel speakers using the same seas drivers, similar to the Josephs, and they have this purity. I find the Joseph speakers improve on this with some greater dynamics and clarity). |
Righto... So today I dropped in to my JA dealer (who sold me my pair of original Perspectives a few months back), for a listen to the new Perspective2Graphene. Before I get to that: taking user reports and show reports all together, the consensus seemed to be "stronger, tighter bass, more refined and resolved midrange and highs, though most of the changes noticeable in the bass. I love my Perspectives, though of course no speaker is The Perfect Speaker for me. For instance, I know I’d also love the fuller, bigger, richer sound of the Devore O/96 speakers as well. And my Thiel 2.7s are also a bit richer/fuller sounding toward the top end as well. Since I’d consider upgrading my Perspectives to the graphene version when I have the money, I had a couple of concerns: Did the bass change so much that it would now overwhelm my room? My current Perspectives are just on the edge of doing this sometimes, though most of the time they are well controlled and I love the bass quality. Also, the new Perspectives measure flatter in the high end vs the uprising highs of the original. I wondered if possibly the descriptions of "smoother, more relaxed, easier on the ears" may have resulted in a darkening of the tone, less airy. And would they be a bit reticent dynamically in the upper mids/high frequencies? Unfortunately one aspect I could not get a handle on was the bass performance. The speakers were hampered by being too close together and too close to the wall behind them, making the bass sound overwarm and exaggerated on tracks with deep bass. So that was a bummer to not get a good handle on that. But aside from that, when the music wasn’t exciting the room bass nodes, the bass was nice. What I heard generally speaking was, yes, what seemed to be a somewhat more refined, resolved, clearer sound. The clarity and cleanliness and that grain-free quality was remarkable. I heard bits and pieces, say an acoustic guitar part in a familiar mix etc, seem to be more vividly resolved and tonally separated in the mix. And the high end weren’t at all dark sounding - they kept essentially the same tonal signature of the original. But it just felt like the level of resolution and clarity had taken a step forward. This was especially evident in some tracks with layered electric and acoustic guitars where the highs were realistically extended, grain free and very present. The layers of shimmering harmonics heard between all the guitars and the guitar strings were the best I’ve heard. The sound had a sense of "luxuriousness" in it’s ease, clarity and gorgeous tone of each element in a mix. To make sure they could rock I spun Rush’s 2112. The sound was rich, full and very punchy. All the track elements super clear and separated, and the tone of Geddy’s bass and especially Alex’s guitar, electric and acoustic, were rendered with a upper midrange/high frequency beauty...the guitar tone just shimmered with more complexity than on most speakers. Also, the electric guitars did seem a bit thicker and more substantial than back home on my Perspectives (this is where my Thiels give a bolder presentation in the upper mids with electric guitar). Not sure if this was a trait of the new speakers, or the large Sim Audio amps driving them. Back home, spinning several of the same tracks on my Thiels (currently in my system), the Thiels were as usual a somewhat richer, thicker sound, with very dense, round imaging, very organic and relaxing, but also dynamic. The main thing missing in the Thiels vs the Perspectives is the exquisite refinement of timbre up in to the higher frequencies. They miss that gorgeous sparkle and aliveness of the Perspectives. I love the Thiels’ bass which is both super in control, but dense and punchy. But the Perspectives (my Perspectives anyway) bass has even more roundness and punch/kick toward the listener, which makes bass guitar and drum kits (kick drum especially) feel more impactful and "in the room." Anyway, my hour-long demo of the Perspective2s left me with the impression that they are a slightly more refined version, which seem to retain what I like in my Perspectives. I’m a bit haunted by some of the sound quality I heard today so I’ll certainly consider upgrading my Perspectives when I have the money. Though for me the jury is still out about the bass quality. |
cd318 I've had to unlearn some intuitions along the way, or at least modify them. I agree there does seem to often be a certain character of cleanliness and clarity with metal driver speakers. And this can come with something of an acidic or metallic aftertaste on the tone. I also had the belief that metal dome tweeters did the sound of metal more authentically. That was undone when I heard a speaker like the Josephs, which use a soft dome tweeter but on which drum cymbals jumped out to me as particularly authentic and metallic-sounding. But if we are to stick with presuming for the moment the intuitions of how certain speakers sound due to their materials and build: something like the big fat ol' Devore speakers with their paper drivers sound particularly "organic," "woody/papery" where I just hear the wood in the body of an acoustic guitar, or the reedy tone of a reed instrument, or the vibrating wood of a cello. The sound is not electronic-edged, hard, metal-tinged. The Joseph speakers do an excellent job of providing the sonic benefits of a modern-sounding speaker with great metal drivers (woofer/mids anyway) so you get as you say that super clean, pure, "fast" sound.But Jeff Joseph has cannily designed in, or kept, a richness in the lower mids down that, gives some richness and body, which combine with the grain-free smoothness and clarity of the upper frequencies to make a very attractive, sensuous sound. They don't sound as bang-on organic to me as the Devore (or my Spendor) speakers overall. But they do surprisingly well and give a lot back by the sheer amount of beautiful harmonic content they dig out of a mix. My Thiels, particularly driven by my tube amps, are a sort of in-between the Devore and Joseph sound. I was listening to the opening track of the Bullit soundtrack which is great because it has guitar, drums, bass, and all sorts of different instrumentation, muted horns, horns, sax sections etc, flashing in and out out very dynamically. On my Thiels it's a big, rich, dense sound, satisfying in it's own way. There is what I'd call a "generalized organic tone" to everything. However, that same track played on the Joseph Perspective2s had a timbral aliveness, variety and vividness the Thiels can't seem to match.The exact tonal difference of the muted trumpets appearing, the wood/metal sound of the saxes, the guitar, are so timbrally distinct and vivid it's sort of like beholding a timbral display of fireworks.My original Perspectives also do this. Though my sense is the new Perspectives go a bit further. (Playing Rush on my Thiels last night was a blast. They go very loud without strain and do rock with a dense, punchy balls-to-the-wall energy). |
djones51 I actually meant to add: I've also heard the Perspectives a couple of times at the same dealer using the McIntosh Integrated tube amp (100W I believe...so same as yours?). Sounded great with that amp too. Though a bit more plumby in the bass. However, I find the Perspectives sound a bit flabby in that store generally speaking. Once I got them home and dialed in, powered by my CJ amps they are taught and well controlled. |
BTW, just spent a while listening to various excellent speakers at a pal's house (he has PMC, Epsilon, Aurelia, and others). Each has fine qualities, but none have the open, extended, utterly grain-free and harmonically rich top end and mids of the Joseph speakers, IMO.Listening to other such speakers feels like listening in black and white in timbral terms - the Josephs more like listening "in color." (Again...to my ears). |