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Phase Coherence or Time Alignment: Which More Imp?

This thread is really a follow on from a prior one that I let lapse. Thanks to everyone who contributed and helped me to better understand the importance of crossover design in building a loudspeaker. What I gathered from the last thread that there are opposing camps with different philosophies in crossover design. Leaving aside for a moment those that champion steep slope designs, my question is for those who have experience with speakers that are time aligned and/or phase coherent (using 1st order 6db per octave crossovers). Which is more important, phase coherence or time alignment? In other words, which more strongly influences the sound and performance of a loudspeaker? The reason I ask is because of the four speaker lines currently on my shortlist of floorstanders, three are either phase coherent or time aligned or both. The Wilson Benesch Curve's/ACT's and the Fried Studio 7 use 1st order crossovers but do not time align the drivers through the use of a slanted baffle. The Vandersteen 5's and the Quatro's both time align the drivers and use 1st order crossovers. I guess what I am asking is do you need to do both or is the real benefit in the crossover design? I'd appreciate your views.
BTW the other speaker is the Proac D25 and D38
dodgealum

Showing 4 responses by josephaud

josephaud
41 posts
 
Bigtee,

I went into the speaker business because I believe we have something special to offer. I think if you look at our track record, "best sound at show" year after, "speaker of the year"
excellent reviews, and a loyal group of Joseph Audio speaker owners who wouldn't give them up for anything else.

I care deeply about musical enjoyment, enough to want to share it with others - enough to bet the farm on others being able to hear it for themselves.
josephaud
41 posts
 
There are far too many variables from one system to another for you to conclude that the crossover method is the root cause of the difference. Our speakers are used by many discerning professionals who know what live music sounds like, since they are exposed to it every day.
josephaud
41 posts
 
The speakers in our room were not the Pearls but a new model called the RM55LE. I am glad to hear that you noticed the excellent image focus of our design - something that low order fans often cite as a benefit of that approach!

The sense of musicality is hard to define - it is by and large a subjective topic. I think for some it means a softer tonality or euphonic balance.

What it means to me is to experience the full expression that is part of the musician's interpretation. Dynamics and subtle details that rivet your attention not on the mechanical aspects of reproduced sound, but on the human heart beating within the performer(s). Another poster mentioned that when he listened to an LP on our system that the system itself seemed to "go away" - and that is the highest compliment one can hope for.

A euphonic system will sound more pleasant on poor recordings, but it can never sound real enough to bring the performance back to life.
josephaud
41 posts
 
Larry,

Great post.

In my opinion, the only manufacturer who really implements low order crossovers properly is Jim Thiel. His crossovers are complex, but he is much more advanced in his thinking than any other designer in that camp. If you took his speakers and ran them at moderate listening levels in a well damped listening environment and sat at just the right height you'd hear the best results that particular method has to offer.
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