New Speakers ... Can't Stop "Listening"

Agreed about the JA speakers.

My test for if a speaker might be for me or not is the "can I get up and leave or not?" when listening.  Some speakers just pin me to the chair making me want to listen to track after track, and the JA speakers do that for me when I've auditioned them.  It's that magic clarity, warmth and incisiveness.  They have the to my ears incredibly rare attribute of "surprisingness."  That is, the timbral nature of voices and instruments seems so clear and distinct, that I can't exactly predict how a new instrument will sound.  For most speakers once I hear drum cymbals, or a sax or a trumpet etc I pretty much know how those instruments will sound through those speakers from then on.  But the Josephs seem to mirror a more life-like sense of revelation.

I remember putting on some vocal tracks - Chet Baker, Julie London, mono recordings - and I was absolutely struck at how they sounded like I'd never heard before.  A certain clarity all the way through the voice to the furthest away instruments and even though the instruments were all jangled together in the center (mono) each was distinctly clear with it's own timbral voice.  And the voices had a particular "that's a real person" realism.  A similar experience to hearing voices through Harbeth speakers, the way Harbeth "gets' the human voice in a way most speakers don't.  The JAs don't sound exactly like the Harbeths with voices but for me they do a similarly compelling portrayal of voice.

dweller,

Indeed.

This "can't stop listening" evaluation is obviously subjective.

I have a problem when people move from their own subjective reaction to a speaker/system to declarations of some objective form "this speaker plays music, others don't!" or "this speaker is one you can't stop listening to!"

Like any other audiophile, I've sat in front of systems that turn the crank of others, but which have left me cold and bored.  So I have no reason to ever say "B&W speakers are boring or don't play music in a captivating manner"  as if it were some objective truth.

kalali,

Good post!

I agree about how speaker drivers behave in the hands of different speaker designers.

The first time I ever liked a speaker with metal drivers was encountering Paul Hales "Transcendence" speaker designs.  Paul was (is?) a wizard with crossover design and he brought the best out of those drivers.  I still own some Transcendence speakers, which use Seas drivers like the JA speakers.  The Hales have a purity of tone and lack of hash similar to the JA speakers.  So at least my first inclination is to attribute some of that signature to the drivers, but clearly both designers knew how to get the best out of them.

The Perspectives are near the top of my list of most attractive looking speakers.  It's a smart, contemporary look with a killer level of finish and craftsmanship.

erik,

Since you are here....

A very common reaction to the JA sound, one that I have as well, is finding it to be particularly clear and grain-free.  A really "black background" as it were with a particular purity to the sound.

Can you notice anything in particular about the design that might account for this?

Good job pc997! 

(I feel like I just spoke a line from a Star Wars movie...)

How do you find your speakers compare to some of the comparable commercially built models?

Sure sounded great on the video :-)

I love my Thiel 2.7s but If I find something even lower profile that I like I'll buy them.

At this point I believe I've narrowed it down to between the Joseph Perspective or possibly the Devore O/96s or 93s.  Two different sounds, but both grab me with their beautiful design, finishes and sound.  (Though I've only had one audition of the Devores).

gnason,

Have you considered the JA Perspectives?

Jeff Joseph said he was trying to essentially make a more affordable, and living-room friendly sized Pearl.
In fact he'd mentioned to me that it was in designing and voicing the Perspectives that he'd thought he'd made advances that he'd like to incorporate into the Pearls, hence afterward he made the Pearl "3" version.

I’ve only heard the Pearl 3’s once, but the Perspectives seemed to carry over that type of midrange quality and purity, and sound plenty big for their size.