Incoming ... Joseph Audio Pulsars
markalarsen, So do I understand you are using the Perspectives without a subwoofer now? As for speakers: I find pretty much every speaker sounds better if the source, or associated equipment, is providing a better signal. Certainly every of the very many speakers I've owned, large and small, have been that way. So I'm very used to the upgraditus ;-) |
Excellent question -- Pulsars with subs v. Perspectives -- and
I have done both. The third option is
Perspectives with subs. Using the
Pulsars with a set of subwoofers, if they can be integrated, works well. I used a DEQX to integrate them. I was running the Perspectives with a DEQX and dual subs in an awful room. Seven foot ceilings, strange shape, slate floor, culminating in an incredibly bright room. I decided to replace a pair of Magnepan 20.1s with the Perspectives in an easy room. I am running the Perspectives without a DEQX. What I like about them in a big, wide room is the integration of the bass and midrange.The answer as to which combination you like best, I would suggest, is going to be room dependent. The other comment I would make about both the Pulsars and the Perspectives is that they respond to the input, good or bad. The better the electronics, the better they sound. The better the recording, the better they sound. This is my measure as to what makes a speaker excellent. I have a friend with Pulsars who is using Bel Canto Black EX (so 4 to 5 times the cost of electronics v. speakers). My Perspectives are feed with the very best PS Audio electronics (2 to 1 ratio in favor of electronics). |
@markalarsen Thanks. Any reason you chose Perspectives vs Pulsars with a subwoofer? When I was shopping the JA speakers I wasn't thinking subwoofer (because I usually hate subs) but I'm giving some JL subs a go soon in my current set up with my Thiel speakers. Did you also find the Pulsars to be a bit noticeably warm in the upper bass (goosed up a tiny bit)? As I said, that's one thing I noticed with the Perspectives, a more even sound through the mids/lower mids/bass. And in the store auditions, the Perspectives general bass presentation really grabbed me - really fun and tonal and energetic. So it was the Perspectives that I demoed at home. They had the most ravishing midrange and general presentation and if I had one question mark it was actually the lower bass. I noticed on some material a bit of "puffy" quality attached to the bass, something that sort of reached out and mildly annoyed my ears occasionally. I didn't have time to find out if this was something that I could dial out, or if it wouldn't be an issue on most material, but it did leave a question mark. (And my room is generally good with bass response - my big Thiels for instance are quite smooth in the bass in my room). My thinking is that if I get some experience working subwoofers into a system, then if indeed the Perspectives aren't as linear as I'd like in the lower bass, crossing them over to a sub (and some room correction - I have a Dspeaker Anti-node) could be the fix. Of course I also think about the Pulsars with a sub, which would be less money. But for one thing it's hard to shake the Perspectives as they made such an impression on me. The other is I much prefer the Perspectives aesthetically. (I just found out I have a Devore Fidelity dealer nearby so I'm going to check those out as well, since they get great reviews.) |
@prof ... right on! Copeland is an amazing drummer, and you can really hear every hi-hat stroke through the Pulsars. Also, check out "Walking on the Moon" ... I have listened to that song a gazillion times through my B&Ws and had never before heard Andy Summers' guitar doing the rhythm "chuck" in between verses. Now, it's loud and clear. I love those moments. It's like having a whole new CD collection. Amazing! |
@rlb61 Ha! We really are on the same wavelength. I just recently got my new Transrotor turntable up and running - my leap into high end vinyl playback - and last night my album of choice was... Regatta de Blanc! My old copy. It actually sounded incredible. Both the recording and performance of Stewart Copeland on drums makes for an awesome "drum sound demo" album. So much snap and aliveness in the playing (and recording). |
@prof ... I agree wih you completely. Last night, I listened to the Regatta de Blanc CD by the Police. I noticed just how lifelike the cymbals and hi-hats sounded. As a drummer myself, I know exactly how they should sound, and the Pulsars did a great job. The fabric dome tweeter is simply a joy. Oh, and listening to Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here through the Pulsars reminded me of the good ’ole days at the Hayden Planetarium in NYC, when Laser Floyd ruled the night. Such imaging! Wow! I am really loving the Pulsars. |
@rlb61 You mentioned your admiration for the Pulsar's cloth dome tweeter. I agree. It's special, or the implementation of that tweeter is, anyway. Though all the cliches about tweeters don't always hold true, in general I tended to find metal tweeters did metal sounds more convincingly - e.g. drum cymbals. The soft dome JA tweeters really blew me away because metal, cymbals, sounded so solid and metallic. And yet like everything else in the high frequencies, totally pure and grain-free. The JA speakers provide one of the best high frequencies performances I've ever heard. Like Michael Fremer said in his review, they sound so open and extended, yet unmechanical. |
@markalarsen Since you've had both, could you give a bit of detail to compare the Pulsars vs the Perspectives? It's been a year since I demoed both. The first time I ever heard Joseph speakers was the Pearl 3 at the Montreal show last year, playing a vocal acapella track. I was stopped in my tracks because it wasn't simply that the sound was incredibly clear - plenty of high end speakers do that. It was the tone and timbre - voices actually sounded warm and human in an exceedingly real way where you recognize "that's what people singing in front of me sound like." Totally grain-free and unmechanical. I demoed the Pulsars and found they had the same family sound, a delight to sit in front of those speakers. Then the dealer asked if I wanted to hear the Perspectives. I first objected because I wasn't in the market for that price. But he set them up - a perfect "upselling moment" - and after listening to the Perspectives they utterly grabbed me. It seemed like the Pulsars...but more of it (and somewhat more even in the mids to lower mids, as they have the additional driver and don't need an additional boost in that area like the stand mounted Pulsars do). But I was awestruck at how utterly different and accurate every instrument sounded as they entered a mix. Anyway, enough of my thoughts. What are yours? |
The sapele is an amazing finish. Deep and luxurious. That's the pair I had in for demo. (Just didn't match my decor). I have to say I really enjoy audio-jewelry, where I look at an item with and think it's beautiful and adds to the room, rather than detracts. The Josephs are one of those items - for my money, the Perspectives being among the most elegant floor standing speakers I've seen. |
@astewart8944 I would love to be able to grab a used pair of Perspectives, but I am committed to buying from my local Joseph Dealer. The finish I really want, that I would get custom, is either Macassar Ebony or Tiger Ebony. Not only are they dramatic grains, the color tends to be more black/brown with yellow highlights which is the exact color scheme of my room. Speakers that are too orange don't look right, and Rosewood as nice as the grain is often can be orangy-red. I had a pair of Harbeth Super HL5 Plus speakers in Rosewood and it was, in of itself, an absolutely gorgeous finish. But it clashed with the room. So my plan would be to order a pair in Rosewood, and given the variation in color, ask for a pair that is tending more towards brown. If I live with them for a while and decide I want to sell them, it would be a good finish for re-sell. But if I decided to keep them I'd later on have them re-finished to the Ebony wood. Whoever does the woodwork for Joseph is amazing and I drool over the idea of how an Ebony wood Perspectives could look, done by Jeff's cabinet guy. Sorry...more than you wanted to know there. But the Perspectives have been on my mind for almost a year since I demoed them. |
@maralarsen, Ok, thanks for the clarification. Makes sense now. I'd love to have room (and budget) for Pearl 3s. But if I buy JA it would be the Perspectives. @astewart8944 I've been interested in owning the Perspectives since I demoed them at a store and in my home. They are very expensive though! And I absolutely require the right finish on them to match my room. I can have a custom finish done if I want, but that increases the price. I could have bought the white ones used in the recent Montreal show, through my local Joseph Dealer. I was seriously contemplating the purchase as it was a great price, and I figured I could have the finish altered later if I decided to keep the Perpectives. Unfortunately the fact they were all white put the kebosh on that idea. It would mean even if I had the wood finish panels changed, the the front and top would remain white - yuck! So, if I want a pair of Perspectives it looks like I'll have to buy new. I have a pair of Thiel 3.7s I'll have to sell before going down that road, though. (I also have a pair of Thiel 2.7s that I'm keeping, because I can't totally give up the Thiel sound!) |
@kalali ... thanks. I'm using an older Musical Fidelity A300cr amp (225 wpc/dual mono ... and made in England at the time) and a BAT VK-3i preamp. The only thing that sucks is the piano black gloss finish on the front, top and back, which is prone to micro-scratches and fingerprints. I guess that's just part of the overall experience. |
Congratulations on your excellent acquisition. Curious to know what amp/preamp you’re using to drive them. I never forget the huge sound I heard coming out of these speakers paired with an Ayre AX-5 Twenty. Probably one of the best monitor size speakers I’ve ever heard and I had not even heard the brand until then. Enjoy. |
FYI: Stereophile just put up a new binaural video: https://www.stereophile.com/content/bed-stuy-ci%C2%B7n%C3%A9%C2%B7ma-v%C3%A9%C2%B7ri%C2%B7t%C3%A9 Herb Reichert reviewing the Joseph Audio Pulsars! You can "hear" the Pulsars play in the video. It does capture some of that special JA sound, IMO. Herb speaks of a "quiet" character to JA speakers and that is exactly what I hear. There is a really special lack of grain and black background that seems to let an amazingly pure vocal and instrumental tone through. |
@rlb61 with respect to your question about the use of subs in my room with the Pulsars, a number of factors were at work in this decision. First by playing with placement, I was able to get in room response flat to about 35hz with the Pulsars and no sub vs 42hz with the Prisms (without the sub). And that makes a big difference between acceptable and not - particularly given that the Pulsars are more dynamic anyway. Secondly - I have a strong room mode at 31hz so with a sub (even with tube traps etc.) I need to use a DSP system (DSPEAKER Antimode in the case of my REL with the Prisms) to deal with that. And lastly, I always felt like I wanted a pair of subs vs one and felt that was true even more so with the Pulsars. So bottom line, I decided to sell my DSP and the sub for now and, as mentioned, will probably add subs back when I can afford a pair that has DSP built in - like the Fathoms. |
Btw, I just had the opportunity to purchase, at a very good price, the Joseph Audio Perspective speakers used at the Montreal Audio Fest. As much as I really want a pair of the Perspectives, I know that any speaker I buy I may end up selling, and I figured a white speaker would be much harder to re-sell than the other finishes. (And besides, I want one of the other finishes to match my room). |
"I have yet to hear even faint praise for the Pearl 3. " That’s the single worst -- and in fact the only negative -- thing I’ve ever seen written about the Pearls. Hearing Satchmo’s "Saint James Infirmary" on vinyl through them (original Pearls BTW) at a NYC show remains one of my top audio reproduction related experiences of all time. @jafant -- if I was fortunate enough to own Pearls I'd be listening rather than wasting my time writing posts, so no surprise we don't hear from them often. The fact that they very rarely come up for sale here is telling. |
"I have yet to hear even faint praise for the Pearl 3. " Are you joking? You must not be paying attention then. There is plenty of praise for the Pearl speakers, including the Pearl 3. In fact I don't think I've ever read anything but a positive, if not positively glowing, report on the Pearl 3 and the earlier Pearl models. Just a quick google brings up these: https://audio-head.com/joseph-audio-and-the-pearl-3-ces-2017/ https://www.soundandvision.com/content/joseph-audio-has-pearl https://positive-feedback.com/Issue64/rmaf12dr.htm https://www.stereophile.com/content/munich-high-end-2013 https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2013/11/04/rmaf-2013-joseph-audio-jeff-rowland-vpi-soundsmith-cardas-... http://www.vpiindustries.com/single-post/2017/12/05/HW-Review-3---Joseph-Audio-Pearl-3 https://audio-head.com/joseph-audio-and-the-pearl-3-ces-2017/ http://audiophilemusings.blogspot.ca/2017/06/munich-high-end-2017-alluxity-joseph.html https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2010/11/01/joseph-audio-pearl-2/ I've never heard a bad word said about the Pearl 3 and I suspect you'd have to work much harder to dig any up relative to how easy it is to find plenty of good notices. |
Welcome to the JA family. I have the Pulsars in Sapele finish as well for less than a year and enjoy every minute I listen to them. I owned Merlin TSM and Audio Physics Sitara right before the Pulsars and the Pulsars bested them all in every respect except for the imaging recreate on the Audio Physics (these things image like ghost) but the Pulsar high is so extend and airy w/ no fatigue, mid range is spot on. I drive the Pulsars w/ PL DiaLogue Premium HP integrated KT150's mostly in triode mode and complement the low w/ a REL R528SE where crossover is set at 60Hz To my ears they are very well matched. The Pulsars by themselves don't need sub on most music passage, they sound bigger than their sizes indicated. |
@mlschneid ... I find it interesting that you use the Pulsars without a sub. I've tried it both ways in my small room, and have found that the sub really adds a lot to the sound of the Pulsars in terms of depth and dimension of instruments. There's just so much a 5.5" midrange/bass driver can do. Since you have a medium sized room, what was it about the sub that you didn't like in that environment? |
Congratulations on your purchase - as a Pulsar owner I am quite confident you will be happy with your decision. With respect to avanti1960’s post I am surprised by your opinion of the Prisms. Having owned the Prisms prior to upgrading to the Pulsars, I thought they had a remarkable family resemblance and although a little more difficult to dial-in than the Pulsars in my medium sized listening room they always sounded great. I used them with a REL subwoofer and they were only moderately less impressive than the Pulsars once the set up was optimized. That’s the tricky thing about listening at dealers - it’s still hard to replicate how much better a speaker can sound when completely dialed into a room and the room optimized to the system. With the Pulsars however no need for the sub in my room so I sold it and someday maybe will add back in a pair of JL Audio Fathoms or similar sub that offers DSP giving me a homegrown version of the Pearl 3’s. :-) |
I extensively auditioned the Pulsars and the Perspectives. The Pulsars were fabulous but once I heard the Perspectives they blew me away even more. I still hope to own a pair in the (not too distant) future. I also find them to be among the most elegant looking speakers I've ever seen. BTW, Jeff Joseph will be demoing the Perspectives in the upcoming Montreal Audio Show if anyone here is going. |
@avanti1960 ... thanks. The Pulsars are really a cut above the rest. Paired with my JL Audio e110 subwoofer, the sound is sublime. Everything sounds "right," and I now appreciate the superiority of a fabric dome tweeter over an aluminum dome one, like in the B&Ws. And, the looks are just amazing ... absolutely beautiful. I wish I would have bought the Pulsars years ago; however, better late than never. |
very nicely done, congrats! dont they look like a million as well as sound that way too? beautiful speakers. dealers have to he careful because the pulsars make everything else in their store sound like crap.i heard the othe ja speskers, the perspectives, the prisms and the profile. none of themhave the magic of the pulsars and i downright did not care for the prisms or the profiles. but the pulsars? among the best ever made. |
