Incoming ... Joseph Audio Pulsars

@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.)

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).  

@prof  The Pulsars and Perspectives sound good with less expensive electronics, but beware of the upgrade junkie effect of speakers that sound better and better with more expensive electronics.

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 ;-)

Yes. 

BTW, while I agree with you, generally speakering, some speakers are more sensitive to their source than others. The JAs are on the far right side of this bell curve.