Incoming ... Joseph Audio Pulsars

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. 

At long last, after years of waiting, I have finally pulled the trigger on a pair of Pulsars!  They are incoming! I currently have a dedicated music room with Focal Utopia Diablo III's powered by a PrimaLuna DiaLogue Premier HP amp and an MSB Analog DAC with volume control, and a REL Strata sub.  I am really looking forward to hearing how the Pulsars compare to the Focal's.  I am ready to see what the hullabaloo is about. :). All of my music has been digitized and resides on my server.  Roon is my media server.  Lots of jazz and classic (generally poorly recorded) rock.  I have always liked the Joseph Audio sound and have a pair of RM25XL's and Cinergy center in my HT setup.  So I am ready! :)