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


I’ve had my new JA Pulsars for about a month now, and something really strange has happened ... I’m actually interested in "listening" to the music. With my old B&Ws, I’d put on the system and read or surf the internet; being "involved" with the music typically was not something I had experienced. Now, reading a magazine or surfing the ’net is virtually impossible. It's almost as if I'm compelled to pay attention. I never knew I could be so engaged by my system. Other than greater detail, what am I hearing now that I hadn’t heard before? Has anyone had a similar experience?
rlb61
"Can't Stop Listening" That's how I feel about my new B&W 804D3s.
Sweetest, most musical speakers I've ever heard.
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.
Yeah congrats rlb61.  Years ago I got to compare JA RM25 directly to B&W Nautilus 804 and 803 -- all original versions of speakers.  There was nothing, and I mean NOTHING, either of the B&Ws did as well as the JAs (this was at a B&W dealer with their setup BTW).  Not that the B&Ws sounded bad on their own, but directly compared to the JAs they sounded just flat and uninvolving.  Very similar to what you described with your 804s, which is what reminded me of this.  Anyway, congrats again and enjoy!!!

This goes to show how important is the way speakers and crossovers are designed since the drivers appear to be commercially available SEAS components, albeit all top quality. He doesn't mention which models he uses but similar (or maybe the same) SEAS woofers and tweeters sell for around $300 each at Madisound. Assuming a similar quality part selection for the crossovers and adding it all up, that's a lot more than what most other high end speaker makers put into just raw components. More like 4X vs. a norm of 10X. Aside from the design elements, quality parts combined with a moderately high impedance load curve explains why they sound so good. They also look great which is the icing on the cake.