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JA Perspecitve Stereophile review

Just read the review and am scratching my head a bit so wondering what you guys think. Although Atkinson recommends them in the end it comes with some big caveats in terms of less than stellar bass and a boost in the presence range that he termed "hot." Looking at the frequency response graph it does show a boost in that region on the graph and relative to a couple other speakers, but I've listened to many JA speakers in many settings -- including the Perspectives -- and "hot" is not a word I would attribute to any of them so I find this very curious (nor can I recall any other review of a JA speaker where they're called hot or bright sounding). I know it's relative and personal preferences, etc., but still. Also, not too much said about imaging/disappearing, which I've always found to be a competitive strength particularly with JA speakers so surprised that wasn't more of a standout although he does generally find imaging to be a positive.

Also curious is that Atkinson is usually pretty good at providing direct product comparisons and given he just had the Vandersteen Treos in house I find it strange he didn't compare the two or compare anything else to the Perspectives directly (although I guess we could infer the Treos or maybe the Giya G3, but I'd find direct comparisons much more useful here). What's more, he mentions stiff competition from several other speakers he lists in the conclusion section (including the Treos) and all of them are 30% to 60% cheaper than the Perspectives. Taking all this together and reading between the lines as we must do when reading these reviews, I can't help but view this as a backhanded slap against the Perspectives.

Lastly, I have to say while I generally respect Atkinson I sometimes wonder if his measurements sometimes bias his findings. Don't get me wrong, I think he's probably writing what he hears, but you can almost look at his graphs and predict a good bit of what he'll find upon listening. Obviously measurements matter but the skeptical side of me just finds the correlation a bit too tight.

Anyway, I just found the review a bit surprising and disappointing given my past experience and just looking for some other, er, perspectives on this. And no I don't own JA speakers (although I'd love to) and no affiliation with JA whatsoever.
soix
johnk's avatar
johnk
1,975 posts
 
If loudspeakers are english designs or built flaws become + if not flaws become exaggerated. JA is old and highly biased towards english products.
markalarsen's avatar
markalarsen
654 posts
 
@prof Room set up at RMAF and ten minutes of listening is not exactly the best approach to evaluate a speaker. Speakers and room interaction are critical. 

@astewart8944 I had the JA Perspectives, with dual 15” subs, in a horrible room using a DEQX Mate that Larry Owens set up. Only way to go in difficult rooms; great way to go in good rooms.  Larry is marvelous. 
prof
3,474 posts
 
markalarsen,

I’m not sure what you are referring to in terms of RMAF and 10 minute listening sessions.

I had the Perspectives in my own home for several days (they were trickier to set up than my bigger Thiels). Atkinson of course reviewed them at his own home and measured their interaction in his room (trickier than some other speakers, showing a bass hump).

Of course room interactions are critical, that's obvious. :-)
prof
3,474 posts
 
johnk,

I don’t see the bias you mention from Atkinson (and I’m a long time reader). In the measurements for instance he calls it as he sees it, though usually - and this is for almost every speaker - he gives a "glass half full" reading in the summation.

The prickly back and forth between JA and Alan Shaw over the Harbeth 40 measurements doesn’t suggest JA gives British brands an easy ride. In fact, he said after measuring the deliberate resonant character of the Harbeth that such a design approach "makes him uncomfortable." So JA certainly wasn’t just allowing a "built in" version of what JA would normally think to be a flaw, to just pass him by.


erik_squires
16,130 posts
 
JA is among my least favorite reviewers. He has a particular "high end" sound he likes, and calls speakers which are neutral colored.

Just about all his biases and lack of care showed up in the review for the Crystal Cable Minissimo Diamonds. Mind you, those are ridiculously expensive speakers, but he gave them half the words, admitted he didn’t listen to them in their preferred location, and then tried to call them artificially colored in the treble. Had he known anything about speaker design, he’d have realized they were going to underperform in the bass from his location from his own measurements. His own measurements of the treble and speaker impedance completely belie his claims that they were artificially altered, unlike some of his favorites.

He has built his brand on pushing a particular high end sound which is far from neutral, and his discussions of speakers and crossovers often leaves me wondering if he has any idea what he is talking about.

If you happen to hear things the way JA does, then he's the right reviewer for you to follow, but you will never convince me the man A- Is as talented as he wants to claim or B- Doesn't grind an axe or display strong biases which are not supported by his own data or writing.

Best,

E
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