markalarsen,
Ah, got it. Thanks for clearing that up for me.
Ah, got it. Thanks for clearing that up for me.
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.
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.
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- 48 posts total
Most audiophiles are into first reflections, but try throwing some blankets around. :) On that subject... I enjoy playing with acoustics, generally speaking. Always have. I remember in my late teens taking some really cheap small speakers and loading them into room corners, augmenting this by actually putting them in a type of box/shelf. It turned the tiny speakers in to monsters that cast a huge sound with the impression of big bass. It never failed to blow away my pals. When I go on vacation and all I have is my iPhone for music, I’ll play around with putting it on different surfaces. Throw it on a bed and the sound becomes smooth and mellow, less tiny and electronic. Or I may place it into the well of a desk, turning it into an acoustic amplifier for a bigger louder sound. In my current listening room, which was designed with the help of an acoustician, I can play to some degree with the liveness or deadness of the room, by shifting around some thick curtains - e.g. over first refection points, or off, or over other points (my curtain track allows the curtains to slide or be bunched anywhere along the full side walls and back walls). I recently purchased one of these: https://www.acousticgeometry.com/products/curve-diffusor/ And first placed it at the first reflection point near my left speaker (which is close to the fireplace, over which I usually pull a thick curtain that kills the reflection hash). I didn’t care for it at the first reflection point - made things a bit harder sounding than I liked (though it was technically speaking closer to the speaker than you normally want a diffusor). However, playing with it around the room was really interesting! I found one spot actually just to the rear of the left speaker which seems to both lock in the focus of the images, especially centered images, and give a bit more solidity and liveness to the sound without giving up the organic timbre I’m used to. So now it’s become a permanent part of the system. |
- 48 posts total