So.... I own Pulsars. For about three years now.
On the way to finding them, I was listening to speakers in the $10-20K range - that was my dream budget, and I liked Vandersteen Quattro speakers a lot, but not enough to spend that kind of money on them. Likewise with every other speaker I could find in the range. They just weren't right to *my* ears.
Oh, and by the way, years ago I used to try to build speakers. Here's what I learned about that:
Drivers matter. Cabinets matter. Wiring matters. Components (resistors, capacitors) matter. Crossover design matters. Porting and port size matter vs. sealed box. How much 'stuffing' you put in the box matters.
But what really matters is how one puts all of those variables together. You can't figure it out with just crossover math and frequency response of individual drivers. It takes work. And time, lots and lots of time. I quit the hobby eventually, because though I'd come up with some *good* sealed box speakers (using Dynaudio woofers and Eton tweeters - and don't ask me how many tweeters I burned through to get there) that made me happy, I couldn't make them great. No matter what I tried, I couldn't make them even close to great. Yes, I experimented with Focal and ScanSpeak drivers (and I liked both), but I always came back to the Dynaudio / Eton combination for sealed box and Focal/ScanSpeak for a ported box. And they were good. But just good. Dammit.
Frustrating.
Years later, I happened to read the review of the Pulsars in Stereophile - now I take S-phile with a grain of salt - but I liked the look of what Jeff Joseph was doing with that tweeter (not dissimilar to the Eton) and the box shape and size and the unique woofer and thought - I'll find out about and maybe try these! I called and luckily managed to get hold of Jeff himself. He listened politely while I explained why I was calling and a little about why I was interested in his design. He told me a little about his own experiences and how he got started. Then he kindly offered me a set to audition in my home (no dealer near me). He needed to put them together and voice them and then test them, so it would be a couple of weeks. But I could return them if I didn't want them and he'd give me my money back. All of it.
When I heard them, brand new, I knew I was listening to art.
Yes. Art. No way were they going back.
Once they broke in, even more so. To me, they sound like I could never even imagine my designs should have sounded, so I can't say they were where I thought I was heading when I was building. (Actually, the tweeter performance is pretty much what I was expecting/hoping, but the overall combination is brilliant.) They're great speakers. I don't think I need better speakers.
And you know what else? I think they're way under-priced for what they do.
My advice to kenjit - stop wasting your time trying to get something for nothing. If you don't think (if you ever bother to actually listen to them) they are worth the price, don't buy them!
(I'll bet you haggle with artists trying to sell their own work on the street too. How much did that paint & canvas cost you?)
On the way to finding them, I was listening to speakers in the $10-20K range - that was my dream budget, and I liked Vandersteen Quattro speakers a lot, but not enough to spend that kind of money on them. Likewise with every other speaker I could find in the range. They just weren't right to *my* ears.
Oh, and by the way, years ago I used to try to build speakers. Here's what I learned about that:
Drivers matter. Cabinets matter. Wiring matters. Components (resistors, capacitors) matter. Crossover design matters. Porting and port size matter vs. sealed box. How much 'stuffing' you put in the box matters.
But what really matters is how one puts all of those variables together. You can't figure it out with just crossover math and frequency response of individual drivers. It takes work. And time, lots and lots of time. I quit the hobby eventually, because though I'd come up with some *good* sealed box speakers (using Dynaudio woofers and Eton tweeters - and don't ask me how many tweeters I burned through to get there) that made me happy, I couldn't make them great. No matter what I tried, I couldn't make them even close to great. Yes, I experimented with Focal and ScanSpeak drivers (and I liked both), but I always came back to the Dynaudio / Eton combination for sealed box and Focal/ScanSpeak for a ported box. And they were good. But just good. Dammit.
Frustrating.
Years later, I happened to read the review of the Pulsars in Stereophile - now I take S-phile with a grain of salt - but I liked the look of what Jeff Joseph was doing with that tweeter (not dissimilar to the Eton) and the box shape and size and the unique woofer and thought - I'll find out about and maybe try these! I called and luckily managed to get hold of Jeff himself. He listened politely while I explained why I was calling and a little about why I was interested in his design. He told me a little about his own experiences and how he got started. Then he kindly offered me a set to audition in my home (no dealer near me). He needed to put them together and voice them and then test them, so it would be a couple of weeks. But I could return them if I didn't want them and he'd give me my money back. All of it.
When I heard them, brand new, I knew I was listening to art.
Yes. Art. No way were they going back.
Once they broke in, even more so. To me, they sound like I could never even imagine my designs should have sounded, so I can't say they were where I thought I was heading when I was building. (Actually, the tweeter performance is pretty much what I was expecting/hoping, but the overall combination is brilliant.) They're great speakers. I don't think I need better speakers.
And you know what else? I think they're way under-priced for what they do.
My advice to kenjit - stop wasting your time trying to get something for nothing. If you don't think (if you ever bother to actually listen to them) they are worth the price, don't buy them!
(I'll bet you haggle with artists trying to sell their own work on the street too. How much did that paint & canvas cost you?)