New Joseph Audio Pulsar Graphene 2


Just wanted to update my prior thread where this topic may have gotten lost.  As many of you may know by now, Joseph Audio has come out with the new Pulsar Graphene 2. This new iteration of the venerable Pulsars has a graphene coated magnesium midrange-woofer cone, and the drive motor, suspension system, etc., have been revamped. From what I have been told, the upgrade is pretty significant ... the sound is fuller and has greater ease, yet is very resolved. Jeff Joseph advises that an upgrade path will be available for existing owners of the Pulsars, too. Also, note that the price quoted in the Soundstage piece was in Canadian dollars ... Jeff informs me that the price in USD is $8,999 per pair. I am eager to hear the new Pulsars.
rlb61
I spend some time in the Joseph Audio room every year at Axpona and I am never disappointed.  This year he was playing the upgraded Perspective speakers and they sounded wonderful.  So musical.  I believe these are in the $15k range and compete very well with other speakers at or above that price point.

On a side note, Jeff is a very nice guy and fun to chat with during the show.

I listened to them at Axpona. Granted, the room was crowded and I had to stand in a less than ideal spot (right next to Jeff Joseph). I had no idea the drivers were so small-five inch or so? The sound was good but after five minutes I identified the general nature at play-highly detailed and precise-what I call "hi fi". They are beautiful and WAF friendly with a relatively small footprint and I can fully understand the praise, they are just not my cup of tea from what I heard in Schaumburg. Listening to these brought to mind some relative newbie on an audio forum who once asked "what speaker sounds like laser beams?". IMHO there are speakers that appeal to the head and those that appeal to the heart. I don't care for speakers that mimic headphones. I prefer headphones that mimic loudspeakers. 
If I may elaborate just a bit more, I believe that the Volti Audio Rival room was at the other end of the spectrum and also not in my sweet spot though I again recognize the appeal. This room was crowded both times I entered and the Volti Rivals being played had a prominent "Sold" sign on them. They were champions of texture and tone but were a bit plodding and slow, and just a shade dull. And though beautiful to look at, they were certainly not svelte or likely to meet approval by a non-audiophile spouse. 
@markalarsen ... Mark, did you get your original Perspectives upgraded or did you purchase new ones? Also, on a percentage basis, how much of an improvement was there over the original Perspectives? When it comes to audio equipment, I try to be cognizant of the law of diminishing returns. Thanks.
@erik_squires & @prof Erik’s prediction was mistaken. They are slightly more efficient, say 2dB.  They also sound better at lower volume. 

Compare @diminches vs. @fsonicsmith comments.  They may not be for everyone. I do not think increased resolution diminishes musicality. 4K TVs do not have worse or better color than 1080p TVs. Also, they are in my home with my electronics, not in crowded rooms with show conditions. Some people, not me, like electrostatics.  Martin Logans at shows sound either wonderful or horrible. I hate B&Ws at every show I have attended. 

@rib61 They are new. BTW, the original Perspectives were always and still are a great speaker.   I do not know about percentages. Let me say they are the cure for upgrade fever. They are everything I have been looking for in a speaker, without taking price into account. 
@erik_squires & @prof Erik’s prediction was mistaken. They are slightly more efficient, say 2dB. They also sound better at lower volume.


Awesome! Of course, this may be a custom driver, with different impedance and sensitivities than listed at Seas.