Joseph Audio Perspective2 vs Perspective

@prof 

I have to agree. When a speaker does everything the most neutral way like a machine, the soul of the music is lost for me. This character makes them sound too hifi which I personally don’t like, some people do.

I have Harbeth speakers for a reason. I have LS3/5As for a reason. The Perspective2s sounded with same midrange but closer to live music with much better bass.

One member on this forum owns Perspective2 and has either owned or extensively listened to Pearl. He prefers Perspective2 ;)

I've heard Pearl3 Graphene at RMAF with Doshi electronics and the Perspective2 at CAF with much more modest Unico integrated. I thought they sounded very similar, however Pearl3 was little bit smoother, organic and obviously moves more air.

The moment I heard Pearl3 at RMAF, I instantly decided that I'll start saving money to buy the Pearl3. But when I heard the Perspective2 few months later, it was so close that I just had to pull the trigger on Perspective 2 on the spot. However, one thing I know for sure is that you can't really judge a speaker without living with it for few months. So in reality, Pearl3 might be a lot better. Who knows!

I recall when me and my gf mesmerizingly listening to the Perspective 2 in CAF, she noticed Jeff Joseph in the corner of the room and whispered "He looks familiar. Is he the same person who made the Pearl 3 we liked so much in Denver?" I replied yes. She said - "The guy knows how to make really good sounding speaker". :)

@celo What a coincidence, before the Perspective 2, I was using Harbeth speakers. Loved it!

Interesting that some of us Joseph Audio fans are also fans of Harbeth.Both brands have a "rightness" and believability in timbre and tone, yet at the same time have quite different "sound" or presentations.

I'd like to own both, because I'm greedy.  But I already have enough speakers in my home.

I'd have upgraded my Perspectives to the graphene version already if it weren't for the pandemic taking my work away.   First world problem, though ;-)

@radiohead99 I think we have similar ears, that's why we tend to like those brands :)

@prof I cannot stand fatiguing speakers. That's why I picked Harbeth. Joseph has the same non-fatigue sound. However, the being there feeling with the Perspective2s was scary. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, I had to visit his room again to make sure I was not fooled somehow:) I liked it even better the second time. Amazing speakers. 

My brother, a musician who loves coming over to listen to my system, has listened to every speaker I’ve ever owned. He was shocked by the Perspectives. Said it was probably the most amazing sound he’s heard in my room.

I’ve owned many excellent speakers and have chosen them for aspects that they do really well. So I’m not in the camp of having an "end game" speaker. No matter what speaker I get, after a while I can recognize things that another speaker I own does perhaps better.


But the Joseph speakers are a very hard to find combination: world class detail and transparency and airness, but smooth and grainless, eerily accurate tonality, killer imaging and soundstaging, sound bigger than they are, and they are also FUN.They don’t just produce that audiophile-approved sound that is so tight-fisted it only occurs behind the speakers like watching a movie. The richness of the upper and lower bass reach out and grab you, to engage you in the music.

I’ve been listening to my Thiel 2.7s for a while now with the Josephs side-lined (because I like to switch between speakers). The Theils are slightly richer, thicker sounding, and have some more density to the sound top to bottom. I absolutely love the Thiels. And they boogie quite well too. But I also can find myself missing the fun-factor, the feel-the-bass drum impact, of the Joseph speakers. Which means the Joseph speakers will probably be going back in to the system soon :-)