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BEL 1001 MK5 driving Joseph Audio Pulsars

I own the BEL amp and considering the purchase of a used pair of the Plusars.

My concern is the Pulsars 83.5 dB sensitivity as measured in Stereophile.  They do have a benign impedance curve, not dipping below 6 ohms. This to me means a speaker that thirsts after watts as opposed to current. 

The BEL is rated at 50wpc into 8ohm and doubles down into 4 and 2 ohm loads, likely due to a very conservative 8 ohm rating. Easily drives my Esoteric MG10s (87dB sensitive, 6ohm nominal impedance) to very loud levels.

My room size is `12.5 by 14.5 x 8.5 feet.  An asset for speakers of low sensitivity.

I am looking for thoughts regarding the BEL's ability to drive the Pulsars in a modest size room.




mesch
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,954 posts
 
i stand by my post

some speakers are definitely better suited to some genres (and usual implied volume levels) than others... in my experience knowing what music you mostly listen to helps tremendously in picking the right speakers
The volume level and the ability to play bass might be the only possible ways a certain speaker might favor a certain genre. But beyond that, the idea is actually the most prevalent myth I've run into in the audio world. If a speaker plays bass well, its good in that regard for metal, rock, classical and jazz, as all genres sooner or later have bass and some of it can be quite deep and powerful, In that regard, bass has often all about budget, but the recent addition of the Audiokinesis Swarm to the audiophile toolbox has reduced that significantly.
The only other issue is volume level, again dictated more by housing constraints and budget. I do find that lower efficiency speakers are less able to play dynamics due to thermal compression but beyond that what makes a speaker great for rock, metal, jazz, folk and the like also makes it good for classical, downtempo 80s, electronia and the like. My taste is in all of these areas and I play them all at audio shows.


I've had many disagree with my about this myth but that is simply a measure of how well it has propagated. I think the classic example has been JBL L100s and rock. While many that like rock have used L100s, JBL would be able to sell it all that well if that speaker only played rock correctly. Not all rock is recorded the same way; rock has a history that covers over 60 years; in that time how its recorded has changed drastically... 
mrdecibel
3,065 posts
 
@atmasphere Ditto with everything said !
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,950 posts
 

The L100 is a good example. Hearing it when it was first introduced, and having already developed a high sensitivity to loudspeaker coloration, as well as a love of vocalists and harmony singing, I knew I could never live with the L100. It’s reproduction of voices was atrocious!

For one who listens predominantly to instrumental Classical and/or Jazz, the vowel coloration of the L100 may not have been as objectionable. Yes, it was still introducing the same coloration, but we all know what the human voice sounds like; recorded instruments, not necessarily. Vowel coloration added to a tenor sax (which I have myself recorded, with a good quality condenser mic straight into a Revox A77) is not as noticeable (and objectionable) as is that same coloration added to a voice. IMO.

A loudspeaker which is good at revealing the inner detail in recordings will allow one to hear more of that detail than will a speaker which is mediocre in that regard. I know, of course. But if you listen to music which doesn’t require that ability as much as do some other musics, you won’t miss it in a speaker which doesn’t provide it. It’s not a matter of a speaker being able to play all music equally well, but rather a matter of one speaker being able to do more of what you want or need it to do than will another.

All loudspeakers are the end result of numerous choices, of trade-offs and compromises, the designer going after what he values most in music reproduction (or thinks the marketplace does ;-). The trick is finding one whose compromises produce a sound that aligns with your musical desires and/or needs.

atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,954 posts
 
But if you listen to music which doesn’t require that ability as much as do some other musics, you won’t miss it in a speaker which doesn’t provide it.
I really don't know what music that would be! The human voice tends to show up in every genre I've encountered so far. I think in the reissue of the L100 they fixed that peakiness of the original.
macdonj's avatar
macdonj
118 posts
 
The BEL amps are kind of "underground"... What is a reasonable price for a Mk V?  Mk IV?
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