At the door to welcome me into the Joseph Audio room was Jeff Joseph himself, a top-tier designer of high-quality speakers and long-time audio show veteran. Mr. Joseph has been around the block a few times, and as such tends to get great sound at shows. This year was no exception, with Joseph showcasing his exquisite looking Perspective floor-standing speakers, retailing at $13,000 USD per pair. Supplying the tunes was an old-school Studer reel-to-reel deck feeding a Doshi Audio preamplifier/tape preamp which in turn was driving a pair of Bel Canto Ref 500m monoblock amps.
The speakers’ sound struck me as particularly coherent and natural, so I asked Joseph to tell me more about his design principles. Much attention is given to the crossover, he reported, which allows driver elements of differing characteristics to meld together such that the listener can’t distinguish one driver unit from another at a normal listening distance. In other words, he works hard to ensure that there is no audible interaction between the drivers, leading to the coherence and oneness I perceived.
What I heard was correct tone, leading to a nice, natural sound with little or no detectable coloration. Orchestral sound was satisfyingly large in scale and engaging with a good sense of imaging; the speakers did seem to disappear. Driver integration did seem top notch, just as Joseph had reported per his design goals. I was also impressed by the natural presence and timbre of Paul Simon’s voice in a now-forgotten cut I enjoyed hearing but failed to write down.
Oh, and these speakers are gorgeous to behold as well. I guess that’s just a bonus, but what the hey? The Sapele veneer on this particular pair was breathtaking.
While not exactly inexpensive at five figures, I felt that the Perspectives performed as a sum greater than their parts. Considering their musicality, accuracy, build quality and beauty, I would expect them to represent very good value to the discerning audiophile or music lover. Much enjoyed.
