Jana Dagdagan

Of Course, what else should reviewing be?

An original Linn, my first true love and "Koetsu Rosewood" my second love. Hmm, I think the Valhalla power supply can do 45 as well as 33. I sold container loads of LP12s in 1984 nearly all with the Valhalla. I still love them.

I also love the detachable head shell system from Fidelity Research ( I think ) and the Sumiko MMT Arm, which is still in production. Koetsu offered a wide range of Stone ( onyx ) Head Shells ( I imagine they still do )

Wearing my own Sennheisers I could hear a Truck Passing by.

Personal perspective and experiences are the important ingredients for a review. Readers ( speaking for me ) are interested in what a reviewer is experiencing as they "Live" with some contending design. ( thanks for mentioning the xa25 amp's transparent & powerful personality- I keep hearing about it from everyone ).

"reviewed objects" should be the Substrate the writer uses to paint the intended story which can and should include Chickens and interesting Master Locks on a semi-private Garden for writing and all manner of distractions. Thank you for the wonderful visit.

For a few minutes I'm visiting NY, now I return to BasilWorld then Home to more of life's.....

This Bed Stoy story was over too quickly.

Tony in Michigan

It's great to see a reviewer that listens in what is normal environment for most of us. Sure, I'd love to have a dedicated listening room with lots of acoustic treatments and a perfectly placed listening chair. But for me that's not reality. I listen in my living spaces, frequently while I am doing other chores. Great video!!!!

Thank you Herb for sharing, I always enjoying your posts. Music were great too.

As someone who has heard Joseph Audio speakers many times over the years I was able to hear that familiar sound; fullness and detail but not overly analytical. Although not my cup of tea the music was interesting. I found the first track played to be the fullest and most enjoyable sonically; there was a richness and 3-D to the music the LP and CD didn't have as much, they were a little thinner. I can't believe I am saying this as an LP12 owner, but that was my first impression. Perhaps will listen again to confirm. Highly enjoyable. BTW! What happened to the Palmer table? Is the Technics 1200 still hibernating under the bed?

Thank you for doing these. I think it is really cool to be able to get closer to the actual review system. I hope you keep doing them!

Thanks Herb.

While I think viewers won't ever be truly alongside you, it certainly closes the gap.

This kind of video aids bringing more life to the gear, and especially in connecting to you, human to human; perhaps the purpose of all music, and at least some audio gear. And, increasingly, of Stereophile too, I find--also in the writing.

Is Jana binaural as well, recording you?

Thanks again

Very gracious of you to invite us in for a listen. I makes it very involving.

As an aside, you have a very involving vocal cadence. Your enthusiasm comes across wonderfully.

The video is terrific, thanks! These type of features are making Stereophile a "must visit" site for me these days.

Herb is a warm and enthusiastic host, and it's great fun to be invited along into a listening session at his home.

And all the better that Joseph Audio Pulsars were featured, IMO.

Having long been familiar with the name, I'd only begun hearing JA speakers in the last couple of years - at shows and then demoed at dealers etc. I'm now a huge fan of this speaker line. Herb has mentioned before the sense of "silence" or "quiet" that accompanies the JA speaker sound, and that is exactly what I and many others seem to hear: a particularly low sense of hash and added distortion that makes for a sort of "black background" from which instrumental tone and timbre seems to emerge with a grain-free, clarity and purity I rarely encounter in other products. In listening to the Pulsars and Perspectives, I've heard some of the most ravishingly pure, organic and complex reproductions of voice and acoustic instruments!

Some of that does come through in the recording - though I think it also helps to have heard JA speakers in person to help the recognition factor for the sound. And in the video Herb ruminates about the worth, or not, of experiencing audio systems through videos like these, on youtube etc. It's been with great fascination that I have found, as Herb indicates, that one can get a sort of "gist" of the sound of a system, if somewhat well recorded, through videos. I remember first noting this when I used a good Sony video camera to record some of my experience at a past CES/THE Show. Once home I watched the video wander from room to room, and as the camera entered the room with MBL 101 omni speakers I was astonished at how I recognized the sound. The sound signature changed on the video very much in the way the sound changed wandering room to room in real life. The sound of several rooms preceding the MBL speakers comprised normal dynamic box speakers, and they had that signature. Once the camera entered the MBL room it's like traces of a stereo system playing the sound vanished, and it sounded much more like the camera had wandered into a room where live musicians were simply playing music. Exactly the impression I had when comparing live.

And this makes sense to some degree, because speakers, like humans, each tend to have a "voice" and so in principle some characteristics of that "voice" can be captured by a microphone, just as the differences in our voices can.

And, again as indicated by Herb, I think much of what one learns from good videos of systems is less exactly what the system sounds like, but more the relative difference in certain sonic characteristics relative to other systems. One can watch, for instance, all of those videos documenting various rooms at CES or other shows, and note how the sonic presentation changes.

On this note, it's really intriguing to me that, in going through the many videos available on line recording the Joseph Audio rooms, the "voice" of the JA sound really seems to come through; always super clear, with vocal and instrumental tone beautifully separated, a natural, unforced transient clarity etc.

The same goes for videos of Quad ESL 57s, or videos of MBL speakers. I can really hear the particular "boxless" quality of those speakers
differentiating them from videos of most box speakers.

Fun times for us audiophools!

Enjoyed the video. You have a nice way of expressing yourself, but I think it is hard to get a feel for the sound when you aren't listening to the actual speaker in person.
In doing the follow up, I hope you compare this speaker to the Harbeth M30.2 which you just reviewed which I suspect has a very different sound.
Thank you again.

Nice place, I was expecting some sort of below street level apt, like a literal bunker for the Bunker. Somewhat surprising, if a bit boomy, bass from the speakers (I'm more of a sealed box guy, would love to hear some LS3/5A's and the X25 in your next video). Overall sounded good though the room's a bit more lively than I like but that's a taste thing.

Omg, I loved the sound! I am spoiled, I could hear the liveness of the sound and the deep base that didn't take over, and I like closed speakers, but these were quality! Metal cones, had a much sharper sound to them, but controlled. I live in a small town in AZ so I can't really get to a show or a store, so this is much needed! Keep video taping! I love the way you write and video and sound is quality! I feel like kicking a hole in my speakers...rethinking that one....... ...

Dear HR,

Did those guys "dare" you into "Theater" Mode?, Angry Theater? , seeping and dripping with sarcasm, oh dear.

It was well done with subliminal suggestive inserts.

I'm taking it as Satire on "Un-earned Confidence" of the inexperienced proponents.

And it's existence ( Vocal Critics ) is probably why nobody is willing ( or eager ) to take-on Wire Reviewing. ( can't JA make a quick call to Karen Sumner to find a possible reviewer or try to get that Silberman fella ) . Stereophile needs a Wire Reviewer. Egads, talk about "click-bait" .

Well, Audiostream is another example of Jana's advancing Video workings and Stereophile's advancement as itself becoming an ArtForm taking the time to showcase an interesting person with a Barn. Hmm.

Tony in Michigan Applauding

ps. the two on one, shifting trilogy worked well, didn't it.
annnnnnnnddddd who'd have the guts to burn a speaker like us OnLine Authorities? I'm happy that the guy didn't pee or poop instead of a glass of H2O.

I guess we're that bad, aren't we: I promise that I'll stop being critical of record playing systems and their 10,000 record collections made from Fossils, for gods sake, after-all, we all know that digital floating thru Earth's Ether is far better and will continue to be for the rest of my long lifetime. ( being a keyboarding "Online Authority" ).

ps 2. I hope to have a long visit with a pair of those Devores, are they as wonderful as ProAc? I'll have to find out.

99.95 % of the Vinyl Gear produced for the World's consumption will never achieve performance levels of Stereophile's Recommended 500 List. The tiny amount of sonically viable Vinyl gear will cost in the range of $20,000.

Vinyl shouldn't be promoted and/or Displayed for a buying Group that is more in keeping with $10,000 Total Systems .

Geez, I am a Vinyl Guy with deeper vinyl involvement than nearly anyone on this Planet.

Vinyl is something like the Rolex Watches starting at $10,000 advancing to Patek Philippe in the $200,000 + Range.

Phew, Stereophile isn't the Robb Report.

Tony in Michigan

I personally enjoy the added dimension the videos, and now binaural recordings, add to the "review" experience. To all of the Stereophile staff I'd suggest that you keep-em coming!

Hi RH,
Just came across your comparison of the two speakers and thought it is very clear and insightful. It sounds like the Joseph Pulsar is more comparable to the Harbeth Super HL5 Plus.
Again, if you see this thank you for your reply.