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Joseph audio perspectives, magico a3, ATC scm40 v2

I am deciding between three speakers for my livingroom setup:

Joseph audio perspectives (v1)
Magico a3
ATC scm40 v2

My living room area is 15ft by 24ft. I need to place the speakers very close to the back wall so i was considering closed cabinet design.

previously i was using ATC scm40v1 and enjoyed its midrange especially male vocals and live music presentation. My setup is prism sound dream da1 as DAC, conran jhonson pv5 tube pre (about to get a schiit freya plus in Aug) and still deciding on amps.

One option for me is to get the ATC40v2.

I auditioned Magico S1 mk2 and Magico S3 mk2 but not yet the A3. S1 and S3 are wonderful sounding speakers with tons of details, great 3d imaging and dynamics, but sometimes a bit too refined and analytical. I would say the mids are just different flavors in S1 and S3 compared to ATCs, but not necessarily better. Also a3’s appearance and weight are not too appealing to me.

I found a used pair of joseph perspectives for $6k. I heard good things about joseph audio perspectives. They look great and are perfect in size and weight for me. Can anyone share their experiences with sonic performance of the joseph perspectives compared to ATC40s, especially in the vocals presentation? Thanks a lot!
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Showing 14 responses by yuhengdu_tiger

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yuhengdu_tiger OP
87 posts
 
@bander  thanks a lot, just PMed.
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yuhengdu_tiger OP
87 posts
 
@soix  I see. Do you own them or auditioned them? What is the shortest distance between the wall and these speakers do you think I need to keep to make them sound good? Thanks.
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yuhengdu_tiger OP
87 posts
 
@hedwigstheme Thanks! The ATC40a are attractive. At new they cost $14k per pair. I am leaning towards buying an used pair of speakers for better value. If I can find a used pair it will be great. I find myself to be the kind that enjoys selling and switching gears after 1 to 2 years.
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yuhengdu_tiger OP
87 posts
 
@prof  thanks, this is really helpful! My listening area is a open space combination of living room and dining room which is 15ft by 24ft or so. It is really hard for me to put speakers 4 ft from the wall since my kids are going to run into them. 

I was really intrigued by the properties. The size and aesthetics would fit me perfectly. And i really think its characters was what i would be enjoying.

Do you have any suggestions of alternatives that would suit me in the scenario where I have to put them close to wall? I like musical mids that sounds magical while still keeps the clarity and extensions. I feel like reading from your experiences of properties it does well in those ways. 

Much appreciated it.

Yuheng
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yuhengdu_tiger OP
87 posts
 
@djones51 what DSP do you using? I am curious if I can do something similar. Thanks.


yuhengdu_tiger's avatar
yuhengdu_tiger OP
87 posts
 
@cd318 I am talking about 10in or less against the wall. Had a couple of email exchanges from Jeff Joseph and he suggested me to try them at home first. I showed him my room and since there are two windows on the wall behind the speakers they can be used to vent the base. Maybe also use some bass traps materials. 

"In any case, at this level you should still make sure the sound fits you first and then the room - and not the other way around." Thanks for the suggestions. I do feel that the magico (s1 and s3) a bit too clinical for my liking and it draws my attention away from the music. I was hoping that the perspectives can do the magic for me. But it is hard to demo them somewhere local. For ATCs I am already familiar with their sounds signature, for the 40 v1 I feel the highs and lows extension can be better. They have really great mids though.
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yuhengdu_tiger OP
87 posts
 
@ddones51 got it. Thanks a lot for the suggestion. Going to try it out to see if I can get it done. 
yuhengdu_tiger's avatar
yuhengdu_tiger OP
87 posts
 
@cd318 Thanks for making the thread and my speaker hunting process going forward. : )
yuhengdu_tiger's avatar
yuhengdu_tiger OP
87 posts
 
@djones51 Definitely! Thanks for sharing your experiences. Now I am intrigued even more by the perspectives! Do you know how much it will cost for upgrading the perspectives to perspectives 2 graphene? I emailed joseph audio but have not heard back yet.   

I just auditioned the magico a3 today. It is less clinical sounding than the s1/3. I think the imaging is still very good as of the s1 and s3 but not as much detailed as them. The presentation of mids are similar for sure. Very good speed and transients. I don't know if it is the room set up or not, but the midbass and vocals sometimes are not separated enough and I almost feel it is a boomed bass mixed into the vocals at time. I started to miss the mids of ATC 40s.

For now I want to say I am narrowing down to joseph perspectives and atc scm40 v2, or atc scm40 actives. 

I hope I can audition the Joseph perspectives somewhere. Do you know if they have a dealer near bay area, CA? 
yuhengdu_tiger's avatar
yuhengdu_tiger OP
87 posts
 
@motokokusanagi Thanks for the suggestions. I have auditioned the scm19a (no tower version) and to my ears the scm40 just sounds more full. The scm19a sometimes offers a more realistic and detailed mids though. If I go for the ATC route, I was considering getting the ATC p2 amp and pair with ATC scm40 v2. How do you feel this p2+atc40 passives would stack up against the atc40a?  The atc40a is a bit pricer than the passives combo though.. Since I can only find new ones of them which is $13k a pair.
yuhengdu_tiger's avatar
yuhengdu_tiger OP
87 posts
 
@prof  Thanks for your reply. The perspectives are now top 1 on my list even I have no where to audition them so far. May I know which amp do you pair with them? And how do you feel about their mids/vocals presentation? My music are vocal oriented (recordings an lives) and this is the most critical department for me. 

I feel your description about the bass. Seems they have really visceral bass and still tonally balanced to be musical. Thanks! 
yuhengdu_tiger's avatar
yuhengdu_tiger OP
87 posts
 
@djones51 Yeah, if I can't find a dealer then I will probably do a blind buy like you did. They are high on my list now.
yuhengdu_tiger's avatar
yuhengdu_tiger OP
87 posts
 
@prof Thanks. I use Conrad Johnson PV5 as tube pre. I always found the CJ pre amps to give the best 3d sound stage and magical mids that I was looking for. I have used CJ pv10a and pv5. Both pairs fantastic with my SS amps. I use prism sound dream DA1 as DAC.

How do you feel about the mids presentation of Perspectives? Or you don’t listen to a lot of vocals in general? It would be great if I can get a sense of what the mids feel like in the perspectives using ATCs as a reference point. Thanks.
yuhengdu_tiger's avatar
yuhengdu_tiger OP
87 posts
 
@dznutz Thanks for the input. I don’t listen very loud actually I often listen quite small volume since I am putting the speakers in the living room area where my 2 kids are around. I normally sit either 11 ft or 15 ft from the speakers though.

The dilemma for me is that I can not go for a too large of a pair of speakers (such as atc scm50) since I will have a hard time to get a wife approval. That’s why I limit my options to be small foot print speakers in the first place.

Anyway, I get to audition the perspectives next week and I will see if they will work for me. 
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