@ghdprentice Thank you for your kind words. I have to say I'm somewhat envious of your ARC gear. At some point next year, I also plan to start upgrading to ARC separates -- but very, very gradually so it goes unnoticed by the spouse :)
Joseph Audio Perspective2 vs Harbeth SHL5+
I currently own Harbeth SHL5+ and I’m generally very happy with them. I’m driving them with Audio Hungary a50i tube amp (50 watts class A) and don’t feel that the amp struggles at all. I have an opportunity to buy a used pair of Joseph Audio Perspective2 Graphene in excellent condition. Just wondering if anyone has had a chance to compare the JA Perspective2 with SHL5+. From what I understand they sound quite different but I’m not sure how. The Perspectives are obviously quite a bit more expensive than the Harbeths but I understand that this doesn’t automatically imply that they are better. Someone told me that the Perspective 2 is more in Harbeth 40.x league instead of SHL5+.
As good as the SHL5+ are, I do sometimes yearn for a wider and deeper soundstage with bigger bass (although I have a pair of REL S/510s to supplement). I would really appreciate if people who have made the move from SHL5+ to JA Perespective2 Graphene, or vice versa, can share their impressions.
Note: My room is 20 x 15 with 12 foot high ceilings. The speakers will be placed along the short wall. I can pull them out by 4 feet from the front wall and about 2 feet from the side walls. My room is treated with GIK panels. My biggest concern is whether my AH Qualiton a50i will be able to drive the Joseph Audios well.
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Sounds good arafiq !
Two things I forgot to mention about when I owned the Harbeth SuperHL5plus: For some reason I could never get them to image with much depth. I’ve always valued soundstaging and imaging (though tone/timbre above that), my room supports fantastic depth of soundstaging, and all the speakers I’ve owned have achieved this. But I could never get more than a somewhat for-shortened soundstage with the Harbeths, which was frustrating. Even if I moved them closer to nearfield. My Thiel 2.7 and Joseph speakers do wall-melting depth of soundstaging in comparison. Also, I just remembered that I actually briefly, just for kicks, drove the Perspectives with my old Eico HF81 14w integrated tube amp. And it sounded gorgeous. I don’t remember having any particular sense of the speakers running out of steam with those amps, though the bass was a bit more rich and loose, which was the sound of those amps on every other speaker I had as well.
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@arafiq OP: Thank you. Great plan. It has taken me decades of slow upgrades to get my system together. But the rewards have far exceeded my expectations.
For most of my time as an audiophile I researched endlessly, listened with ever increasingly discerning ears to greater nuances of sound reproduction and made good choices compromising on price. But when I put the last couple of pieces of ARC into place to sound changed to a level above anything I have heard. There is a naturalness and balance of details across the audio spectrum I have not heard before. To me a level of sophistication I have not heard. Which makes sense when you are buying from a company that has been assaulting the high end for over forty years. This stuff is not made by folks just getting their feet on the ground.
Of course, this is not to say that the ARC is for everyone. Folks listening to rock and hip-hop that want their system to loosen the nails and screws in the house might opt for something else. That is not to say my system will not play well and loud enough to deafen you… it can, but MAC / B&W might do it better for greater propondence of bass.. |
I own a pair of Joseph Audio Perspective II’s and I think they are excellent, full range speakers. Prof nailed the description of their sound and character and I’m not sure I can add more to his insightful and accurate analysis. My alternative speaker of choice has been the ProAc Response line, which in my opinion, excel in tone, texture and pure midrange. Very similar to the Perspectives, except in the low end, where I would give a slight nod to the Perspectives for weight, and the ProAc’s for bass articulation. The Perspectives have a gravitas that is beguiling. The sound of a drum set has the drive and authority that just sounds ‘right’. I’m a former drummer, with modest to diminishing talent, but that is my reference, having heard so many drum sets over the years. The Perspectives also get voices right. Piano trios sound awesome, come to think of it, I haven’t played any genre of music where they failed to excel. |
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