I got a chance to sit down and chat with designer Jeff Joseph of Joseph Audio at CES and it was quite an interesting conversation, as those sort of things go. It was one of the few moments where I actually got a chance to sit down and rest my legs for a moment during the busy and sometimes hectic schedule that had formed around the week.
I have always been intrigued with the man’s work. The fascination began with a taste of the Pulsar bookshelf at some of the national audio shows, often paired with Channel D for a fantastic digital recreation of analog captures. The sound was big from those setups, and often carried the size and weight of a full size floorstander, not a feat I bore witness to many times since. The new setup at CES featured his actual floorstander, the Pearl 3 ($31.5k/pair). The flagship piece was paired with Ayre Acoustics MXR 20 monos ($29.5) and Cardas cabling for a sound that was massively spacious within the confines of the Venetian suite. Prince’s blues guitar-forward tack The Undertaker eloquently sailed out from the 18.75″ tall speakers with tight imaging and a snap from the snare that drove the point home in a tangible way. The slight reverb in the song completed the room sounds fairly well in a quick succession from left to right. After a slight intro, a wha pedal appeared out of nowhere, or rather far right field as the senses fly. Tight dynamics, clear staging and a quick response all lend a helping hand to the “forget I’m even here” experience of the rig. All in all, it was another solid presentation from a designer that appears to prioritize the art of the loudspeaker in a very celebrated way. You can check it all out in moving pictures from the Jeff himself in the embed below.
