Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2018: Joseph Audio, Doshi Audio and Cardas

My latest show report for the 2018 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest is now live at Part-Time Audiophile. This one covers the Joseph Audio/Doshi Audio/Cardas room. You can read it here. Enjoy!

Joseph Audio at the Munich High-End Show

For all of you attending the Munich High-End Show right now--and I wish I was among you lucky people right now--the High End Society in Munich deleted the Joseph Audio catalog listing by mistake. Considering Jeff Joseph usually achieves the best sound at the show, you should definitely visit him in Room E117, Atrium 4.1 OG!

A Visit to the Joseph Audio factory

After attending the AXPONA NYC show, I was invited to spend a couple of days out on Long Island to visit Joseph Audio's factory and hear more of his upcoming Perspective loudspeaker. Jeff Joseph lives and works out in Melville, NY, creating some of the finest loudspeakers in high end audio. I've been a big fan of his Pulsar monitor, a smaller version of the floorstanding perspective, and I feel that no other small loudspeaker projects quite a big, beefy and refined sound.

The first pair of Perspectives I encountered at Joseph had perhaps the most beautiful wood veneer of any speaker I've seen for quite some time. Here they are, in a brilliant, uniquely grained rosewood.

I was able to compare the Perspectives to the Pearl, Joseph Audio's flagship speaker. The Pearls projected an unbelievably deep soundstage and offered very impressive bass performance in Jeff's large testing room. On LP after LP (Jeff uses a VPI TNT turntable with a Cardas cartridge, mated to Bel Canto amplification), I was treated to an amazingly fine-tuned presentation that was easily one of the best I've heard.

Once the much smaller Perspectives were placed into the system, the sound was remarkably similar, albeit with slightly less bass (the Perspectives reach down to the low 30s while the Pearls hit 25Hz) and a slightly smaller soundstage. Jeff told me that he has strived to maintain a family resemblance in terms of sonic for the Pearl, Perspective and stand-mounted Pulsars. The Perspectives are scheduled to retail for between $11,000 and $12,000 a pair, and they provide a very compelling combination of performance and appearance at that price point.

The Pulsar, in the meantime, seems to be a huge hit. Much of the factory floor space was devoted to outgoing stock, as you can see here. I saw a veritable wall of Pulsar boxes with all types of wood veneers ready to be shipped out.

Here's an unfortunate Pulsar that was shipped back to Jeff after the customer dropped it. You can see the damage to the cabinet on the top right side. While it's heartbreaking to see a beautiful speaker like this damaged, Jeff was confident that it could be repaired. I included this photo to show that even in piano gloss black, the Pulsar is a stunning speaker. (I always prefer wood veneers, and Jeff offers some of the most lustrous and opulent cabinets around.)

Jeff is also an avid collector of vintage audio. He's always looking for the big bargains, the pieces that seem beyond repair, and then he repairs them. I saw at least one of everything from a Linn LP-12 'table to Fisher and Scott receivers to a wealth of open-reel tape decks. At one point Jeff and I discussed all the components we've owned in our life, a popular audiophile pasttime.

Perhaps my favorite of Jeff's vintage pieces were a pair of classic Bozak Bard outdoor speakers that he had set up on the back patio of his home. As we ate delicious burgers (the beef was ground by Jeff in his kitchen just minutes before he placed them on his BBQ grill), he treated me to a series of classic rock cuts. I was completely surprised by the warmth and immediacy of the Bozaks. I think I'm going to have to find a pair on eBay.

I had a great time; it was actually the first time I've ever been to Long Island and I was impressed with how beautiful it was. Thanks, Jeff, for the hospitality!

Joseph Audio and Channel D Audio at AXPONA

I want to avoid awarding any kind of "Best Sound of Show" prize for this year's AXPONA show in Atlanta since there were so many great exhibits, but the most surprising sound I heard was from the Channel D room, which included the Joseph Audio Pulsar speakers. I reported on Jeff Joseph's new Perspective speakers back in January when he showed them at CES, and I felt they produced an excellent all-around sound. Well, the Perspectives won't be released into the high-end audio market until early this summer (Jeff says he's still finalizing the design of the pedestal on which the Perspectives will sit), but he did show off his wonderful Pulsar speakers.

The Pulsars are part of the same line as the Perspectives. While the Perspective is a floorstanding speaker with two woofers and a tweeter, the Pulsar is the one-woofer, stand mounted version using the same drivers and the same style of enclosure. (The Perspective will retail for about $11,800, and the Pulsars are currently $7000 a pair.) While that may sound like a lot for a pair of fairly small--albeit gorgeous--"bookshelf" speakers, you'll forget about the price tag when you hear the sound. Quite frankly, the Pulsars have the best low frequency response of any small speaker I have ever heard. They sound huge!

Jeff Joseph put up a black curtain behind the Pulsars, and I just had to look behind it to ensure there was no hidden subwoofer in the room. That's how big the Pulsars sound. These are really fantastic speakers in every way.

Jeff was also using a sweet-looking turntable from Artemis Labs, which I didn't get to hear. That's because the real news was the digital sources Jeff was using to show off the speakers for the folks at AXPONA. The Channel D Room was my first exposure to the Pure Vinyl software package they offer, which allows you to download analog files that sound identical to music flowing from a first rate analog rig. The software even shows a graphic of a spinning LP, and the grooves are actually accurate renditions of the tracks you find on a vinyl copy. It was also my first exposure to 384 Hz downloads, which sound absolutely pristine through the high frequencies. The Channel D software even won the Computer Audio Product of the Year award from Stereophile.

I spoke briefly to Rob Robinson about the Channel D services and products, and I promised him I would give the Pure Vinyl software a try. He's an extremely nice guy, and he supplied my favorite quote at Axpona while he delivered his seminar on downloading music: "We are stewards of our record collections. After we've gone, someone else will be listening to our LPs." This quote underlines the durability and desirability of vinyl LPs more than any other statement I've heard--I wish I'd said it!

To read more about Joseph Audio, check out their website at www.josephaudio.com. To find out more about Channel D and Pure Vinyl, check out www.channld.com.

Joseph Audio at CES 2011

Right next to the Cardas Audio room at CES was the Joseph Audio room, where Jeff Joseph was showing off his new speaker, the Perspective. This slim floorstander fits nicely between his flagship Pearl2 and the premium bookshelf monitor Pulsar. I was able to hear both the Perspective and the diminutive but mighty Pulsars for some time, where they were driven by Bel Canto electronics and hooked up with Cardas Clear.

I told Jeff I couldn't believe it's been 20 years since I first heard his RM7s in an audio store in Maryland, just outside of Washington DC. I remember pointing to the little two-ways (which still exist in his line in an XL version) and asking about the company. The salesman replied, "Don't know much about them, it's a brand new company." After auditioning them, I almost bought them on the spot. The only reason I didn't was that I was po' at the time.

20 years later, Jeff and his loudspeaker company are still going strong, even though they've maintained a relatively low (albeit steady) profile. I've heard many of Jeff's speakers over the years at various audio shows, and I've enjoyed every model. Right now, my favorite is the Pulsar because I love really high-quality small monitors. I love the way they disappear in a room and image like crazy. The Pulsar, however, go very deep in the bass for their size. Jeff was even bold enough to play some pipe organ music for me (an organ-only version of Pictures at an Exhibition) and I was extremely impressed with their combination of solidity and delicacy.

The new Perspective, however, went even deeper. These are gorgeous speakers (sorry the pics are so dark, but the lighting in the room was on the sultry, seductive side), and extremely well-crafted. Jeff even upped the ante by playing vinyl on a Clearaudio table with one of those exotic strain gauge cartridges from Soundsmith. First of all, every cartridge should be lighted from within (it helps with cueing, and it looks awesome). There was just something about Jeff's room that was relaxing, classy and very satisfying.

I was also a guest at his wine and cheese event and went a little overboard with both. (I also ate more than my share of M&Ms). At the same time, I cracked open a bottle of Lagavulin single malt scotch and shared a couple of glasses with Jeff's brother David as well as a few others. So it evened out. Congratulations to Jeff on a fine new speaker!