The BIG Joseph Audio Room | PAF 2022

I’ve visited the Joseph Audio/Doshi Audio/Cardas room three times this year–at AXPONA 2022, High End 2022 in Munich and now a third time at the Pacific Audio Fest. Pretty much the same system, too, with Joseph Audio Pearl Graphenes ($44,000/pr USD), the big Doshi Audio monoblocks (also $44k per pair) and reel-to-reel. But this room, the BIG Joseph Audio room, was very different.

Due to a last minute cancellation by another manufacturer, Jeff Joseph was able to get a very big room at a good deal. I usually hear Joseph Audio in fairly small-to-medium rooms, which adds to the warm, familiar and intimate sound I love and expect. In the BIG Joseph Audio room, however, the sound was, well, warm, familiar and intimate.

That should be no surprise to anyone who knows this gear, of course. The Joseph Audio Pearl Graphenes are Jeff’s flagships, of course, but they’re surprisingly compact considering the big, bold sound they produce. I had no doubt they could properly energize this cavernous exhibit room, and they did. As I mention every single time I visit a Joseph Audio room, Jeff brings a lot of amazing music and it all sounds fantastic. You’ll never hear the words, “What’s this playing?” than in these rooms. (Jeff was mostly playing digital files through an Aurender unit and streaming Qobuz.) But there was an even bigger surprise in store for me.

When I first walked into the BIG Joseph Audio room, Jeff wasn’t using the Pearl Graphenes. No, he had actually brought a pair of the Pulsar Graphenes, his now legendary two-way stand-mounted monitors that I reviewed a couple of years ago. It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that they sounded magnificent.

Before I left the room, Jeff stopped me and asked me if I wanted to hear the Pearls. Oh yeah, of course I do Jeff! But if Jeff had only brought the Pulsars to the show, I still would have loved the room. That shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, either.