# Pulsar and AVR



## Phil M (Apr 19, 2006)

Brian,
I had a pair of B&W CDM9NT speakers and went to my local dealer wanting to improve my system performance by upgrading them. His response was that whenever anyone is not happy with their system they always blame their speakers, and came to my house to listen. Concluding that I needed new interconnects and speaker wire (they were 20 years old!), and a power conditioner - he was right. the speakers sang after this. After upgrading components over the last 5 years I've come to see his point and appreciate that there is no such thing as a bad speaker, but speakers do sound different - different equipment synergies, different rooms and different individual tastes. I did eventually buy a pair of N803's, but they have remained constant in my system as the rest of the equipment catches up with it. 

My question is related to the differences between the AV speakers and the Pulsars on your site, how are they different in sonic performance and where would you recommend one and not the other? I've heard the predecessor to the AV3's, the Paradox 3, and this has to be one of the all time bargains in the history of HiFi (to my ears). While I've got your attention, is there a difference between a 2 channel vs multi-channel system? For example do you want a broad soundstage with 2 channel vs a narrow soundstage for multi-channel?


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

Good questions that I'm obviously interested in reading answers to too.


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## Brian Bunge (Apr 21, 2006)

Phil,

I'm a bit short on time as I'm out of town visiting family, so I don't have much time to respond right now. There are some definite differences between the Pulsars and the A/V series speakers, which I'll get into more on Wednesday when I'm back in town. I just wanted to make sure that you knew I was checking on things here and hadn't abandoned you guys.

BTW, Sonnie, I'm not getting email updates of new threads or posts either in my forum or any of the others here. Can you check on that for me and see if something's wrong with my profile?


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

Let's see if you get this one.


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## Brian Bunge (Apr 21, 2006)

Got it!


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## Brian Bunge (Apr 21, 2006)

Well, looks like I've got a few minutes here as the girls aren't back from shopping yet (read my mother and fiancee!). 

The GR Research A/V series speakers have wonderful mids and highs; very fluid-like. And a huge soundstage that extends well beyond the speakers. I think that this is more suited for what most people look for in a 2-channel system. I've owned a pair of A/V-1's and A/V-2's and loved them when using them for both HT and 2-channel. But over time the huge soundstage sounds artificial to me as does the airiness of the tweeter. Seeing as I'm a rock fan first and foremost, I don't care so much for the huge soundstage. I do like imaging as I like to be able to almost see where the instruments are "on stage" but it's not of huge importance to me.

The Pulsars have a flat response just like the A/V series, but don't have the huge soundstage of the A/V's. They aren't as fluid and "audiophile" sounding as the A/V's either. But within their usable frequency response, I like what they do with both music and HT. Crossed over to a sub they go as loud as I'd ever need in even a large room. The are a little lacking in the midbass area when compared to my huge 3-ways, but then so are the A/V's.

So I guess what I'm saying is, in a HT system I prefer a bit more focused sound and don't put a big importance on soundstage. To me, with most of your information coming from the center channel you don't need a huge soundstage from your left/right speakers. I want big dynamics and good articulation from my speakers in this regard. Of course, for 2-channel I want the same just because of my musical preferences. But if your preferences are geared more towards what I call chamber music or light jazz then soundstage may be of much more importance to you.


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## Phil M (Apr 19, 2006)

Thanks for the reply Brian, it's self explanatory the way you explained the differences.
Having heard 'similar' speakers to the AV3's I'm impressed with the great value for money that this route has to offer. They certainly stand up well next to my $5,500 B&W's, I know what my speaker upgrade path is going to be and would certainly recommend your option over the traditional commercial options.


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