You're welcome to them. To each their own; NHT speakers I've heard sound very bright ... I couldn't get on with them. As always, YMMV.
Boston Acoustics is still in business? They were great back in the early seventies. They had a little 'LS3/5a' sized speaker for about $150 that was really nice. I bought my girlfriend a pair.
I don’t think anyone (well, other than you) has described them as “bright”. Most people find them smoooooth.
I saw online where one of the new Elac speakers got some bad reviews - word is there's a defect or something. Wonder if that has anything to do with his departure.
I wonder if he's upset that ELAC discontinued the Adante line of speakers from 2017 (AF-61 and AS-61). I know I am.
That would be an inspired move on Paul McGowan's part; my understanding is PS Audio has been trying to get some in-house speaker designs going, without much to show for the effort. They'd be very fortunate to land Andrew!
Best wishes to him, whatever he decides to do. I have run into him at a couple of the Shows (RMAF & T.H.E. Show Orange/LA County) and he always treats me like a long lost Friend - no clue why, but I have an instant “rapport” each and every time. Sincerely wants honest feedback on how “His” room/setup sounds (TAD, Pioneer, or Elac when I came across him). GREAT Demo’s at the show. Very sincere IMO.
Why would he exit a company interested in technical excellence in favor of ... PS Audio? (Edited before posting.)
It seems to me they're trying to get lots of opinions on the new speakers they're about to release, especially from designers whose views on what's sonically ideal line up. I know Paul likes Elacs, they even recommend the B5.2s for their Sprout. I can see why people would think they're working together.
It has depended on the line. Many people thought the big 3.3s were bright. Robert Greene of TAS found the 2.9 unlistenably bright and hard sounding. Some found the angled bookshelf 1.3/1.5 too bright. SuperZeroes pushed too hard were described as "wiry". A pair of SB1s were excoriated as all treble in an early 2000s S&V group test. (I didn't agree with that assessment, and someone suggested NHT had given them a prototype. Still, they were basically subwoofer partners. Good ones, btw.) The SB series of the early 2000s, in the Jack Hidley era, were rather mellow. That was the line Warren Jarrett liked in his long thread a while before his passing. He found the successive line, including the Classic Three and Absolute Tower, overly bright, IIRC. I always thought my Super Ones were borderline. Although the woofer seemed to sometimes bleed into the tweeter in a smaller space, the tweeter seemed to get ridden pretty hard in a bit larger room. They could be smooth, but the volume couldn't take much cranking. I found the successor SB2s to be a relief; they went a few hZ lower, could play louder without strain and had a smoother top end. I kept 'em 15 years before deciding I wanted more detail to go with the nice bass extension and smoothness (the Wharfedale Diamond 225s sit in their spot now). I was pleased that my son took them. I still have a single SuperOne, which sounds nice in a small space with a Marantz 2270 doing radio and my battered 60s vinyl. They were killing it in the Jack Hidley era. They had a Stereophile full Class A speaker in the modular T6 (at $4k) and Class A limited frequency with the 3-piece XD (?) system. Also had two Class C residents. And then, poof, Jack left and they became the equivalent of an oldies act, recycling the 90s Super line.
Hoping he finally gets some active speakers out there. He'd designed some for Elac, but they didn't get beyond a demonstration design I think.
good move on their part if true, their new proto speakers sounded like a juke box playing in another room.
the pioneers sounded horrible if that is what you heard. the ELACs sound excellent but may be considered neutral to a fault by some. they also need robust amplification to push them to their best, they are quite capable of serious sound, even the smaller models.
AJ was also an excellent spokes person for the brand. at AXPONA he was an exceptional representative, knowledgable, entertaining and friendly, did a great job selling the speakers with demonstrations. anxiously awaiting his next venture.
Nice Forbes interview Started at KEF, then Pioneer, ELAC impressive 12 Questions For Andrew Jones, Director Of Speaker Engineering For Pioneer Electronics And TAD Labs
He literally gave away something close to the TAD R1 (80k+ speakers) for 5k with the Adante. He even fixed a couple of the TAD's "issues" on the Adante though the latter's bass extension wasn't that much (not an issue if one had subs). But, as with high end speakers offered at a charity price, the user base at the lower price bracket didn't do it justice (awful rooms, no attention to synergy, plugging it into crappy receivers etc and wondered what went wrong). The engineers at Elac Germany also probably thought he was stealing their thunder a bit too much
I have never heard one of his products,but I have read all the accolades. He seems to have a winning formula. Wherever he lands,he will be successful.