Any PSB fans here?

[3dbinCanada]

Hello. This is my first post on this forum. Im curious to know how people feel about PSB ?

 

[Daverz]

Well, give it more than 15 minutes.

I've heard the Synchrony One and thought it sounded great. I think they need a pretty beefy amp to sing, though.

Check Soundstage for measurements of various models, like the Imagine T3.

https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16&Itemid=140

 

[Haint]

The PSB T45 was my first pair of real speakers, I loved them.

 

[DChenery]

I read a review of the PSB B25's way back when and was so impressed that I bought a pair (mid 2005). They were the most impressive bookshelves I ever owned, and am sad to this day that I sold them.

 

[RayDunzl]

Hello. This is my first post on this forum. Im curious to know how people feel about PSB ?

I may have briefly heard some at the new local audio show if I stuck my head in their door.

If I did, they didn't leave any memorable impression.

And that only means they didn't stand out. for better or worse.

Welcome to ASR.

Well, give it more than 15 minutes.

Or 16-24 hours, to cover all time zones.

 

[napilopez]

I've liked the couple of PSB speakers I've heard, and they seem to almost universally measure well at reasonable prices. They also seem to consistently follow the design ideals we follow here; PSB's founder is friends with Dr Toole, who he met when Toole was working at the NRC. See here.

 

[amirm]

Paul's designs come from NRC research so in theory should be good. As with Ray though, I have heard them at shows many times but not once walked away with the demo being impressive. I do have a pair of his budget speakers in for review.

 

[Doodski]

I've liked the couple of PSB speakers I've heard, and they seem to almost universally measure well at reasonable prices. They also seem to consistently follow the design ideals we follow here; PSB's founder is friends with Dr Toole, who he met when Toole was working at the NRC. See here.

It always amazes me how permitting access to the anechoic chamber at the NRC contributed to the creation of speaker companies and permitted many skilled engineers access to the facilities at the same time. The spin offs have endured for decades. Good policy for sure. There should be more of this sort of organized sharing of resources leading to better economics and results.

 

[HionHiFi]

It’d be good to know your use case for the speakers, ancillary gear, and musical tastes.

Without knowing those things I can’t say whether they’d work for you but here are some generalizations.

I currently own a pair of PSB Stratus Goldi’s. They are neutral sounding speakers. They make a good foundation to a stereo or multichannel audio system.

They are most similar in sound quality to a pair of Snell Type E/III’s; from the midrange on up. The Type E/III’s can sound more spacious due to the rear tweeter. It can be defeated which adds to its versatility. The Goldi’s have more bass capability.

The Goldi’s were PSB’s TOFTL speaker. They were the beneficiary of Paul Barton’s time spent at the NRC which implies good engineering and sound design.

I tend toward engineers like Paul, Richard Dunlavy, and Peter Snell. Their design goals favor neutrality and low distortion.

The Goldi’s don’t call attention to themselves both in sound quality nor physical design. They can listened too for long periods of time without fatigue due to unnatural frequency response.

Hope this helps.

 

[tuga]

I owned the T2s for a while.
Good performers at low and mid listening levels, quite flat at the listening spot, but didn't like the "sparkly" quality of their tweeter nor the wide dispersion which didn't work well in my small room.

 

[pkane]

I still have the early-90's PSB Stratus Gold. Not great looking (mine are all black), very boxy and non-descript. For uncomplicated music such as vocal/piano/guitar/chamber music, these are unbelievably good. What they lack in a bit of heft at the bottom, they make up in spades in clarity and natural sound reproduction.

 

[escape2]

PSB Alpha B have been my primary desktop speakers for the past 10+ years. I love them in nearfield application since they aren't bright. For a short while I used them as main L/R speakers in a home theater setup, and they worked there very well also.

No longer made. I suppose Alpha P5 would be a comparable offering from PSB's current portfolio.

 

[monkeyboy]

I have a pair of PSB headphone M4U 1s and they are great

 

[A.West]

I have Stratus Silver i speakers in the front, and two Imagine S surrounds. All work well. I have a Stratus center in a box, replaced with the Monolith center after the Audyssey calibration showed me a 25db hole in the PSB's midrange which I assume is a blown woofer.

I have had the Stratus Silveris for about 20 years and think they sound clear and smooth and are easy to live with. I dont feel that tempted to replace them unless I spend over 10k for something like Salon speakers.

My problem with PSB speakers today is they discontinued their old higher end models, and the new stuff looks plasticky. Their top speaker the Imagine T3 probably sounds good, but somehow the 3 7inch woofers lined up below the midrange and tweeter just don't look that innovative. And they no longer seem to offer higher-end center or surround speakers as they did 10 or more years ago.

I suspect there are newer brands that push the performance to cost ratio more than PSB does these days.

 

[tuga]

Their top speaker the Imagine T3 probably sounds good, but somehow the 3 7inch woofers lined up below the midrange and tweeter just don't look that innovative.

The woofer layout is actually quite effective at defeating floor bounce cancellation.
Their measured performance is as good as that of the Studio2s at half the price. And they're a lot prettier.

PSB Imagine T3, spatially averaged, 1/6-octave response in JA's listening room (red)
and of Vandersteen Model 7 Mk.II (blue).
https://www.stereophile.com/content/psb-imagine-t3-loudspeaker-measurements

 

[Ericglo]

Reading this thread, I realized that it was 20 years ago that I purchased a pair of Stratus Golds. I drove from Raleigh to Philly and back in one day to get them. I forgot how much I paid, but I loved those speakers. I owned them for around 8 years.

Unfortunately for the Stratus, I compared them to some other speakers at a shootout down here in South Florida. I remember the host had built a pair Dayton RS TMWW speakers with a Dennis Murphy crossover that was featured over on HTguide. It didn't take long to realize that the PSBs had met their match. The host said he could build me a pair for like $400. Circumstances dictated that I couldn't do it at the time, but I wish I had. Now I think the drivers are quite a bit more than that.

 

[A.West]

I just found a couple reviews I saved around the time I bought my PSB Stratus Silveri speakers around 2001/2002. The frequency response curves and dispersion charts look very much like the high-scoring speakers we see today. Possibly as good or better than the Revel 208s, and not particularly better or worse looking than PSB's recent designs. At the time reviewers wrote that the speakers measured amongst the best ever. And I like the cherry wood finish of my speakers better. The silvers may have a more gradual tilt down under 100hz, which doesn't matter given my dual subwoofers. My conclusion is that speakers designed to measure well have existed for decades, including at PSB. Among that group of speakers, sound differences are as likely to come from personal tilt preferences/habits or room interactions as anything.

One review reminded me that the biggest acoustic "upgrade" I could cheaply gain is by taking off the grills (which smooths the treble slightly)

 

[Promit]

I love how they look in measurements and the subjective reviews seem stellar. I was on the cusp of buying a pair of Imagine X2T towers, but I couldn't get over the yellow woofers ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I do have the tiny self powered desk set, the PS1, and they're unbelievably good for the price point and size.

 

[3dbinCanada]

I have collected the following used PSBs.... pair of 300 + 100c used in the bedroom. The original: Alphas + Alpha Center + Alpha Mites and gave them to my daughter and son in law. Pair of 600 + 200c used in the great room. I also have 2 x 400 and 2 x 800 that I rotate through in the great room. Only my Image series were brand new and started me collecting PSB. T45 + 8C + 1B used in my msin system in the basement. I find all of my speakers very good at doing both HT and 2 channel listening. (Center channels excepted whic I don't use for 2 channel use.

I wish I could find reviews on the older series with frequency response graphs.

 

[ElNino]

PSB Alpha B have been my primary desktop speakers for the past 10+ years. I love them in nearfield application since they aren't bright. For a short while I used them as main L/R speakers in a home theater setup, and they worked there very well also.

No longer made. I suppose Alpha P5 would be a comparable offering from PSB's current portfolio.

I haven't heard the PSB Alpha B, but I have a pair of the Alpha B1. I think they're a good example of linear distortion not being everything. They measure very well on and off-axis -- the off-axis measurements in particular are surprisingly smooth for such a cheap speaker... But despite this they tend to sound a little bright when not used nearfield, which seems IMHO most likely to come from the rise in nonlinear distortion in the midrange that's visible in distortion measurements. Still not a bad speaker though considering the very modest MSRP, and a great value used. Great speaker for computer desktops.