PSB Alpha P3 Review (Bookshelf Speaker)

[cbracer]

Yes, but, primary reason: “grill on” is how will be used in practice.

I'd like to see a comparison with grill on for all reviews, not an entire measurement collection of data, but just one pass to check.

 

[Teeter]

I kind of have my eye on their XB bookshelf, that is within my budget.

 

[Ron Texas]

I saw a frequency response measurement for this a while back and felt it was a loser from the get go. Lots of the subjective guys like it. Money talks. Thank you @amirm

 

[krabapple]

headless PP for a PSB product... Oof!

 

[chomi]

Just looking at the graphs does anyone know how do they compare against the Micca MB42x? Better or worse? I just saw this review after just getting the PSB Alpha P3 today, and now I'm contemplating on returning them.

 

[sweetchaos]

how do they compare against the Micca MB42x

Micca's are worse than these:

Spoiler

Micca's have a Preference Score 2.0 (if score goes to 10.0) vs Preference Score 3.4 (PSB P3).
I wouldn't buy either of these, TBH.

 

[chomi]

Micca's are worse than these:

Spoiler

Micca's have a Preference Score 2.0 (if score goes to 10.0) vs Preference Score 3.4 (PSB P3).
I wouldn't buy either of these, TBH.

Also how about compared to the Neumi BS5? And also wondering where are you getting the preference because I couldn't find it.

 

[sweetchaos]

Also how about compared to the Neumi BS5? And also wondering where are you getting the preference because I couldn't find it.

That's much better, and easily recommended for it's price point (US$110 I believe).

Spoiler

Preference Score of 4.6.

See pierre's github.

 

[amirm]

I'd like to see a comparison with grill on for all reviews, not an entire measurement collection of data, but just one pass to check.

I have done that a couple of times and it just doesn't show much. It will be just a small deviation across a range.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

I hate to say it, but some of my early Stereophile hero brands (30 years ago...though Thiel was always my favorite) are really taking a dive in the lower priced offerings. It feels as if they're just parts bin builds with no crossover tuning.

Better stuff for the price out there I suppose....

Join the club.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

I have done that a couple of times and it just doesn't show much. It will be just a small deviation across a range.

My cats will love that. They prefer grills over cones.

 

[Teeter]

@chomi, What is your budget? Under $200.00 for bookshelf. Amir's JBL reviews are quite good in their price range and better, IMO. Good luck!

 

[Spocko]

These are obviously designed for luxury listening after yard work. Anyone who disagrees just isn't the target audience!

ROFL I’m loving this use case, perfectly said! Or designed for distracted listening at a strip club?

 

[Xyrium]

Join the club.

It really is sad, but at least KEF and Focal are still hangin' tough, even reinventing themselves now and then.

 

[Spocko]

These are obviously designed for luxury listening after yard work. Anyone who disagrees just isn't the target audience!

OK, here's my tribute video to this comment:

 

[kernelpanic]

For all the headless Panthers keep the following in mind.

• $249 a pair(2 speakers) for reasonable looks. ( @amirm your lead statements imply $249 each maybe change to $249 for 2)
• 4.5" woofer, that will play reasonably low in bass. ( vs zero bass)
• Target buyer, someone with no need to go loud (the 60-75db crowd) and likely a need for very small speakers and a need for them to look like they belong in the living space.

Most would be better with something else (2 JBL 305's would cost less street and have amps), but the design is likely catering to a small target market who doesn't want those black boxes.

Anyway not saying they have a head but maybe they have a small head or part of the head left.

+1

I have these as daily drivers on my desk and honestly, for the size AND price, I haven't been able to find anything better out there. That being said, I do EQ them and I can confirm my in room measurements with REW also show bumps at 400hz, 1khz and 3-4khz. But I find it fairly easy to get them mostly neutral with some EQ. Also, their bass is pretty unreal for their size.

My only gripe with them is the upside down design which, for my scenario on my desk, I have to run them right side up to get the tweeters closer to my ears which then shows the vinyl seam and label on top.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

+1

I have these as daily drivers on my desk and honestly, for the size AND price, I haven't been able to find anything better out there. That being said, I do EQ them and I can confirm my in room measurements with REW also show bumps at 400hz, 1khz and 3-4khz. But I find it fairly easy to get them mostly neutral with some EQ. Also, their bass is pretty unreal for their size.

My only gripe with them is the upside down design which, for my scenario on my desk, I have to run them right side up to get the tweeters closer to my ears which then shows the vinyl seam and label on top.

Switch to Infinity.

 

[Rossi]

Thanks for measuring these. This is a surprising result. I had the Alpha P3's in for a few months and truly enjoyed my experience with them. At around the same time, I also had the SVS Ultra Bookshelf speakers, and there was nothing I could do made the Ultras sound half as good in my room as the PSB Alpha P3's.

I've noticed that objective performance of the SVS was quite good here. Somehow, this did not translate to my room and system while the PSB was great. The SVS had kind-of a hooty upper midrange that especially affected female vocals. I had them on 26 in. Sanus stands. Perhaps the tweeter height was too low for the Ultra's when I evaluated them? The tone and timbre of the PSB's sounded "just right."

These results are a bit head-scratching, but the numbers don't lie.

I have the PSB Alpha P5, the P3's bigger brothers, also measured by Amir.......receiving a headless panther too. They might measure not so well (okay, understatement) but sound pretty good in my setup. My Polk S15s measured well, but often sound not as good as the P5s. What is happening? Without excluding possible problems with my ears and/or brain (hahahaha), I suspect some tension exists between measurements and real-life situations (listening experiences). Makes it all pretty complex, although I understand measurements give at least a pretty accurate basic assesment, however, it seems they do not tell the complete story.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

I have the PSB Alpha P5, the P3's bigger brothers, also measured by Amir.......receiving a headless panther too. They might measure not so well (okay, understatement) but sound pretty good in my setup. My Polk S15s measured well, but often sound not as good as the P5s. What is happening? Without excluding possible problems with my ears and/or brain (hahahaha), I suspect some tension exists between measurements and real-life situations (listening experiences). Makes it all pretty complex, although I understand measurements give at least a pretty accurate basic assesment, however, it seems they do not tell the complete story.

I have owned ****** speakers. Did not realize the smell until purchased speakers based upon this site's measurements.

 

[krabapple]

I have the PSB Alpha P5, the P3's bigger brothers, also measured by Amir.......receiving a headless panther too. They might measure not so well (okay, understatement) but sound pretty good in my setup. My Polk S15s measured well, but often sound not as good as the P5s. What is happening? Without excluding possible problems with my ears and/or brain (hahahaha), I suspect some tension exists between measurements and real-life situations (listening experiences). Makes it all pretty complex, although I understand measurements give at least a pretty accurate basic assesment, however, it seems they do not tell the complete story.

A complete story would require you to measure what you are hearing at your listening seat with each set of speakers.