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PSI A21-M Monitor Review
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
All the more reason I voted "not terrible", especially for the price. It's not BAD (reasonable on-axis/listening window/THD/bass extension), but with the likes of Ascilab*, most speaker manufacturers need to step it up or pack it up if they're going to be charging $1k+ per unit.
*Honestly, almost nothing is going to be more exciting here after the A6B/C8C back-to-back reviews, apart from the S6B and S8C, unless it's truly revolutionary alien technology.
Interesting .. it could well be a mistake as another page says every model from the A21-M upwards (inclusive) uses Class-G :
... somewhere else said the move from Class A/B to Class-G happened between the A21-2 and A21-3, which were before the A21-M, and the 2011 Sound on Sound review has them stated as being Class-G and so does the 2022 review .
Only one way to find out: to ask them .. beyond the scope of my interest!
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End game, a 20L cabinet, compact monitor ?
There is no endgame for audiophiles .. only the end of an ability to keep spending or an end of their restlessness curiosity for trying something new..
I suspect any individual would likely be just as satisfied by either, depending on their personal taste and environment ..
Meanwhile, in studio monitor land (in which the Genelecs and PSis belong) they should be purchased as tools to fit criteria .. and will both be "endgame" until the criteria of the work or space changes.
*should* .. but read pro forums and it's as much audiophile swapping and changing for half the folks anyway (I suspect, home studio owners .. ) lol.
You will be paying for professional service features with the PSIs, like immediate replacement and repair services through the dealer.
These are critical tools in studios - you can't afford down time for any reason and even if it's the fault of a clumsy engineer, people pay for that service in the price of some monitors. ATC for example have always been known for that way of working , hence their monitors seem expensive for what they are ..
The PSIs are also individually calibrated, by hand, in the anechoic chamber .. so you put any number of them together in a system and they will all match in response, you can replace / swap out any monitor without worrying how differences between units will effect imagining etc etc
All that applies to the active side as much as the drivers/cabinets too .. so a comparison to the passive Ascilab's A6B doesn't really work.
Sadly no-one gets a discount for not needing those features .. so I'd save money and go for a home enthusiast oriented brand instead..
Exprymer
Member
This discussion on price is very complex,
Having such a complex cascade of crossover+phase compensation and equalizers with low noise, for example, requires that the pre amps and buffer sections are made with the best in class op amps and top capacitors. Premium components like the ones there has its price.
This is a good insight. It can be added as well the no compromise approach of the company when it comes to components. I remember years ago when some high performance models were suffering in this very forum because of low quality components in the board. I have seen the PSI boards first hand and such problem is simply non existent.
Having such a complex cascade of crossover+phase compensation and equalizers with low noise, for example, requires that the pre amps and buffer sections are made with the best in class op amps and top capacitors. Premium components like the ones there has its price.
Yes, 2014 review shows class G as well.
Of course this doesn't match the current specs listed on PSI site. The power ratings are different. The crossover is now lower at 2.2kHz and Max SPL @1 meter is higher at 121db on the current version.
I'll simply leave it at what PSI states on their site for their current speakers.
In pure audio performance yes, but I don't think AsciLab are there yet when it comes to build quality. I don't expect you will see that many PSI speakers with things coming loose, or clipping indicators not working out of the box.
Ultimately, I'm seeing more and more people buying studio monitors for home hi-fi needs. Is this a mass-market phenomenon, or do these types of studio speakers perfectly meet the needs of traditional hi-fi use?
As you say, the lack of built-in DSP often means low latency, which is very important in audio production. And as this speaker is meant to be used in a music studio, there is hardly a lack of EQ capabilities in such environment anyway.
I think this point is assumed by PSI; we are in a class H design. These monitors use passive cooling; therefore, you won't find the large heat sinks often found on Class AB amps. As PSI Audio relies exclusively on design, combined with a few analog components, particularly for filtering and bass limiting : in this approach it offers no DSP correction.
Audionaut
Major Contributor
If I would like to buy an analogue Monitor, I would buy two of this instead of one PSI for (nearly) the same money.
TYPE 20 A-CORE | 3-Way Analog Speaker
The TYPE 20 A-CORE delivers extended headroom, greater depth, and outstanding clarity across the full frequency range with AMT tweeter, custom honeycomb woofers, and analog filter board.
hedd.audio
Or this one, which is more comparable with the PSI for 700 Euro
No one can outsmart the laws of physics.
That's why they feature an extended frequency range down to 30 Hz in a compact enclosure.
PSI's are excellent devices. 17's and 25's are my fave of the range and I use the latter daily.
For anyone thinking monitors with same frequency responses sound the same in a room I can gladly recommend trying PSI and Genelec side by sidewith matched eq.
For anyone thinking monitors with same frequency responses sound the same in a room I can gladly recommend trying PSI and Genelec side by sidewith matched eq.
Contemporary active designs are all absolutely identical, each unit calibrated to a ‘master reference’, I thought the PSIs I had were solid enough, just not exceptional for the price.
Keith
Tovarich007
Senior Member
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Very hard choice between these two brands, and Neumann too.
As for sound rendition, I've been positively amazed by the PSI I've listened to (A 17 et A23) and by the Genelec I've listened to (old 1030, 1031 and 1032, The Ones 8351 and 8361 and the new big 8380). And I'm sure iI would amazed by Neumanns too.
Specs wise, I would ultimately go for Genelec, but style and and tech wise, I like PSI classic look and well done analog approach.
For music listening and control, no need for a DSP.
And for client service, PSI is even better than Genelec. Just make an appointment, bring the speaker to JL Ohl near Paris or directly to the swiss factory. Genelec has a very good servce too, but it's in Finland, farther from Paris of course.
Well all this has a price nowadays and it makes the difference between these brands and new brands like Ascilab, which are very very good and well bulit indeed, but in case of problem ???
I'm not chasing absolute sounds, this never ending quest is pointless and a bit nevrotic.
I'm looking for the best compromise.
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Sokel
Grand Contributor
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The tough choice about these and other analog monitors is the existence of Neumann KH420, which for a little more is worlds apart in terms of SPL, all else been equal.
I suppose that, in studio terms, the price difference is peanuts.
The limiting factor is only (justifiably by the SPL) size.
I suppose that, in studio terms, the price difference is peanuts.
The limiting factor is only (justifiably by the SPL) size.
DSJR
Master Contributor
I'd politely suggest that the bass-mid driver could do with some work in the upper hundred Hertz region. Maybe competitors have dsp'd it all out and their drivers still have this slight raggedness?
At day's end, I'd say the dealer margin messes with the selling price compared to others, where a distributor alone either arguably makes less money, or the sales model lacks the extra dealer mark-up (dealers margins are seemingly growing as their traditional market fades away, with online facilities also taking a huge chunk I'd suggest - it ain't what it was twenty years ago, least of all fifty odd years back when I started in the heyday of audio sales... I'm kind-of placing these with ATC 20 actives (pro or classic versions), yet these are still much cheaper than the recently introduced Dynaudio Confidence active stand-mount at £17,000pr
signals.uk.com
At day's end, I'd say the dealer margin messes with the selling price compared to others, where a distributor alone either arguably makes less money, or the sales model lacks the extra dealer mark-up (dealers margins are seemingly growing as their traditional market fades away, with online facilities also taking a huge chunk I'd suggest - it ain't what it was twenty years ago, least of all fifty odd years back when I started in the heyday of audio sales... I'm kind-of placing these with ATC 20 actives (pro or classic versions), yet these are still much cheaper than the recently introduced Dynaudio Confidence active stand-mount at £17,000pr
Dynaudio Confidence 20A - Signals Hi-Fi
Listen with Confidence: add a source, hit the power, and get the performance your music deserves. Active hi-fi just had its biggest upgrade.
signals.uk.com
This is, largely, the port not being completely optimized. It's very difficult to do on a 2-way speaker because it's much more likely to excite port resonances due to the wider band the midwoofer works in. It's very rarely a meaningful problem with 3-ways because the midrange usually takes over somewhere between 200-500hz and isn't in the ported box itself (either a sealed driver or in a separate sub-cabinet).
Exprymer
Member
Note,however, that the boost on the on-axis measurement is a broad peak from 600 Hz to 1000 Hz. The calibration is made at the acoustic center, which might correspond to around ~20 degrees at 1 meter. From the contour plot, its visible that a different on-axis response will be presented. The only major problem on the on-axis at the moment is this boost, which might lower the score of the product on the index.
I am sure the company is aware of the position of it's products on the market and sending the monitor here for review is in a way a risk for them. Presenting the optimal response according to what they saw on the QC is fair.
At least a graph showing all several responses for increments of angle would be a sensible addition.
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