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![]() When we celebrated our Silver Anniversary in 1997, we put together a Timeline to sketch out how things have developed at PSB from the outset. And we have kept updating it since. We thought it might be interesting to some of our customers, to some of the media people who have witnessed our progress, and possibly to some of the people just getting to know us. Wherever you might fit in those or other categories, we hope you will find our Timeline of interest. |
Year | The Highlights | The Products |
---|---|---|
1972 | Registered PSB Speakers; Paul Barton, founder; First commercial product: | Avanté (2-way 8") |
1973 | Designed 1st Canadian servo-feedback, full-range speaker | Beta II (Servo, 1st Flagship) |
1974 | First speaker company to use National Research Council facilities in Ottawa for research and product development |
Avantini/Avette/Passif 1 Passif II/Targa |
1975 | First PSB speaker designed from start to finish at NRC | Avanté II |
1978 | Entry into USA market; first CES Design & Engineering Award |
Beta IIa |
1979 | New Flagship series | Summit 9/Summit 11 |
1980 | First PSB passive sub | PSB Subwoofer |
1982 | 10th Anniversary Flagship product: Canadian CES Innovations in Design Award |
Project B2 |
1983 | Introduction of maximum value product (leading to Alpha) | Atom |
1985 | PSB and Lenbrook join forces; New R series introduced | R Series: 70R/50R/40R/30R |
1987 | New Flagship product, the Stratus,
evolved from Project B2, Stereophile - Recommended Component |
Stratus (2-way tower) |
1988 | Began participation in NRC's "Smart speaker" Athena Project: (through 1995) | |
1989 | MKII Series and CS Series | MKII Series: 50MKII/40MKII/30MKII 20MKII/CS 180/CS 160 |
1990 | New Flagship product Redesign of Stratus to New Stratus - Stereophile Recommended Component First Architectural speaker |
Stratus Gold New Stratus HW-1 |
1991 | Audio cover; Stratus
Gold review ("the 10,000-watt speaker") Gold becomes Stereophile Recommended Component Introduction of Stratus Mini Introduction of Alpha (media acclaim!) |
Stratus Mini Alpha |
1992 | Alpha called "Best Buy at CES" by Stereophile's Jack English Alpha becomes Stereophile Recommended Component PSB Series supersedes MK II and CS Series Stratus Silver supersedes New Stratus |
PSB Series: 800/500/400/300 Stratus Silver |
1993 | First PSB powered subwoofer and center
channel Stratus Mini and PSB 500 become Stereophile Recommended Components Stratus Gold, Alpha win Audio Video International's Hi-Fi Grand Prix Award Alpha Home Theater system and PSB 500 win Sound & Vision's Critic's Choice Award Subsonic II selected by CD Review as Best Audio Buy |
PSB
100C Subsonic II |
1994 | Stratus Silver becomes
Stereophile Recommended Component Stratus Mini/PSB 100C/Alpha Subsonic win Sound & Vision's Critic's Choice Award First PSB shielded bookshelf, and new subwoofer Two new center-channel speakers Second powered sub; second tower in PSB Series |
Alpha SE/Alpha
Subsonic Stratus C5/PSB 200C PSB 600 Subsonic III |
1995 | Dolby uses PSB system to demonstrate AC-3 at
CES First PSB quasi-dipole surrounds Expansions and updates Audio Video International "Speaker of the Year" (Stratus Silver) Two more Stereophile Recommended Components (100C, Subsonic II) Alpha Home Theater System wins CD Review Best Buy Award. Strong SGHT reviews of Alpha and New Stratus Mini Home Theater systems Strong reviews and recommendations of various speakers (Alpha, PSB 300, Stratus Gold, Stratus Silver, Stratus Mini, Stratus C5, 100C, Subsonic III by New York Times (4 recommendations), Opera News, Sound & Image, Stereo Review, Audio Video Buyers Guide, Classic CD, Inside Track |
Ambient
I/Ambient II Stratus C6/New Stratus Mini PSB 1000 |
1996 | C5 added to Stereophile's
Recommended Components Stereo Review cites PSB 1000 for "flattest response we have measured from a speaker" BANNER YEAR FOR NEW STRATUS MINI: Stereophile Recommended Component, Stereophile Award as Budget Component of The Year Century Series supersedes PSB Series Alpha awarded Audio-Video International Hi-Fi Grand Prix Award New Alpha Series introduced (with first of new powered subwoofers) PSB 300 and 500 strongly recommended by New York Times Stereophile round-up of "Best Sounds at the Stereophile Show" says "perhaps the most remarkable in view of its price was the new Alpha Mini." Absolute Sound says Alpha Minis "have to be heard to be believed." $ensible Sound highly recommends New Stratus Mini SGHT article cites "Stellar System" with Stratus Silvers, New Stratus Minis |
Century Series: Century 1000i/800i/600i/500i 400i/300i/200Ci/100Ci Alpha Series: AlphaA/V/Mini/Mite/Midi Alpha SubSonic 1 |
1997 | CES Innovations
Award for the Alpha Series Stereophile review by Tom Norton reaffirms performance of Stratus Gold: "This was one of my favorite loudspeakers when I first reviewed it. A lot of other loudspeakers have come and gone since then, but the Stratus Gold is still here, and my high opinion of it is unchanged." Complete redesign and rebuild of anechoic chamber at NRC. 25th Anniversary celebrated at Hi-Fi '97 with introduction of ![]() New powered subwoofer for Century Series. Dolby uses PSB system to demonstrate AC-3 at Hi-Fi '97. Review of Alpha Mini Home Theater system in Stereophile Guide to Home Theater summarizes, "The bottom line is this: The PSB setup costs $374 less than the other two systems under consideration [JBL SCS 120, Bose Acoustimass10 systems] and sounds better than either one." Review of Century 400i by Julian Hirsch in Stereo Review says: "All in all, the PSB Century 400i provides first rate sound at a bargain-basement price. An excellent value!" Re-reviewing Stratus Mini in the October-November issue of $ensible Sound, Tom Lyle says: "Here are speakers that give you an accurate portrayal of the actual event that was recorded onto the tape, and encoded or pressed onto CD, LP, Mini-Disk, DAT, DVD, Elcasette, 8-track cartridge, or whatever medium du jour one is using." New Stratus subwoofer with "BASH" circuitry. Review of Stratus Gold ![]() ![]() Enthusiastic review of Century 600i in Fi. Stratus Silver and Alpha SubSat combination (SubSonic 1 and Mites) receive Audio-Video International's Hi-Fi Grand Prix Award. Review in Audiophile Voice praises Century 1000i, and says: "Paul Barton's speakers render a full and sweeping palette of glowing, vibrant music." |
Stratus Goldi Century SubSonic 2i |
1998 | CES Innovations
Award to Stratus Gold![]() Review in Audio calls Stratus Gold ![]() First review of Stratus SubSonic 3i, in Stereo Review, cites its "Olympic-level performance" and places it in the "killer, high-tech, high-output subwoofers" category. Review of Century Home Theater System (Century 600i, 300i, 200Ci, SubSonic 2i) by Lawrence B. Johnson in Audio Video Interiors says "As a home theater suite, the PSB array was sweet indeed." And "The Century 300i may be the most attractive speaker value today." Audio review by Corey Greenberg of Alpha Home Theater System calls new Alpha-A/V "a cut above the originals"..."with a cleaner and more sophisticated high end," praises Alpha Mini's "livelier and more detailed midrange," and says the Alpha SubSonic 1 "is an excellent, budget priced sub. It has much more slam and finesse than I would normally expect from an under $500 subwoofer." Stratus Bronze introduced. First review in Stereophile says: "With good to excellent performance in just about every specific area you can think of, the Stratus Bronze is a bona fide bargain." Stratus Bronze added to Stereophile Recommended Components. Stratus SubSonic 3i named 1998 "Reviewer's Choice" by Stereo Review. AudioVideo International Hi-Fi Grand Prix Awards go to Stratus Bronze, Stratus C5, Stratus SubSonic 3i and Alpha A/V. |
Stratus Bronze |
1999 | Stratus
Silver![]() CustomSound Series introduced. Stratus Mini and Alpha A/V chosen as $ensible Choices by The $ensible Sound. $ensible Sound reviewer cites Stratus Gold ![]() Image Series introduced. Image 3LR gets top rating in comparative review in Sound & Vision. Alpha Center, Alpha Subzero, and Alpha SubSonic 5 added to Alpha Series. Nine PSB speakers on Stereophile list of Recommended Components. Audio/Video International Hi-Fi Grand Prix awards to Stratus Bronze, Stratus SubSonic 3i Alpha Mini/SubSonic 1 combination, Century 300i. |
Stratus Silveri CustomSound Series: M6x6.1, M6x1, M6.1R, M6.1S. Image Series: 1B, 2B, 3LR, 4T, 5T, 8C, 9C, SubSonic 6. Alpha Center Alpha SubZero/SubSonic 5 |
2000 | Image Series becomes a runaway success, achieving highest sales ever for a new PSB series.
EIGHT Recommended Components from Stereophile and Stereophile Guide to Home Theater. Image 1B joins Alpha A/V, Alpha Mini, Alpha SubSonic 5, Stratus Mini, and Stratus Gold ![]() The Perfect Vision bestows a rave review on an Image Home Theater System centered on the Image 6T, which "made music and film soundtracks sound alive and vibrant." The review adds that "the Image SubSonic 6 subwoofer was amazing for the price. I had to remind myself that this was a $650 subwoofer, not a $1,500 model." New Stratus subwoofer and center-channel speakers. Stratus Subsonic 7 Stratus Center Channels Alpha Intros arrive. New bipolar surround design offers "best of both worlds" performance. Image 10S |
Image 6T, 7PT, 10S Stratus SubSonic 7 Stratus C5i and C6i Alpha Intros: LR and CLR |
2001 | Image 7PT earns Innovations Award at Consumer Electronics Show.
Audio Ideas Guide greets Alpha Intro Home Theater system (Intro CLRs, LRs, and ALpha SubZero) with glowing review, saying that it "pretty much kills the competition in its price range and above." The Perfect Vision awards "Editors' Choice" honors to Image Home Theater System (Image 3LRs, 9C, SubSonic 6). Image 4T joins Stereophile Recommended Components list, offering "a lot of technology for the price." New Alpha Series (Alpha B, Alpha C, Alpha T) makes debut, offering still more performance, versatility, and value. |
Alpha B Alpha C Alpha T |
Alpha S | ||
Audio/Video International Hi-Fi Grand Prix Awards go to Image 5T, Image 8C, Stratus SubSonic 7, CustomSound M6x6.1. | ||
2002 |
$ensible $ound "Staff Picks" include
Stratus Gold![]() Image 3LR Surround System gets "Editors' Choice Gold Award" from Stereophile Guide to Home Theater. The Absolute Sound puts Image 4T, Image 5T, and Alpha B on its list of Recommended Products Stereophile Recommended Components include Alpha B. Image 4T, Alpha SubSonic 5. |
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