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Robert Harley of The Perfect Vision was at CES 2003, and
heard what the PSB Platinums have to offer. |
| PSB played a Bela Fleck concert DVD through its new Platinum
Series speakers; all the instruments—strumming banjo and guitar,
pounding drums, silky violin—sounded very much like themselves. The
T8 three-way 47" towers featured three 8" woofers
and a 1" fer-rofluid- cooled aluminum-dome tweeter surrounded by a
pair of 4- 1/2" midrange drivers. ....... The T6 has the
same design but with only one tweeter, two 3-1/2" midrange
drivers, and three 6- 1/2" woofer cones. The C2 center channel
has two 6-1/2" woofers and a 1" aluminum-dome tweeter. The SubSonic
10 subwoofer has two 12" cones powered by a 500-watt amp capable
of 1500- watt peaks. The S2 rear-channel speakers have an
ingenious design: a pair of 1" tweeters and 6-1/2" woofers (carefully
matched) are angled at 90° to each other, to simulate bipolar radiation.
In a separate room, PSB demonstrated its smaller M2 speakers ,
which sounded much fuller than their 15" height might suggest (with
bass reportedly extending to 60Hz). The PSB Platinum demo was
for me the multichannel highlight of the show.—Robert
Harley |
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DVD ETC,
PSB received "Top
Choice" honors for the PSB SubZeroi |
In its April 2003 Issue of DVD
ETC, in the artical "Subwoofer Shakedown" cites:
"The SubZeroi is one of those subs that raises the bar in a
shakedown like this by coming in at such a low price point and delivering
a solid performance......"
"Tight, solid bass output in the 80 to 100Hz range earn the SubZeroi the
tag
of the best value under $500...."
"I fancy the PSB SubZeroi in the budget-minded theater aficionado's small theater
room. Low price, high performance and years of enjoyment with room for growth"
Product information: SubZeroi. |
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Stereophile Recommends Alpha B,
Image 4T, Alpha SubSonic 5 |
In its October 2002 Issue, the newest listing of Stereophile
Recommended Components cites:
The Alpha B "Even now, considering again the quality of construction
and sound of these remarkable little boxes, I'm shaking my head."
The Image 4T: "A lot of technology for the price....Its bass
performance was uncanny, with a bottom-end extension I didn't think
possible from a speaker of this size and price."
The Alpha SubSonic 5: "Cost-effective, quick, and
articulate...Musically involving and eminently affordable."
For further details, please click here
Product information: Alpha B,
Image 4T,
SubSonic 5.
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| New PSB Picks by The $ensible Sound |
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Every mid-year, The $ensible Sound, which places a premium on
products with a high performance/price ratio, publishes its "Staff Picks."
These are the choices of the magazine's demanding editorial staff. We are
happy that once again PSB is amply represented, specifically:
The Stratus Gold "Very good in every performance area. Hard to beat
overall, especially at the price."
The Image 2B "Clean, supple midrange; unaffected highs; and a
generous helping of mid-bass with the barest hint of deep bass. The 2Bs are
musical speakers, apparently gimmick-free, whose strengths belie their
price."
Alpha SubSonic 5 Subwoofer "An excellent way to add bass to a small
system."
Alpha A/V This speaker, replaced by the Alpha B (which we hope the
magazine will be reviewing shortly) is still available in small quantities in some
parts of the world. Says the magazine: "These speakers give new meaning to
the old adage 'good things come in small packages.'"
Product information: Stratus Goldi,
Image 2B,
SubSonic 5,
Alpha A/V.
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First Review of Stratus Goldi-Based Surround System |
In the July/August 2002 issue of Widescreen Review, Perry Sun
examines a home theater system built on a pair of Stratus Golds, a Stratus
C6i center channel, a pair of Stratus Minis as surround speakers, and
two Stratus SubSonic 7 subwoofers. Saying that "The Stratus Series system
performed remarkably well for surround sound, both in the reproduction of
movie soundtracks and music," the reviewer says that "The PSB Stratus Series
should not fail to deliver to those who seek standout performance
for movies and music." He also singles out the Stratus SubSonic 7 for the
kind of recognition we feel it deserves, saying: "This is clearly one of the
top models to be considered, if you're a die hard fan of deep bass, and devote a large
portion of your entertainment to movies." More details in the item following.
Product information for the individual units: Stratus Goldi,
Stratus Mini,
Stratus C6i,
SubSonic 7.
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SubSonic 7 Gets Some Enthusiastic Recognition |
Some of the strongest acclamation in the Stratus Theater System review referred to above is indeed for the SubSonic 7 subwoofer. Here's the final
summary:
"Last but not least, some comments on the SubSonic 7 subwoofer. This acoustic suspension
design is perhaps one of the best values for subwoofers currently available. At
less than $1,000, I was nothing but impressed by its performance and its sheer
output capability. With movie soundtracks, the low-end output was weighty, gutsy, and
with appropriate slam and impact. It was quite well-paced to effects and also music.
This is clearly one of the top models to be considered, if you're a die hard fan of deep
bass, and devote a large portion of your entertainment to movies. The SubSonic 7's
performance with music was also admirable. When appropriately called for,
the output was deep, prodigious, and quite precise."
We'd also like to direct your attention to an earlier review (November 2001)
from audiorevolution.com, which we somehow missed until recently. The
summary there:
"I found the PSB SubSonic 7 to be a great choice for home theater systems with a large variety of
price ranges. It will provide you with solid, accurate energy for both music
and movies. The Sub 7 has power, accuracy and finesse at an affordable
price and the ability to make your movies rock. It's a box that you can set
up and forget, then begin enjoying your movies as you never have before."
Both of these reviews give further reason to audition this remarkable
product, which effortlessly handles materials both in music and movie
soundtracks that make several other subwoofers stumble audibly.
The Widescreen Review coverage of the entire Stratus Theater system
is in the July/August issue, now on newsstands. For the earlier review by
Audio Revolution of the SubSonic 7, please click here.
For product information on the SubSonic 7, please click here.
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"This is how it should be done."
Praise for NAD and PSB at Home Entertainment 2002! |
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At the latest iteration of the new annual audio/video show in New York, a
joint demonstration by NAD, PSB, and InFocus drew big, enthusiastic
audiences and glowing praise from Stereophile Guide to Home Theater:
"A great demo can be a thing of beauty — and InFocus, NAD, and PSB put
together one of the best we've ever seen. They started with a great
concept: $10,000 can purchase a complete home theater package that can give
anybody all the magic of a true cinema showcase. The system starts with
InFocus' new $5,000 ScreenPlay 110 DLP projector....The system included
NAD's 80Wpc multichannel T761 A/V Receiver and T531 DVD player ($1,500 [for
the two combined]). PSB contributed a pair of Image 5T loudspeakers
($799/pair), an Image 9C center channel speaker ($399 each), a pair of
Image 10S ($649 pair), and an Image SubSonic 6 powered subwoofer ($649
each). Add a Dalite grayscale screen and you'll have enough left over from
$10,000 for a nice meal' as the presenter put it.
"But a brilliant concept alone does not a perfect demo make. The three
companies provided comfortable seats, a dramatic setting, and a brisk,
informative presentation that laid out the system's premise, benefits, and
accessibility. They presented three short vignettes (with nary a gunshot or
explosion among them) and they told us what each illustrated: A Scene from
Shakespeare in Love demonstrated dialogue intelligibility and good
fleshtones, an HDTV tape of the Leno show how crisp the image could be, and
a scene from Moulin Rouge illustrated the magic of movies with its
overwrought romanticism.
"It was good marketing. It was forthright and informative. And it made us
— and everyone else in the audience — want that system!
Other companies take note: This is how it should be done."
For details on the Image 5T, Image 9C, Image 10S, and the Image SubSonic 6 please click here.
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 | Stereophile Reviews the Alpha B |
We are delighted to report that in the magazine's May 2002 issue, Stereophile's Robert Reina welcomes the Alpha B with the kind of review that's certain to add to the Alpha legend. Some quotes from the review:
"Paul Barton is a legend in the speaker business. For 25 years this musician and engineer has dedicated his life to providing speaker purchasers with higher levels of realism at lower prices."
"It is the affordable Alpha speaker, introduced 10 years ago (and reviewed in the July 1992 and January 1994 Stereophiles and the very first issue pf Stereophile Guide to Home Theater that created all the fuss, at the time setting a new benchmark for affordable loudspeakers."
"But Barton is not one to rest on his laurels. Into his third and latest generation of the Alpha, the Alpha B, he has trickled down some of the design and manufacturing innovations of his more expensive Image series."
"I was immediately struck by the Alpha B's smoothness and its uniformity of frequency response from the midbass to the extreme treble."
"The Alpha B excelled with vocals, especially those of the seductive female type...anxious to mine my vinyl collection, I cued up a track from my original pressing of Ella Fitzgerald's Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie! (Verve V64053). I was so taken by the warm, vibrant, immediate natural quality of the mighty Ella that I put down my pen and pad and played through both sides of the disc."
"I have never heard a speaker costing less than $1,000/pair that reproduced woodwinds more naturally than did the Alpha B."
"Further down the frequency spectrum, the Alpha B's midbass reproduction was superb. On well-recorded jazz discs, the string bass was as realistic as I'd heard from such an inexpensive speaker."
"What was most surprising about PSB's Alpha B was its outstanding performance as a home-theater speaker. Its smooth and detailed tonal presentation made for an involving and unfatiguing reproduction of film soundtracks, and I found its slightly forward midrange presentation made the dialog and Foley effects highly intelligible."
"Even now, considering again the quality of construction and sound of these remarkable little boxes and checking the price yet again, I'm still shaking my head."
For the full review, now posted on Stereophile's website, please click here.
For details on the Alpha B, please click here.
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Plaudits for Alpha Surround Combination |  |
A 5.1 surround combination with a pair of Alpha Bs up front, an Alpha C in
the center, a pair of Alpha S bipolar systems in the rear, and an Alpha
SubSonic 5 as subwoofer, has received an enthusiastic judgement on the
audiorevolution.com website. "The PSB Alpha system is a great value
in both dollars and space," says reviewer Brian Kahn. "Using either
criterion as a basis for judgment, there is great performance given the
costs." For the full review, please click here.
For details on the Alpha B, Alpha C, Alpha S, please click here
and for the Alpha SubSonic 5, please click here.
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Image 3LR Surround System Gets
"Editors' Choice Gold Award" from SGHT
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"The Image 3LR's wide soundstage, convincing depth, and smooth overall response demand an audition by anyone looking
for a great home theater value," says Stereophile Guide to Home Theater in bestowing a 2002 "Editors' Choice Gold Award"
to a PSB home theater system consisting of Image 3LRs in front, an Image 9C center-channel, a pair of Image 10S bipolar
surrounds, and an Image SubSonic 6 subwoofer. "This PSB home-theater package won't break the bank, and provides a lot of
bang for your buck. The well-matched speakers integrate beautifully into a consistent, fully formed 'sonic bubble.' TJN
[Thomas J. Norton] found the overall balance smooth and natural. The sound was spectacular when called for, intimate
where required. And the bass from the SubSonic 6 subwoofer was powerful and deep."
For details on the Image 3LR, please click here.
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Kevin Hunt Praises the Alpha B
As 2001 drew to a close, syndicated audio/video columnist Kevin Hunt, a
longtime fan of the Alpha Series of compact monitors, decided to give the
new Alphas a try, focusing especially on the Alpha B. His verdict: "If the
new Alpha B were merely a smaller, and prettier, speaker than its
predecessors, it would have been a notable addition to the modern home
theater. But PSB has updated the sound, too, while keeping the Alphas in
the bargain-price range. Value is the only thing that hasn't changed in the
Alpha family."
For details, please click here.
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| Another Strong Review for the Image 7PT |
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The Absolute Sound is one of the world's most demanding audio
publications, so it's gratifying to see the reception given to our Image
7PT in a review by Stephan Harrell in the January 2002 issue. Please click
here for details of the review.
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"Paul Barton has done it again, developing a line of speakers with
performance that goes way beyond what you'd expect for the price. I'd
recommend this system to anyone."
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Home Theater Magazine
Reviews Image 7PT Home Theater System |
In the September 2001 Home Theater, Michael Trei gives an Image Home
Theater System (Image 7PT, 9C, 10S, SubSonic 6) a rave review. Samples:
"I was immediately struck by how lively and dynamic everything sounded. No
matter how loud I played it, the PSB system never sounded compressed, and
this sense of dynamics let everything hang out in an engaging and exciting way."
"Dynamics were stunning, and the film's plane crash sequence had me
clutching the arm of my sofa for dear life."
"The SubSonic 6 is the first sub I've seen for under $1,000 that really can
be used effectively for both music and effects."
"The September issue of Home Theater
is on news stands now, and is well worth seeking out.
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"You're left with the music without consciousness of the source."
Lawrence B. Johnson Praises The Alpha Intros
 One of audio/video's most respected reviewers, Lawrence B. Johnson, has
found lots to like about a home theater combining our Alpha Intro LR and CLR
with the Alpha SubZero subwoofer. In a web review for the Detroit
News, Johnson, a veteran audio writer for Stereophile,
Stereophile Guide to Home Theater, The New York Times and
other publications, finds the new Intros "equally appealing for room-size
duty and the near-field intimacy of computer programs." "Their sonic
character," he says, is free of harshness, even in complex high-frequencies,
and their stereo imagery is so precise that the speakers soon vanish within
their own soundstage." He also praises "two more familiar features of Paul
Barton sound design, musical accuracy and the ability to play loud without
losing control." And with the SubZero taking care of the dinosaur footfalls
in movies: "you've got one little all-purpose can-do system."
For the full review, please click here.
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