PSB speakers past model: SubSonic 1

The Stratus SubSonic 7 has recently replaced the Stratus SubSonic 3i,
which may still be available at some dealers.

"Stratus" is our top-of-the-line designation, and the new Stratus SubSonic 3i is aimed primarily to be the partner of our Stratus series —Mini, Silver, and Gold. It is a tremendously powerful and sophisticated product that is destined, we think, to stir up a prodigious amount of interest as well as low-frequency air.

The SubSonic 3i begins with a 15-inch, 46-ounce magnet woofer that is driven by a 300 watt (700 watts peak!) amplifier. And what an amplifier it is! In addition to our unique electroacoustic interface (see our description of the Alpha SubSonic 1 above if you have not already), it employs unique "BASH" circuitry developed with Blade Technologies of Markham, Ontario. Conceived by an experienced producer of switch-mode power supplies, the BASH circuit brings the concept of a high-efficiency, fast-response switch-mode power supply to bear on providing the main voltage rails for a linear class AB amplifier. It varies the output voltage of the power supply in synch with the audio signal being amplified, to maintain a constant voltage drop across the output transistors of the amplifier. To put it another way, BASH design modulates the amplifier's power supply so that it is always a few watts higher than the signal. This varies the distance between the signal itself and the upper and lower "rails" of amplifier performance. What that provides is a beautiful combination of Class D amplifier efficiency—roughly 85 per cent—and extremely clean audible performance of the kind you get with class AB operation. The power is equal at all the varying impedance levels in a speaker's range, and it is so efficient that there is no excess heat and so no need for an external heat sink.

Innovations98 Award

This is an enormously capable product that should make a major change in the subwoofer sweepstakes. It is hard to imagine any kind of use on either music or the most complex subterranean material in Home Theater that the Stratus SubSonic 3i will not handle both awesomely and easily.

Like our other subs, the Subsonic 3i comes with a continuously variable crossover control (50 - 150 Hz), a volume control, and a phase switch. It provides the same alternatives of line or conventional speaker-cable inputs as the SubSonic 2i, including the ability to keep signals below 80 Hz out of your main amplifier if you so choose. we can only urge you to go hear it to discover what this amazing product can do. . .

Previous (Recent) SubSonics Specifications

Detail of the SubSonic 3i Control Panel (39K).
Stratus SubSonic 3i Manual PDF (328k)