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PSB Speakers Owners thread - Page 57

post #1681 of 4586
2/24/09 at 9:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by xMx Reaper xMx View Post

i'd love to see some people contribute with pictures of their setups.

it would be very interesting to see the different things that people have.
as soon as i receive my T45's i will take some pictures of my setup, and hopefully others will do the same.


I saw your other thread... pretty funny on all the back and forth. Anyways, I believe we picked up the PSB's within a day apart or so. I had them in boxes for a few days cause I just didn't have the time to set them up. But I finally did, and man.... I love'm!

Here are some pics. Don't mind the wiring. I still gotta clean that up.







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post #1682 of 4586
2/24/09 at 10:29pm
Hey all, this is my first post though I've been lurking on the forums for months now. I'm trying to buy my first home theater setup and decided on the PSB image series to go with my Harman Kardon 254. My room is 18x12 with my watching distance at about 9 feet the short length of the room. My listening/watching preference is 35 SDTV/20 Movies/20 Gaming/15 Music. I only have ~$800 to spend on my first set of speakers. I'm thinking of either just starting with towers or getting bookshelves with a good sub.

My question is whether or not I should start with T45's or B25's with a $500 sub. My next question is if I get the T45's then would my next purchase have to be B15's for surrounds to match the woofer sizes and conversely if I instead started with the B25's then would I have to get T55's? What would the sound difference be between the 2.0 and 2.1 setups? Also considering that T45/B15 would cost less than T55/B25 which would mean about another $200 towards the sub then what would the difference between aT45/B15/$700 sub and T55/B25/$500 sub be?
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post #1683 of 4586
2/24/09 at 11:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by woolylambkin View Post

I only have ~$800 to spend on my first set of speakers. I'm thinking of either just starting with towers or getting bookshelves with a good sub.

If you have the floor space I'd recommend getting good full range towers rather than bookshelves and a sub. With all the frequencies coming from the same place you will get better imaging, and won't have any of the issues with blending a sub and speakers. The sound will be more cohesive, put together, if it all comes from the same speakers.

That said, if you are looking for room shaking bass (not recommended in an apartment) then you may have to go for an amplified sub to provide that. Full range towers typically don't provide the same visceral response to movie explosions as a dedicated sub.
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post #1684 of 4586
2/25/09 at 12:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by woolylambkin View Post

I'm thinking of either just starting with towers or getting bookshelves with a good sub.

Your question is basically a Music vs Movies one, IMO. The towers for music, & the bookshelves & sub for Movies, is what I would say.

For your size room, you should be fine with the T45 towers, and don't worry too much about matching up driver sizes, all of the Image series speakers pretty much work with each other, a B25 will go fine with a T45.
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post #1685 of 4586
2/25/09 at 3:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by woolylambkin View Post

Hey all, this is my first post though I've been lurking on the forums for months now. I'm trying to buy my first home theater setup and decided on the PSB image series to go with my Harman Kardon 254. My room is 18x12 with my watching distance at about 9 feet the short length of the room. My listening/watching preference is 35 SDTV/20 Movies/20 Gaming/15 Music. I only have ~$800 to spend on my first set of speakers. I'm thinking of either just starting with towers or getting bookshelves with a good sub.

My question is whether or not I should start with T45's or B25's with a $500 sub. My next question is if I get the T45's then would my next purchase have to be B15's for surrounds to match the woofer sizes and conversely if I instead started with the B25's then would I have to get T55's? What would the sound difference be between the 2.0 and 2.1 setups? Also considering that T45/B15 would cost less than T55/B25 which would mean about another $200 towards the sub then what would the difference between aT45/B15/$700 sub and T55/B25/$500 sub be?

Unless you'll be using the B25s for a music system later on, I would say that they are overkill for surround duty. The B25 is a powerful bookshelf speaker capable of going down to 50 Hz and playing loud, very loud. They are extremely dynamic. In surround duty, you will never come close to hitting their limits. They are also much bigger than teh B15 so placement may be tricky depending on your roomset-up. I would stick to the B15 as surrounds. They still can play very loud and although they don't go as deep in the bass as the B25, they are still a very respectable performer. Besides, the bass will be handled by the sub anyway.

So concluding my recommnedation, B25 if you ever plan on using them for a music system only or as mains for your next HT, or B15 if this will be it because teh B25 will really be overkill.
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post #1686 of 4586
2/25/09 at 8:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by woolylambkin View Post

My question is whether or not I should start with T45's or B25's with a $500 sub. My next question is if I get the T45's then would my next purchase have to be B15's for surrounds to match the woofer sizes and conversely if I instead started with the B25's then would I have to get T55's? What would the sound difference be between the 2.0 and 2.1 setups? Also considering that T45/B15 would cost less than T55/B25 which would mean about another $200 towards the sub then what would the difference between aT45/B15/$700 sub and T55/B25/$500 sub be?

Assuming your room does not open to another room and has a more or less normal ceiling the T45's should do fine. I can't really see using the T55s and B25s in that room. However, given the length relative to the width you might be sitting in a position where the S50's would work? You'd want to be some distance from the back wall... That would be a fair amount more money but can give really good results. Either way I'd still want to spend as much on the sub as possible. Neither the T45 or the T55 really dig that much below 40 Hz, to really fill out the bottom end for movies you do want a sub. For music, you could skip it.
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post #1687 of 4586
2/25/09 at 9:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by scientest View Post

Assuming your room does not open to another room and has a more or less normal ceiling the T45's should do fine. I can't really see using the T55s and B25s in that room. However, given the length relative to the width you might be sitting in a position where the S50's would work? You'd want to be some distance from the back wall... That would be a fair amount more money but can give really good results. Either way I'd still want to spend as much on the sub as possible. Neither the T45 or the T55 really dig that much below 40 Hz, to really fill out the bottom end for movies you do want a sub. For music, you could skip it.

My room has two 10x8 openings. One on left side of the back wall and the other on the front side of the right wall. Both of them open up into rooms that are about 12x12.

Right now I'm leaning towards T45's as I don't need wall shaking bass (yet) and it looks like there's a consensus that B15's should be fine as surrounds. One more question: if I move then at what size room would the T45/B15 system not fill adequately?
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post #1688 of 4586
2/25/09 at 9:18am
Afternoon everyone!

I'm loving my new PSB speakers, but I think my tweeter is broken.

I recently bought a pair of PSB Image T45s and the left channel speaker appears to not be outputting sound from the tweeter. If I stick my ear right by it while it's playing, I can't hear anything. When I do the same on the right speaker, I can hear the music (and a hiss when no music) coming from the tweeter. I also have a PSB Image C40 and I can hear a hiss coming from the tweeter.

They are hooked up to an Emotiva XPA-3 then through component cables to a Pioneer VSX-1018. The speaker wires are 50ft 12 gauge from monoprice, but I'm pretty sure it's not the speaker wire because I could hear the tweeter when I moved the right speaker over to the left and hooked it up.

Searching the thread for "tweeter broken" it seems it is easy to replace? Not that expensive? Has anyone replaced tweeters on a T45?

As per the request for more pictures of setups, here's mine. I have a 7.1 configuration with some old PSB Alpha Mini's / Alpha Mite's for the surrounds and a PSB SubZero subwoofer.







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post #1689 of 4586
2/25/09 at 9:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by woolylambkin View Post

My room has two 10x8 openings. One on left side of the back wall and the other on the front side of the right wall. Both of them open up into rooms that are about 12x12.

Right now I'm leaning towards T45's as I don't need wall shaking bass (yet) and it looks like there's a consensus that B15's should be fine as surrounds. One more question: if I move then at what size room would the T45/B15 system not fill adequately?

Hmm, now you're getting into quite a bit more area. I'd still think you are ok with the T45s. If you listen to things at reference volumes you might want the T55s but on your budget it simply may not be possible to really go that loud for long periods of time.
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post #1690 of 4586
2/25/09 at 12:57pm
Thanks for the pictures guys.

there really looks to be some nice setups there!

so i have to ask the PSB faithful.
Now that i've ordered my T45's, i'm torn between getting a center first, or a pair of B25's for surrounds.

here's the dillema.
i have roughly 300 to spend on the choices.

the center can be had for roughly $280 shipped off of DMC.
and i can get a pair of B25's used off of someone i know for $250.
that along with mounts makes them fall into my budget.

but here's the thing.
i won't be able to get either the center or the surrounds until around may or so.

So for that amount of time, which is the better choice?

everyone i've asked has said surrounds, but i'd like more opinions to get a better idea.

Thanks to everyone with some input, i really appreciate it.
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post #1691 of 4586
2/25/09 at 1:48pm
Thanks for the pics guys.

Troll, just my tastes, but IF I were you, I'd try to play around with speaker positioning to get it somewhat how 33sticks has em. Mains away from front wall some more, spread out a bit more, toed in a bit more. Then the surrounds, if possible, further away, pointed at you, not away from you.

I also thought about recommending sliders for your couch's feet, so that you can move away from the back wall for, you know, lights off movie watching. That rug might make that difficult. my 2 cents

Quote:
Originally Posted by Troll View Post


Quote:
Originally Posted by 33sticks View Post

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post #1692 of 4586
2/25/09 at 1:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3db View Post

Unless you'll be using the B25s for a music system later on, I would say that they are overkill for surround duty. The B25 is a powerful bookshelf speaker capable of going down to 50 Hz and playing loud, very loud. They are extremely dynamic. In surround duty, you will never come close to hitting their limits. They are also much bigger than teh B15 so placement may be tricky depending on your roomset-up. I would stick to the B15 as surrounds. They still can play very loud and although they don't go as deep in the bass as the B25, they are still a very respectable performer. Besides, the bass will be handled by the sub anyway.

So concluding my recommnedation, B25 if you ever plan on using them for a music system only or as mains for your next HT, or B15 if this will be it because teh B25 will really be overkill.

hey 3db, I do agree with you for the most part. I think what you say is true 99.9% of the time. The only movie tracks I can think of that get closer to using the B25's limits for HT are Band of Brothers DTSMA, and perhaps LOTR. That said, when something like the above is on, and I've got the floor shaking, I'm glad I have B25s for surrounds.

That said, the b25s are very large, and for the once-in-a-blue-moon benefit, it very well might not be worth it for the possible eyesore.

Quote:
Originally Posted by xMx Reaper xMx View Post

Thanks for the pictures guys.

there really looks to be some nice setups there!

so i have to ask the PSB faithful.
Now that i've ordered my T45's, i'm torn between getting a center first, or a pair of B25's for surrounds.

here's the dillema.
i have roughly 300 to spend on the choices.

the center can be had for roughly $280 shipped off of DMC.
and i can get a pair of B25's used off of someone i know for $250.
that along with mounts makes them fall into my budget.

but here's the thing.
i won't be able to get either the center or the surrounds until around may or so.

So for that amount of time, which is the better choice?

everyone i've asked has said surrounds, but i'd like more opinions to get a better idea.

Thanks to everyone with some input, i really appreciate it.

reaper, do we presume that you cannot fit an upright b25 or t45 for center speakers? How close are your mains to each other right now, and how wide is the viewing area? Without knowing, I vote for center speaker.
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post #1693 of 4586
2/25/09 at 2:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by xMx Reaper xMx View Post

so i have to ask the PSB faithful.
Now that i've ordered my T45's, i'm torn between getting a center first, or a pair of B25's for surrounds.

Does your amp support a phantom center? If so you can likely live with a phantom center for some time, but there ain't no such thing as a phantom surround! I purchased both my surrounds and center off of eBay and ended up getting the surrounds (S50's) first. I lived with a phantom center for about 3 or 4 weeks until I got a C60. The C60 made a big difference, but until I got it I didn't really appreciate what I was missing, it was tolerable without it...
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post #1694 of 4586
2/25/09 at 3:44pm
okay to fill in a few holes in my question.

first off, my room is 9x11x8.

so the speakers are roughly nine feet apart from each other.
and also, i have a Harman Kardon AVR 247 that i run them with, so yes it does support the phantom center.

and no, i don't have room for an upright B25 or T45.
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post #1695 of 4586
2/25/09 at 6:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by xMx Reaper xMx View Post

first off, my room is 9x11x8.

so the speakers are roughly nine feet apart from each other.
5.

So, does that mean your speakers are flush in the corners, or does it mean that the room is indeed not setup to be lengthwise?

getting away from corners is good, and so is lengthwise placement, generally.

I still vote for center speaker, but that's just me. Surround effects are used sparingly, and in some movies, pretty much not at all.

You could take a poll if you wanted. I'm sure you'll be happy either way.
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post #1696 of 4586
2/25/09 at 6:20pm
they're flush in the corners.

i've actually been considering moving them out.
i think it would allow for more air for them to breathe.

Alright, i know that it's purely your opinion.
but i'd love to hear some reasons to go with the center now.

see, the B25's are a used deal, that if i don't jump on them now, then i'll have to pay more later. $250 for the price now, $350 later on [both prices for B25's].

So, would it be a better decision to go with the front three for now? and then possibly consider the B15's later on instead?

hmm.. i would appreciate some in depth reasons for one over the other.
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post #1697 of 4586
2/25/09 at 6:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by xMx Reaper xMx View Post

they're flush in the corners.

i've actually been considering moving them out.
i think it would allow for more air for them to breathe.

Alright, i know that it's purely your opinion.
but i'd love to hear some reasons to go with the center now.

see, the B25's are a used deal, that if i don't jump on them now, then i'll have to pay more later. $250 for the price now, $350 later on [both prices for B25's].

So, would it be a better decision to go with the front three for now? and then possibly consider the B15's later on instead?

hmm.. i would appreciate some in depth reasons for one over the other.

Are they completely flush or are they at least toed in? Just wondering how the bass and imaging are with your current setup. It would seem that you'd have really boomy bass with the speakers flush like that.

Honestly I'd just pick up the B25's considering what a good deal they are. From the advice that I've been getting the B25's will be a lot more speaker than what you need but considering that you're getting them for the same price as a pair of B15's there's no reason not to go with the B25's if you have the room. At the worst it'll take you a couple of weeks/months to save up for your center and if the B25's are too overpowering you can always use them as mains for another setup in your house/apartment and replace them with B15's.
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post #1698 of 4586
2/25/09 at 6:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by 33sticks View Post

I recently bought a pair of PSB Image T45s and the left channel speaker appears to not be outputting sound from the tweeter. If I stick my ear right by it while it's playing, I can't hear anything. When I do the same on the right speaker, I can hear the music (and a hiss when no music) coming from the tweeter. I also have a PSB Image C40 and I can hear a hiss coming from the tweeter.

Are you getting any sound from the speaker at all? Quick check would be to grab the speaker wires from the speaker that is working and test that in the speaker that is not working, or do this at the amp. You know the one is working as is, if you hook up to the other you know you have an issue. These speakers under warranty?
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post #1699 of 4586
2/25/09 at 6:37pm
sounds like a good idea.
i've been leaning that way the entire time.

And actually, i don't have the speakers yet.
they are on the way here.

all of my answers were simply the way i was planning on putting the speakers in my room.

So, with that being said, what would you say would be the best positioning of them?
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post #1700 of 4586
2/25/09 at 6:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by xMx Reaper xMx View Post

So, with that being said, what would you say would be the best positioning of them?

KISS = whatever sounds best. However, a tip I've tried sharing before is to, just for a moment, COMPLETELY forget any aesthetic sensibilities. Keep experimenting, with no boundaries, of the speakers, as if it was for a dying blind man's wish to listen to something great.

once you find where the BEST spots are (I really do mean best), THEN let the aesthetic sensibilities come into play, and choose your best compromise.

also, do not underestimate the importance of listener positioning. The most common fault I see is when the listener is against the back wall. Moving away even just a few feet will have immediate and multiple benefits.
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post #1701 of 4586
2/25/09 at 7:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cleveland Plasma View Post

Are you getting any sound from the speaker at all? Quick check would be to grab the speaker wires from the speaker that is working and test that in the speaker that is not working, or do this at the amp. You know the one is working as is, if you hook up to the other you know you have an issue. These speakers under warranty?

Yeah I just bought them in January. After reading more online I decided to switch the tweeter in the right speaker (working) with the one in the left speaker (not working). As I suspected, the dead tweeter (now in the right) is still dead, and the working tweeter (now in the left) is still working.

I just got my receiver on Monday, so they have been hooked up for 3 days with minimal use. Could running the MCACC on the 1018 have blown the tweeter? or could it just have been defective from the start?

At any rate, I'm going to call the place where I bought them and try to get a new tweeter. I hope they have one in stock.
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post #1702 of 4586
2/25/09 at 7:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jostenmeat View Post

KISS = whatever sounds best. However, a tip I've tried sharing before is to, just for a moment, COMPLETELY forget any aesthetic sensibilities. Keep experimenting, with no boundaries, of the speakers, as if it was for a dying blind man's wish to listen to something great.

once you find where the BEST spots are (I really do mean best), THEN let the aesthetic sensibilities come into play, and choose your best compromise.

also, do not underestimate the importance of listener positioning. The most common fault I see is when the listener is against the back wall. Moving away even just a few feet will have immediate and multiple benefits.

i would absolutely love to be able to move my couch out further into the room.
the problem is that it's actually my bedroom, and the couch doubles as my bed. [it folds down]. I'm 18, so this system is meant for the future as well as the present. So, with that in mind, if the couch absolutely HAD to be along the wall, what else could i do to make my listening position better?

also, are there any ways you could think of being able to reconfigure things so then i could have the optimal position?
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post #1703 of 4586
2/25/09 at 11:08pm
Ok.. need some advice or assurance as to my thinking...

I have B25's front and am now looking at the C40 or C60. Now, from all that I have read in these pages, ( and I thank all for the information I have collected), the C60 would be a better matched speaker to go with the B25's.

Also, the C60 would be a future proof purchase for when I went to PSB Towers, even the T45

The only downside of all this is the size of the C60 compared to the C40. Is there THAT MUCH DIFFERENCE in sound between the 2x 51/4 woofer in C40 and the 2x 61/2 woofer in the C60???

Have no Sub yet, that is next on the list after the center, then the rears.

Thanks
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post #1704 of 4586
2/26/09 at 4:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by xMx Reaper xMx View Post

Thanks for the pictures guys.

there really looks to be some nice setups there!

so i have to ask the PSB faithful.
Now that i've ordered my T45's, i'm torn between getting a center first, or a pair of B25's for surrounds.

here's the dillema.
i have roughly 300 to spend on the choices.

the center can be had for roughly $280 shipped off of DMC.
and i can get a pair of B25's used off of someone i know for $250.
that along with mounts makes them fall into my budget.

but here's the thing.
i won't be able to get either the center or the surrounds until around may or so.

So for that amount of time, which is the better choice?

everyone i've asked has said surrounds, but i'd like more opinions to get a better idea.

Thanks to everyone with some input, i really appreciate it.


Get your surrounds and forget the center. The T45s image so well that unless your sitting at a "cockeyed" angle from between the speakers and or TV, you won't miss the center that much. Its importance is overrated IHO. Without the surround speakers, you don't have surround sound. That would be my route. Getting the B25s as cheap as you is a no brainer. B25s, save for the cneter channel later.
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post #1705 of 4586
2/26/09 at 7:58pm
This is my first post here and I aplogize if I'm asking the same previously asked questions.

My room is a dedicated HT 12' x 21', I have an H/k 254 AVR and a 12" velodyne DPS sub which I'd like to pair up with B25 fronts , a C40 center, and B15 rears. These PSB's will be replacing my old set of 5 Cerwin Vega speakers.
I've listened to the PSB's and I'm impressed.
My question is will it fill the room with sound or do I need to go bigger?
Is the C40 a good match for B25's?
Are B15's big enough for rears?
I sit about 8' from fronts and 10' from rears. The speakers will be used 40% movies, 50% TV,and 10% music
I may be committing this weekend so any input is much apprecviated.
Thanks
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post #1706 of 4586
2/27/09 at 12:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by xMx Reaper xMx View Post


so i have to ask the PSB faithful.
Now that i've ordered my T45's, i'm torn between getting a center first, or a pair of B25's for surrounds.

I'm going to say again, this is a movies vs music question.

If you are into tunes or listen to multichannel music (like me), I'd take the B25's as they are a good deal and will be great for all channel stereo or SACD or DVD-A. You can live with a phantom center for movies till you can afford one.

However, if you are a movies guy, you'll realise that 90% of your movie is played through your front 3 speakers, and more than half of that, pretty much ALL the dialogue comes through the front channel. Plus, you don't really need more than B15's as surrounds for movies. the sub fills in the bottom end, so spending the extra money on those isn't really necessary.
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post #1707 of 4586
2/27/09 at 12:57am
Quick question.

How would you guys compare the output of a subseries 6i and a HD10.

in a HUGE room?
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post #1708 of 4586
2/27/09 at 12:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by walmat View Post

This is my first post here and I aplogize if I'm asking the same previously asked questions.

My room is a dedicated HT 12' x 21', I have an H/k 254 AVR and a 12" velodyne DPS sub which I'd like to pair up with B25 fronts , a C40 center, and B15 rears. These PSB's will be replacing my old set of 5 Cerwin Vega speakers.
I've listened to the PSB's and I'm impressed.
My question is will it fill the room with sound or do I need to go bigger?
Is the C40 a good match for B25's?
Are B15's big enough for rears?
I sit about 8' from fronts and 10' from rears. The speakers will be used 40% movies, 50% TV,and 10% music
I may be committing this weekend so any input is much apprecviated.
Thanks

sounds good to me. if you can afford a C60 over a C40, do it. always. IMO.
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post #1709 of 4586
3/1/09 at 9:23am
Is anybody using the Image 3lr's for mains, I am and find them quite good with my new Pioneer Elite SC-05 but I am also thinking of upgrading in the near future to one of the Image line of towers.

Just looking to know if you are happy with them.
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post #1710 of 4586
3/2/09 at 12:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3db View Post

Get your surrounds and forget the center. The T45s image so well that unless your sitting at a "cockeyed" angle from between the speakers and or TV, you won't miss the center that much. Its importance is overrated IHO. Without the surround speakers, you don't have surround sound. That would be my route. Getting the B25s as cheap as you is a no brainer. B25s, save for the cneter channel later.


No matter how well the imaging is, nothing will replace the center for dialogue. Try disconnecting your center speaker and watch a movie. Better yet throw in Saving Private Ryan, first beach battle, then tell me how unnecessary a center speaker is. Surrounds should be next in line only after your front 3 IMHO.
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