PSB Speakers Owners thread - Page 126

OMFG, HolyfrigginShite, I finally know what surround is supposed to sound like and know what I've been missing! Watched MI3 on Friday, I've watched it before I got my new S's. I heard stuff I never knew was there, water drops while in the tunnel, all kinds of sounds came from these surrounds. I have them hooked up in dipole mode but will try bipole and 7.1 mode this week. They are a very nice looking piece of furniture, very well put together. The only thing I don't like, no big deal, the jumper wires don't really fit, the spades aren't the right size. I made my own using 14AWG which is probably better and they look pretty good. I remember while watching thinking WOW, what was that, listen to that. Really nice speakers, got them for a great price, gonna try and get some T2's next, if the price is right.

For the Imagine Mini how would they perform as a 5.1 home theatre? the room is open and not closed but would that matter with placement of the speakers? would I use the Imagine C for the centre or is there a Mini for the centre? closest dealer to me is 8 hours away! so I can't really hear them first but I keep hearing how awesome these small speakers are.

If you do a web search, there are a number of reviews of the Mini, and they are all good. I have two pairs of Mini's, using them as effect speakers, and I love them. The tweeters are the same as in the rest of the Imagine line (i.e. very good). Tonally, they blend very well with my Imagine C's. And yes, you would pair them with the Imagine C center speaker, as well as with a competent subwoofer.

The only reservation I would have is using them as the main speakers in a large room, especially if you want to drive them to high volumes. One of the other Imagine speakers might handle the load a bit better. IMO, the entire Imagine line produces superb sound quality for a reasonable price.

I think tower speakers would be over kill for me as I don't crank it up real loud, I like my hearing and would like to keep it. I do like it somewhat loud when watching a movie so I can get the effects in but I don't play movie theatre loud, if this makes sense?. Would the Imagine B's be better than the Minis? it'll be set up for just cable and movies wouldn't listen to music on it. I'm also looking at the MilleniaOne from Paradigm.

The B's would be a better choice for left and right fronts, while the Mini's would be OK for the surrounds, IMO. As I mentioned in my first post, I have both of these speakers, and am familiar with their performance.

Looking for opinions - Right now, I'm using the Synchrony One Towers and One Center, and the Synchrony Two Towers as surrounds. The surrounds are directly to the sides of the listening position, about 5 feet away. It sounds amazing, but I wonder if I could acheive a more "spacious" sounding surround environment if I was to get a pair of the Synchrony S surrounds, and use them in dipole mode. This would involve putting them on stands as wall mount is not an option. I do listen to 5.1 SACD and DVD-A music occasionally, and have heard this is not optimum with dipoles.

TIA for any help!

I also have Synchrony One's in front, but I have Imagine B's as the surrounds. Similar because we both have monopoles. My preference has always been to have monopoles because they are IMO the best choice for music, which is at least 50% of my listening. I think monopoles sound great for 5.1 movies as well. The Synchrony Two's are excellent speakers, so your system probably sounds great.

If you really want to enhance movie sound, you should consider DSX Wides and Heights. I have a full 11.1 setup, all using monopole speakers. For movies, with all speakers active, there is certainly a "spacious", enveloping sound.

Thanks, AustinJerry. I will upgrade to the Integra pre/pro, so then heights will be an option. Can't do the wides in my room. I have about 3 feet between my listening position and the wall, do you think it's enough space to put rear surrounds? The Synchronys do sound incredible with both movies & music, that's for sure!

Of the speaker sets in an 11.1 system, the rear surrounds are by far the least important. True 7.1 content is rare, and the artificially-derived matrixed rear channel audio is not that pleasing, IMO. If you use monopole rear surrounds, the 3 ft distance makes it difficult to aim the speakers at the MLP. I have first-hand experience of this, using Imagine Mini's with the PSB wall mounts as rear surrounds. I contemplated replacing the Mini's with dipoles, but I decided that with the additional cost, and the relative unimportance of rear surrounds, it wasn't worth it.

If you have an extra set of speakers, I would encourage you to try rear surrounds and make the decision for yourself.

Thanks. I don't even know if it's worth trying it - I'd have to put the rear speakers on brackets under the windows facing up. Once I get the Integra pre/pro, I may check out front heights. these I can position properly. What mode would I have to use them with? I know Audyessey has DSX, but doesn't Dolby or DTS have one, too? How about with music?

There are two modes that use Height speakers: Audyssey DSX and Dolby PLIIz. For music, I prefer PLIIz, although I don't like the Height effect on all music. For movies and satellite, I use Audyssey DSX, since only DSX allows the Wides to be enabled at the same time as the Heights.

If you plan on purchasing Height speakers, I highly recommend the Imagine Mini's. The Heights should be closely timbre-matched with the rest of the speakers, and the Mini's meet this requirement. The Imagine B's would be a bit of an overkill, and they are significantly heavier, making wall-mounting more difficult. PSB also has a wall-mount especially designed for the Mini (http://www.crutchfield.com/p_760PWB1/PSB-PWB-1.html). While the mounts are pricey ($100/pair), they have a 45 degree vertical adjustment. Heights are usually mounted high in front (or on the side walls), so being able to adjust the mounts so the speakers point directly at the MLP is important.

Good luck!

Imagine Mini with custom PSB wall mount:



Imagine B with B-Tech wall mounts (limited vertical adjustment, only 7 degrees):

Austinjerry -

Great info; thanks a bunch!

How would this set up be for Movies/TV

Imagine T (Fronts)
Imagine B (Rears) OR am I better with the Imagine S?
Imagine C (Center)

that set up is $3000 and makes it the most affordable option and most attractive to me because of that. Other ones I'm looking at are the Paradigm Studio or GoldenEars TritonCinema Two, is there really that much of a difference between these models?.

Hello everyone. I have an old PSB Image 8C that needs a replacement woofer. Can anyone help me figure out how/where to get one?

Thanks!

If a heavily biased to movies/TV system, the S option might be favourable. If a lot of MCH music is on the menu, then I'd go with the B option. YMMV

How good would the sound be for movies? would this give me a theatre like sound with the detailed sound? I don't listen to movies loud but want to have good surround sound and hear the sound effects good. Nearest PSB dealer is 8 hours away I'm planning on heading there soon to listen before I buy it. I can't find much for reviews on the Imagine series about how it does with movies, mostly talk about music. I've been learning more toward Paradigm Studios as I read there centre channel is a 3 way to the Imagine's 2 way which makes it a better movie performer? but I LOVE the look of the white Imagines.

I have a full 11.1 configuration, all PSB monopole speakers. I use Imagine B's for surrounds, and Imagine Mini's for the other effect speakers. IMO, direct radiating speakers sound excellent with movie content, and are preferred for multi-channel music.

If I were starting from scratch with the Imagine line in my room, I'd go with 5 Bs and a good sub. I listen to a lot of MCH music and prefer monopole speakers for that. Also, identical speakers all around give a uniform sound.

However, if my HT was not for serious music listening, I'd probably go with 3 Bs and 2 Ss. The S design is closer to the suggested speaker specs for movie soundtracks than the Bs--a more diffuse soundscape is called for according to the literature. I find I slightly prefer a design like the S for movies but I strongly prefer a monopole for music. As such, I favour the small sacrifice for movies for the big gain I get for music.

The overall sound I get from my Imagine Bs in my living room 2 channel system is a nice balance between the clarity of the Focal and the smoothness of the Monitor Audio I auditioned (they were my other two finalists). If you like the Klipsch sound (I don't) you might find them too laid back. But I'm especially fond of the tweeter for its clarity minus any stridency.

Good luck.

wow really? the B's over the T's and the C? thanks for the info I would've thought that the T's and C would have performed better for movies?, I'll make sure to test that option out as it would be cheaper, I might move on up to the Ones or Twos B's with that option... this setup will be for just movies and TV, thanks.

You're right, the T's would be better, better yet, go for the T2's and S's for side and rear surround, that would be a very nice system and one I'm heading toward. The S's are a very nice sounding speaker. I have mine set up to wire all 3 ways, bi-pole, pic below, di-pole, with factory jumpers, and I ran a second speaker wire from the rear channel of my AVR so when I have a true 7.1 BR, TRON, then I can plug them in, change my AVR to 7.1 and voila, same for music. It only takes me 3 minutes to remove the jumpers and plug in the rears and change the AVR, then I'm good for a night of 7.1 sound.

ps, anyone have any suggestions for 7.1 BR's they have enjoyed?

Anyone care to share their view on the T5's? Also, how do the T5's compare to the t55's? I have a chance to buy some used T55's, how much do you think is a good price for em? Thanks.

What are finding the prices are for the T2? I don't have a PSB dealer that close to me and they won't give me prices over the phone so I've been checking crutchfield.com, wondering if their cheaper or more likely more expensive in Canada. What colour did you pick up? upload pics man! let's see this.

for your viewing pleasure, cherry.
Ya the T2's aren't cheap, Crutchfield is about $1,800 EACH so $3,600 for the pair, I think you could get your dealer down to $3,200 maybe better if you're buying other stuff as well. Don't forget, Crutchfield is US, their online Canadian store doesn't even carry PSB, go friggin figure eh? Made an hour from my home and I can't buy them on any online Canadian retailer and the retailer close to me marks them up huge, $3,999, many US online stores have them. But you'll get killed at customs, they'll charge you $500 to $600 in taxes and duty and broker fee's, UPS wants a cheque at your door so figure that in to your buying. Some US onlines will mark the price down and mark it as a gift but there will still be fee's when UPS comes nockin.

I would put the money I saved on the Bs towards a better sub or two, especially for movies. Plus a B is easier to place as a centre than a T in most applications. If I had more money, I would go with 5 Ts, but the principle is the same--identical speakers at all channels if at all possible (for music), identical across the front with dipoles for surrounds (if movies are the main thing--though I prefer the first option).

I have also always preferred the better imaging I get from standmounts, as they can be placed in the most optimal position for that purpose, while offloading the heavy bass lifting to a sub or two. But there are many ways to approach this kind of setup.

Just heard back from a major retailer in Toronto, the T2's "are not available yet," but when they are the MSRP will be $3,000 a pair, less than I thought, you could likely get them down from there. Don't know yet what the retailers cost is but I should find out soon.

You are right on all counts I suppose, I don't have B's so don't know. My only concern with such small speakers is that I like to listen at fairly loud levels, both music and movies. I would be afraid with 135 watts per channel, I'd be klling those little speakers, don't think I could do any harm to T2's or even T's but the ratings for them B's are simialr so I don't know. Just know when I crank the 7 channel or stereo mode it's very loud and I'd be affraid of blowing those little guys!

Just a follow up - picked up the Synchrony 1Bs at a really nice price, and have been living them with for a few weeks now. They have mellowed into a really sweet sound, and the edge seems to have fallen off the treble.

Nice, really nice set of speakers. They image to beat the band and have plenty of bass to satisfy even my bass hungry wife.

Compared to the Maggie 1.7s, they project a much smaller image and are not capable in my system of "immersing" one into the sound in the same way. A Cello, for example, sounds very very good through Maggies. It sounds almost as good through the 1Bs, only smaller.

They are very nice speakers, and I don't regret dropping the dollars on them.

-Paul

They are a speaker that offers better bang for the buck over what you would get for similar money from the likes of Wharfedale or Jamo I feel. (well at least that's what I found when I was auditioning speakers when I was first getting into HT)

The Image series I ended up with (T5, B5, C5) would have been all I ever would have needed for TV/movies... but they whetted my appetite for a more serious music system. Compared to more expensive higher end speakers, the T5 suffered from a touch of port boom, lacking some mid-range detail, and the treble wasn't as smooth as it could be. (cymbal splash wasn't that great on them)

After a year with the T5's as my fronts, I replaced them with PSB's Imagine B bookshelves. (I already had subs) They were an improvement on all 3 weak points of the T5. And they are around the same price point anyhow. I should have got the Imagine B's to begin with and not been so hung up on having towers for the fronts.

But this is only because I got more into music. For TV/movies the T5's are plenty good enough. Sorry, I've never heard the T55's to able to compare them to the T5's.

Once you cross them over to a sub - say even from 60hz and down... you can push them surprisingly hard without distortion. The cones on my Imagine B's don't exert nowhere near as much when crossed over at 60hz to subs at quite loud levels. And I am driving them with a 150 watt Perreaux poweramp.