The eight new Image models
(Credit: PSB Speakers)
Paul Barton in New York last week
(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)PSB Speakers are on a roll. Sales are up, possibly because the Canadian manufacturer has completely redesigned one of its lines each year for the last three years. The company is adding new dealers, so it's easier than ever to find PSB Speakers in your town.
This year it's the mid-price Image series that was completely redesigned, with models ranging from the $299/pair Image B4 bookshelf speaker to the $1,199 T6 Tower speaker. There are eight models in all, including a bipole surround and two center-channel speakers.
Mr. PSB himself, Paul Barton, was in New York City last week to talk to the press about his latest designs. He told me he visits his factory in China six times a year, and personally supervises preproduction planning and testing to ensure his quality standards are met. A lot of audio companies build speakers in China, but few follow through to the extent PSB does.
Just as he has for decades, Barton continues to design and develop all of his speakers in Canada, at the National Research Council's facilities in Ottawa.
Barton demonstrated the tiny B4, midsize B5 bookshelf models and the large T6 towers with NAD electronics in a hotel room. The sound of all three was lively and clear, and sure, the larger ones produced more bass than the smaller ones. But honestly, my favorite was the smallest Image, the 9-inch-tall B4.
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Samsung's state of the art home theater in a box.
(Credit: Samsung)Samsung's brand spanking new HT-BD2 home theater in a box put me through some changes. It's the world's first Blu-ray HTIB, so sure, it's got picture quality to die for, and even boasts state of the art Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio surround 7.1 channel processing. The HT-BD2 also looks pretty hot, the Blu-ray player/A/V receiver's curvaceous, high gloss style is drop-dead gorgeous, and the super-model thin tower speakers and chunky subwoofer are likewise designed for eye appeal.
But just that, the HT-BD2's sonic splendors are in short supply, or to put it another way, it's all show and no go. I'll get into more detail about the sound in my CNET review that will appear early next month.
But the HT-BD2's hefty price tag, $1,500, put me off. The Samsung sounds merely OK, not bad, just painfully average for a HTIB--clearly the product designers know that features and looks sell, and sound is a low priority. I'm sure Samsung will sell a ton of these things, but if you care about sound you can do a lot better for your $1,500. How good, let's see.
I didn't want to forfeit Blu-ray for this $1,500 dream system, so I selected Samsung's BD-P1400 Blu-ray Player (street price, $350). It duplicates the HT-BD2's video capabilities. Pioneer's VSX-817 receiver typically goes for around $200-250, and would be a good match for our $900 speaker/subwoofer package.
Speakers? I have two favorites in this price range, Atlantic Technology's sweet sounding System 920; you can read my CNET review here. PSB Speakers' Alpha Series is a little pricier, but truly excellent. Four B1 bookshelf monitors, the Alpha C1 center speaker, and SubSeries 1 subwoofer would bring us in on budget. OK, maybe a little over, depending on the deals you score.
The shootout between this separates based system and the Samsung HT-BD2 wouldn't take very long. The Samsung sounds like a home theater in a box--dynamically undernourished, with boomy, poorly defined bass, and no actual treble detail. Yes, the Samsung can play pretty loud, but sound quality isn't a happening concept. It sounds like a very large table radio.
The Samsung Blu-ray, Pioneer receiver, and Atlantic Technology or PSB Speakers based system will sound awfully nice on music and movies. Bass will be deeper and tighter, with freewheeling dynamics, an open sounding midrange and yes, actual treble extension.
We're talking big differences here, but it's your money and you get to choose--slick style or good sound. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Paul Barton, founder and chief designer of PSB Speakers loves his job. He'd have to--over the last the last three decades he's probably logged more hours at the Canadian National Research Council's facilities in Ottawa, Ontario than any other speaker designer. There he dotes on his prototype designs in the acoustically neutral environment of an anechoic chamber, measuring and evaluating every aspect of their performance. Barton typically spends two to three years designing a new line of speakers.
I met with him in NYC a few weeks ago to check out his latest, Synchrony. After discussing the technical highlights of his new babies he handed me a Synchrony One B ($1,999/pair) bookshelf speaker to look over. PSB speakers have always sounded great, but they weren't the most gorgeous looking things. The new ones are altogether sleeker, slimmed down, and really pretty in an understated sort of way. Their heavyweight extruded aluminum front and rear baffles; and curved, seven-layer composite wood side panels display a new, more sophisticated level of fit and finish. The speakers are available in snazzy real cherry wood or black ash veneers.
Paul and his offspring
(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)The sound, especially the top of the line Synchrony One tower speaker ($4,499/pair) was spectacularly vivid. Bass was not only subwoofer deep, it was also taut, so it rendered pitches of bass with rare precision. Listen to Paul McCartney's bass on the Beatles' Sgt Pepper CD and you'll know what I'm talking about. Rock drummers came off particularly well; the sense of hearing sticks beating skins was remarkably clear and clean. Barton's new tweeter was equally astonishing when reproducing the cymbals' brassy shimmer. Livingston Taylor's folk vocals from his Ink CD had just the right combination of body and soul. That's exactly what separates "good enough" mainstream speakers from high-end models; the best ones make you feel like you're in the presence of live musicians. Ah yes, that's the point after all.
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