When I pitted the PSB Image 4T against the three speakers I already own and love, the comparison was interesting—any speaker costing $1000/pair or less demands sonic tradeoffs whose acceptability depends on personal taste. My reference Alón Petites were more delicate, articulate, and extended in the highs than the 4Ts, and significantly more transparent through the midrange and highs, revealing more layers of inner detail (as they should, given their 50% higher price). The Petites' microdynamic performance was…
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Robert J. Reina commented on the Alón Petite in February 2001 (Vol.24 No.2):
Trees. All I could see from Route 44 was trees. Many, many trees. How many trees? Exactly 251.1 million maples, hickories, pines, hemlocks, ashes, and oaks of all colors, with trunks 5" or greater in diameter, according to an online survey I later found on the Web. Once you get away from I-95 and the coast, Connecticut seems to be one large forest, its towns peeking out from barely adequate clearings. And not just "seems"—the same online survey says that 57% of the Constitution State's 3,205,760 acres are officially classified as "forest."
I told you in December 2001's "As We See It"…
Paul Barton, founder of PSB Speakers International, is an icon of the North American speaker industry. A talented designer who has for many years produced innovative and cost-effective designs at a range of prices, Barton does not let time stand still, constantly updating and revising his designs. But what makes him unique, in my view, is that, unlike the designers at most North American speaker companies, whose successful affordable designs are trickled down from their more expensive models, Barton, like the British designers, seems to get most of his excitement from his budget lines. His…
The B25's high-frequency articulation showed up well on the tutti brass passages of the Basie LP as well. The muted trumpets were searing and biting, but not a bit spitty. I noticed a similar effect on the brass passages of my white-dog pressing of Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra (LP, RCA Living Stereo LSC-2643). Moreover, the passages of massed strings in this work were searing yet silky and sweet, as they are in live performances. Finally, the PSBs were capable of a tremendous sense of drama—the high-level passages of this orchestral blockbuster showed no hint of strain or compression…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, reflex-loaded, magnetically shielded, stand-mounted loudspeaker. Drive-units: ferrofluid-cooled 1" aluminum-dome tweeter; 6.5" injection-molded, metalized polypropylene-cone woofer. Crossover frequency: 2.5kHz. Crossver slopes: 3rd-order Butterworth. Frequency response: 45Hz-23kHz,±3dB. Sensitivity: 89dB/2.83V/m anechoic, 91dB/2.83V/m in typical listening room. Recommended amplification: 10-100W.
Dimensions: 15¾" H by 8½" W by 11 15/16" D. Weight: 15 lbs.
Finishes: Maple, Black Ash.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: 10120 403038…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: VPI TNT IV turntable, Immedia RPM tonearm, Koetsu Urushi cartridge; Rega Planar 3 turntable, Syrinx PU-3 tonearm, Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood & Aurum Beta S cartridges.
Digital sources: California Audio Labs Icon Mk.II Power Boss, Creek CD53 Mk.II CD players; Pioneer DV-333 DVD-V player.
Preamplification: Vendetta Research SCP-2D phono stage, Audio Valve Eklipse line stage.
Power amplifier: Audio Research VT100 Mk.II.
Integrated amplifier: Creek 5350SE.
Loudspeakers: Epos ELS3, NHT SB3, Alón/N&243;la Li'l Rascal Mk.II.…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The very nicely finished PSB Image B25 offered a voltage sensitivity slightly higher than average, at an estimated 88dB(B)/2.83V/m, which is within the margin of error of the specified figure. Its impedance was also moderately high, dropping below 6 ohms only in the lower midrange and mid-treble, with a minimum value of 3.7 ohms at 177Hz (fig.1). Good 4-ohm-rated amplifiers and receivers will have no problems driving this speaker.
Fig.1 PSB Image B25, electrical impedance (solid) and phase (dashed). (2 ohms/vertical div.)
The wrinkle at…
In August, I reviewed McIntosh's MC501 monoblock power amplifier. In terms of what I'd thought was possible from Mac, this was a revelation. Once memories and lurking preconceptions had been set aside and the amps installed in my system, the MC501 easily established itself as among the finest overall performers I have ever reviewed.
But the pair of MC501s weren't all that McIntosh had sent along last fall. While perusing Mac's website last summer, I came across the C200, which had not been on active display at Home Entertainment 2003, where I had discovered the '501. Introduced…
There is practically nothing to say about the Mac's midrange other than it sounded uncolored and extremely natural. It combined excellent retrieval of detail with an easy, fundamental truthfulness to the source. The resolution of detail on Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, performed by pianist Hyperion Knight and a small ensemble (CD, Stereophile STPH010-2), was fantastic—every bit of the minimal chamber arrangement had a splendid clarity that showed Gershwin's music in a decidedly new light. Knight's piano sparkled, and the space of the recording venue generously cosseted each instrument.…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state, two-chassis, full-function, remote-control preamplifier with MM and MC phono stages, three balanced and eight unbalanced pairs of inputs, and three balanced and three unbalanced pairs of outputs. Frequency response: 10Hz-40kHz, +0/-0.5dB. THD: 0.002%, 20Hz-20kHz. S/N Ratio: 86dB phono, 100dB line (no weighting or reference level specified). Maximum output voltage: 12V RMS unbalanced, 25V RMS balanced. Output impedance: 50 ohms balanced, unbalanced. Input sensitivities: MM phono, 4.4mV for 2.5V rated output (1mV IHF); MC phono, 140µV…