Wow and Wow!
Written: Jan 13 '02 (Updated Jan 13 '02)
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Pros: Well built, solid. Sound is incredible at all levels.
Cons: None at all.
The Bottom Line: Equals sound of 4000 dollar speakers easily. All around intense listening.
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| kurbs's Full Review: PSB Stratus Bronze Speaker (Black) |
I found a pair of these at a local resale shop for 400 dollars! Never heard of them before, but figured I would do some research on them and see what I could find.
I was surprised that PSB is a subsidiary of NAD. NAD makes some high end audio that builds very good sound equipment without all the bells and whistles. Just high quality and utilitarian.
These speakers are true to form. Made in Canada, PSB is now a name that brings "oohs and ahs" when talking audio.
These speakers are heavy duty, and come in a couple color flavors. Black and cherry. I have the black.
I will try and not get too technical, but with the frequency ranges and 91 db efficiency, compared to 87-89 db on average, these things are incredible!
I have heard sound from friends who devote much time and money into audio systems with high end speakers costing them 4000 dollars on up. And they have nice sound. For that money, they had better sound good!
The PSB Bronze started out selling around 1300 a pair, you can find them now for around 900. Even at that price, they are a steal.
When my friends come over, they are almost embarrassed they paid as much as they did for their speakers ( I won't mention any names)!
The low, mid and high range of these speakers are gorgeous! I have actually spent time listening to some of my old cd's, as I am hearing sounds that were never there on my older speakers. The instrumentals and voices are so much more clear, and the bass is incredible!
I have them as my main speakers on a Home Theater setup in line with Infinity and Bose for the rest of the system.
I drive them with a 110 x5 Sony receiver that seems to bring them out very nice.
When my friends are over I like to actually start a great DVD movie and crank it up, then after a bit tell them "oops! I forgot to turn on the subwoofer!"
The surprise on their faces when they see that the bass was handled exclusiveley from these speakers is priceless! And there are times I do not even use the subwoofer at all when watching movies at night because my wife can hear the sound from her car in the driveway when she pulls up. And we live in the country, I could never crank this system up in a more urban environment! And these are located in a finished basement!
The mid range is smooth and beefy, and the high range is incredibly crisp and clear. I had some cd's I tossed out, because prior to using these speakers, I never knew they were recorded off a record! After hooking these up, I could hear the scratching of the record playing, and they no longer sounded good.
I also could hear the breathing of the singers as they sang, it was like listening to a live person singing right in front of me.
These speakers are so efficient, and have such range on them that they will make a cheaper stereo sound much nicer than it is. The beauty of this efficiency is that you can play music at lower levels and still have it sound as sweet as it is loud.
I would easily pay the 900 dollars for these new and never be unhappy as the sound equals or exceeds that of speakers costing 3-4 times as much.
If you can get them used, hook them up and listen to them, and get a better deal if they cost less. I have seen them on EBAY going for 600 dollars a pair used.
The reputation of their parent company NAD is well known in audiophile circles, and they make an excellent, well built performer. Sort of like the Volvo of the sound world!
If you can scrounge the cash, buy them! An incredible value for the money.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 400
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Epinions.com ID:
kurbs
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 - Top 1000 |
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Location: Chicago area
Reviews written: 101
Trusted by: 6 members
About Me:
Engineer, lover of things mechanical!
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