I love mine, sold some larger Polks to get these and they put the polks to shameexcellent highs, I use them with a psb subsonic II sub (12") and couldn't be
happier, a peak around 4K can be taken out with an eq easily, I have taken them
to parties and driven them with a 250w/ch carver hard for hours and they haven't
failed me yet

I found these speakers amazing! They had excellent treble response and descent bass. These are really worth the money!

Clean, crisp...fun to listen to. Sounds good with my jazz and rock.

Are you kidding? Charge more and the price would be the weakness, but for the money...none.

For the money, this is an incredible value. Should be included in any starter system. Mine still live on as rear surround speakers, and do a superb job of it. Just add a sub and these little wonders will rock the house. They also are superb at handling movies.

I needed a pair of speakers to take on the road with me. I stay 5-6 weeks at a time at a motels due to my work and I can't stand to be without my tunes (Classic Rock, Classical, Folk and Country). I wanted a reasonably priced speaker with decent sound that wouldn't break my wallet and heart if ripped off or damaged in transit. I'm powering them with a NAD 7240PE.Many speakers were auditioned with the final choice coming down to the PSB Alpha and the Paradigm Titan.
The Alphas build quality is OK for the price ($169), but I would like bannana jacks for an extra $10.
In my opinion, the Alphas do the midrange right. This is the majority of the music spectrum and has to be good. The mid/bass driver doesn't like moderate/high power levels below 80hz and even has a cheap "flapping" sound at moderate to high levels. But this is OK as I will be listening at low levels in my motel room and the Alpha does a reasonable job of fleshing out detail at low to moderate levels. The top end is a little soft being almost too laid back on some recordings, but this is MUCH better than the harsh bright tweeters I heard in other systems. I would rather a system not do something at all, than do it and get it wrong. The Alpha represents this attitude.
The Titans ($259) had a much better build quality and used quality 5 way binding posts. The overall presentation was clean and involving at low level. When asked to "get up and boogie" at higher power levels (Shania Twain), the Titans really came to life and blew away the Alphas.
For me the Alphas were a better deal for my intended use. Thier low volume level performance was on par with the Titans and they are 2/3 the price.
If you are buying for home and intend to crank it up now and again, check out the Paradigm Titans. If your listning is moderate to low level then give the Alphas serious consideration.
I was going to give the Alphas a two star for performance, but due to the great $$/performance ratio, I must give a three.
For the record, Im a Dynaudio man, making my reviews of entry level speakers probably more harsh than the average person.
PS. I did buy the Alphas.

Quality sound from such a small package. Can play at very loud volumns.

This is my second pair that I have purchased. The first pair that I bought, I traded up for another pair of better speakers. The sound that these little babys put out just made me had to purchase them again. I use them in my second system that I have in my Computer Room. I use a very old
Eico receiver and a Denon CD Changer for my electronics. I also use the Alpha matching subwoofer with them. I can't think of a cheaper way to get into a good sounding speaker. FOR THE MONEY THEY ARE PRETTY TOUGH TO BEAT

Similar Products Used:

Cambridge Soundworks

Incredible speakers for the price.

Spring loaded terminals.

I bought a pair of Alpha minis as the final piece of my home theater upgrade. I had a cheap surround set from Sony that just didn't cut it anymore with my dvd and digital receiver. My system consists of an Energy center, Infinity Overture 2 mains, Infinity BU-120 sub and the alphas.
I power them all with a Sony digital receiver. I know what you're thinking, Sony receivers are junk. I have had mine for 6 months and love it. Anyways, I placed my white Alphas on the side walls and they make all my dvd's come alive. I am constantly amazed at the sounds I have been missing. Going to the theater now is just not the same.
My setup sounds better!
Check them out, I'm not a full blown audiophile but I know what sounds good to me and what doesn't. As surrounds for the price, I find them hard to beat.

Similar Products Used:

Sony

Midrange, price

Bass & the fact that it uses spring-loaded speaker connections

This is a review of the PSB Alpha Mini's (msrp - $200). For now, I'll compare them to my Paradigm Monitor 9's (I know, not a fair comparison since the 9's have a msrp of $750) - still, they held up quite well. Of course, on bass, the hands down winner are the Paradigm Monitor 9's - they have a much more solid low & mid bass (they're rated down to 35hz - the Mini's are rated to a little lower than 70hz). The Mini's have decent bass for a speaker of their size, but simply put, they can't compete with a pair of floorstanding speakers with twin 8" woofers. On a positive note, the Mini's don't have that annoying upper-bass accentuation that most bookshelf speakers use in order to make the speakers sound fuller - the Mini's bass is precise, but just not that deep. The upper-bass is only mildy emphasized. On the treble, the Mini's lose out once again. The Monitor 9's treble seems more extended and smooth, while the Alpha Mini's treble seems more laid-back and lacks some extension. The treble on the Monitor 9's is more detailed and accurate. On the other hand, the Alpha Mini's are a very forgiving speaker - its laid back treble makes it very relaxing to listen to. The two areas in which the Alpha Mini's shine are in the midrange and in soundstaging. The Monitor 9's midrange is a little too recessed, while the Alpha Mini's midrange seems just right. It has a surprising amount of detail and clarity - more than the Monitor 9's. Also, the Alpha Mini's soundstage is well focused. The Monitor 9's soundstage is merely up to par with the Alpha Mini's, but not better. Considering that the Alpha Mini's are a little more than 1/4 the cost of the Monitor 9's, I would say that they are an excellent buy. After hooking both the Monitor 9's and the Mini's to the same amp and switching between outputs, it's amazing how well the Mini's hold up. If you match them with a decent powered sub, it looks as though they could definitely hold their own (although this would push the price up substantially - $200 + $400 for the sub brings the total up to about $600). The fact that the Mini's are video shielded is appreciable. All in all, these are quite an excellent buy.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Aiwa, Paradigm, Klipsch, CSW, etc.

Good, clean mid-range and fluid highs. Tends to be a little bit "forward" -- probably a spike or two between 500 Hz and 4k -- but generally natural sounding. Some bass cone breakup when driven at higher volumes around 60 Hz. Good imaging.
Overall, very well designed budget speaker at a bargain price ($250 in Canada).

For the PSB's amazing $199 price tag, they offer great clarity, though little bass. If paired with the powered PSB Subsonic I however, you can have one great sounding system for a cheap price! My rating is based on the PSB's compared to other speakers in the same price range.