The other reviews are spot on. These PSB Century 1000i speakers are fine indeed. I bought mine on Craig's List from a guy that had purchased new and somehow managed to beat up the cabinets and grills without playing them much at all. They are not as good as my Dahlquist DQ-10's (buy the DQ-10's if you have the money, space, and high powered amp), but have a small footprint, are room/placement friendly and non fatiguing. Not sure if they do anything extra extra special - but they are very easy to live with. Only using a 70 watt/channel HK AVR70 to drive them, and it's plenty. Great speakers for jazz - Diana Krall sounds too good to turn off. Since I bought these, I have been looking to buy a second pair, and have not seen any. Good luck with your search.

Smooth, Warm, Flat, Great Mids, Build Quality, Tight Bass

Too Warm, Too Laid Back Upper Mids and Highs

As Stereo Review once wrote, "This is one fine speaker!".
I originally chose to purchase this speaker because it has
a very warm and flat British sound. After using it for a
few months (and listening to my friends B&W's), I was
dissapointed in the bass, the fact that male and female
voices sounded "shut-in", and that the upper mids and highs
sounded dull.
I decided to try to do some upgrades in order to improve
the sound after becoming more literate about audio and
home theater technology and products. The first thing I
did was change my receiver. I purchased the Marantz
SR-7000. The receiver increased the dynamic range on my
speakers and increased the bass slightly. The other
problems still remained.
I then decided to change my speaker wire. I purchased a
three meter pair of Nordost Flatline Biwire. Wow! Biwiring
speakers that have four binding posts is a must. The
Flatlines are fast, open, and detailed. Male and femaled
voices didn't sound shut in anymore. As well, after the
wires burnt in for a month and a half, the problem I had
with the bass was gone as well.
The only problem I have left is that the upper mids and
highs still sound dull. I doesn't help that I bought the
Marantz SR-7000. The receiver is great but mixing a warm
receiver with a warm speaker creates too much warmth! I
am going to sell my receiver and Marantz five disc changer
and probably go with the Nakamichi AV-10 or Denon AVR2801.
I know the Nak is very detailed, open, and bright, and I am
hoping that it will solve the last and final problem. If
not, my Value Rating, and Overall Rating will go down by
one star.
Still, the flat frequency response, good mids, and tight
bass that these speakers put out, for the price I paid for
them, makes them a true audiophile bargain. I hope the
Nakamichi opens the upper mids and highs because the
speakers only sing when I turn the volume up quite a bit-
which may get me evicted one of these days!

Similar Products Used:

PSB Century 600i

Good tonal balance, tight bass, well rounded midrange and smooth highs

Not quit enough bass, clips at high volumes

After listening to mission, b&w and paradigm to name a few, i decided on the psb 1000i. At the price i payed 825(for the black oak) they just could not be beat. The psbs may be a little layed back but i like the layed back sound, i can listen for hours and it has enough detail for even the most demanding recordings. I have had the 1000is for nearly 4 years now and am thinking of puting them in the rear and stepping up to the silver is , but am undecided on whether the silver is are that much better. At any rate , Paul Barton produced a terrific value when he created the 1000is.

Similar Products Used:

Acurus A150, marantz av600, hk 8450, audioalchemy dac, monster cable and sony dvp550 dvd player

I've listened to very many different speakers during the last year, but after trying th PSB 1000i I have just one conclution: You won't get a better speaker for that amount of mony! Compared to other speakers from PSB, as the Silver, you get much more for your mony with a PSB 1000i

Have had the 1000i's for about a year and love them. Auditioned several otherbrands like B&W, Paradigm, NHT,Energy etc. Best speaker in a very competitive
price category. Energy C6's finished second in my evaluation with the Paradigm
Reference last.

Well rounded speaker with good bass definition and smooth mids and highs.

Soundstage is not as big as other, more expensive speakers

Although there are better speakers out there, none produces the sonic aspects as well as the PSB's for the cost. Bass response is indeed the strong suit of these speakers, but midrange and high frequencies are also very smooth and refined. The soundstage is however not as good as some speakers, but you'll pay a lot more $ to get a better overall sound. Jazz and chamber music on the 1000i's are luscious.

Similar Products Used:

Auditioned Theil, Magnum, Castle, B & W, Vanderstein and others