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Need long break-in to soften the tweeter

The new PSB Image series are a real beauty with and without the front cover.

At first I was a little disappointed with them, especially with the high frequency. The new Image tweeter was very harsh and uncomfortable to listen for long time. I had to recess the treble -4bd to enjoy music. After two weeks of burn-in the sound improve dramatically and after a month the high become crystal clear, so I could move the treble to 00 again without strain. The mid are OK, and like any other speaker with the right placement will get you a fast and really deep bass without boominess. (I'm surprise that one complained that they don’t have enough bass).

The new Image aluminum tweeter is pretty amazing in detail it produce, you should let it burn-in for a month to clear the harshness, then push 50W for minimum image and enjoy.

I do agree that the Image are geared more toward home theater, however they do “SING” very well. I listen to B&W 300 and 600 series, Monitor Audio (some models I can’t remember), KEF Q65, Q75, Jamo 7.6 and 7.7 and Paradigm monitor and reference series. Non of the above will touch the T5 for the price. Are their any better speaker? Yes but not at $750 retail up to $1200.

System is
Receiver Onkyo DS939
CD Player Onkyo C370
Speaker are B-wired (B-amping is better however)

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Monitor, B&W 604, Monitor Audio, and more...

EXCELLENT BASS

NONE

I OWNED A BOSE SYSTEM FOR A LONG TIME BUT WHEN I HEARD THIS SPEAKERS ON THE SHOWROOM,I IMMEDIATELY BOUGHT THE PAIR.EXCELLENT SPEAKERS FOR THE PRICE.

Similar Products Used:

BOSE 901

Lots of bass, lots of sound

That they didn't find me sooner

These towers are very, very worth the money, (what little that is). PSB has really gone out there and achieved a great sounding speaker at a great price and I think the Image series is going to fill in the gap between the Alpha's and the Stratus's nicely. I first heard of them through Home Theater Magazine and thought they had potential. Then I went hunting for a new receiver and found my Marantz SR-7000 and demoed it on a pair of Image 3LR's with an 8C. I really liked the sound it produced, and it was the same price as a pair of Infinity's I liked at the same price. Then I had them hook up the Image 5T's and a 9c center and WOW! What a difference 5 1/4" to 6 1/2" woofer makes! Deep rich sound, clear highs. I have no fears about turing up these bad boys. Nice bi-wireable inputs too. A great sounding speaker at a great price!

clarity, punch, good looks

harsh? boxy? no more so than other speakers in this price range

Who would have guessed that you'd take a speaker home and it would sound better in your house than in the store? That's been my experience after just a few hours of the Image 5Ts.

At first, I thought the speakers were kind of boxy sounding and distant, but I realise now that my cheaper speakers (which the 5Ts are replacing) had none of what the pros must be referring to as "soundstage"; everything was up front in my old speakers. The revalation came for me when I was listening to the Verve CD reissue (and remaster) of "Ella and Louis". Damn! Both vocalists were crisp: Ella very smooth and accurate, and Louis deep and rough but with no trace of artifical bass like in car stereos. Louis' trumpet was absolutely amazing. And, the band backing the pair actually sounded as though it was BEHIND them; probably as the album's producer intended --- and this is probably what's referred to as "soundstage" by the more expert reviewers.

Snippets of Karajan conducting Beethoven's 9th Sympony were rich and dynamic, and Vangelis' Blade Runner soundtrack revealed clean highs and lows my older speakers would only have had wet dreams about.

As it turns out, I'll be hearing all TV and movies through these speakers now that they've replaced my old ones. A short test on the lobby shooting spree in The Matrix (what else? ;-) was enough to satisfy me; a later rental of Perl Harbor revealed bass deep enough that I was worried about pissing off the neighbours.

Considering I paid just a smidge under US$600 for these speakers, I am VERY pleased with them. I've only got a Sony STR-DE845 powering these babies, with no bi-wiring; though I do have 10 guage monster cable, and gold-plated banana pins, which I'm sure helps whatever signal the Sony is capable of producing reach the speakers. (I have done the test with even the crappiest speakers, and good cables DO help.) Anyway, if you're looking for a sub-$600 speaker, at least give these speakers an audition: I love my pair already.

Similar Products Used:

Boston Acoustics VR 950

These are absolutely incredible. Paired with the 9C, 10S, and soon 2B, I will have the best setup for under $5000 around. Please read my review of the 10S surrounds. This is an AWESOME setup!

None

These are absolutely incredible. Paired with the 9C, 10S, and soon 2B, I will have the best setup for under $5000 around. Please read my review of the 10S surrounds. This is an AWESOME setup!

If you get a chance, listen to these. You will not leave the store without a pair!

Similar Products Used:

RT 800i

open detailed treble, smooth midrange, tight bass, bi-wireable, comes with spikes, screwdrivers (!)

can sound harsh with small cheap amps

man i love these speakers...
i thought they sounded amazing out of the box but after 50-100hours, my go* what a difference, bass played lower, treble REALY opened up along with the midrange.
i think i read a review saying that it sounded flat, they dont have a clue what theyr talking about, they are amazingly open after runin.
they have a soft touch to them, witch is wonderfull.
be carefull playing loud the first 100hours thou, witch realy can hurt the tweeters, the resolution seriously can be half of what it was. (witch i learned from)
these are heavy for the price, with big magnets meaning tighter bass.
i love EVERYTHING about these speakers, its like they were made for me.
be sure to put a good amp on them, so theyll show u what theyr good for.

test:
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_7_3/psb-5t-speakers-9-2000.html

Similar Products Used:

4ts, 2bs

Incredibly musical

Lack punch

I bought these a month or so ago, and it was one of the best purchases I've ever made.

Make no mistake about it, these are true MUSICAL speakers. If you like listening to dance/house/trance/rap/stuff like that, these are NOT for you. Otherwise, they're unbelieveably clear, precise, and accurate, especially for their price. They hold nothing back. You can hear every part of every musical instrument. You can hear fingers plucking at a guitar, or people's lips as they sing. Low rumbles are surprisingly present for 6.5" drivers.

That said, occasionally, you like to feel a nice punch. These aren't terribly punchy. They have good, solid bass, but not in-your-face bass. Some people like that, some people don't, it's a subjective thing.

All in all, I'm totally happy with these. For the price, you can't touch them.

Exceptional clarity and depth of soundstage. Great bass extension and image like bas-tards.

They keep getting pushed as TV 5 channel speakers. They are audiophile grade and deserve a better fate than a TV.

I had to ditch my larger maggies due to size constraints for my new house and the need to move my speakers in and out for serious play, and the abilty to leave them aside for casual play. Having been a devoted planer owner for more than 15 years, going back to a "box" was tough.

I wanted to be judicious in my first foray (that's cheap) yet still get the best sound I could for the $. The glowing review of the 4T's in stereophile and here got me interested in these, their larger brothers.

I was put off somewhat as these get sold in "TV" stores and are pushed as 5 channel speakers. That plus most of the previous reviews here were using lower end gear with them didn't inspire confidence. I went and listened to Paradigm's first. Disliked the reference series, especially for the price, but the Monitor 7's were not bad. Reviews here constantly stated the PSB's were better than them though. They are, by quite a great deal.

First off, I'd like to respond to comments that this speaker is bright. Maybe slightly initially (first 25 hr's or so) as it has an aluminum tweeter. However, if you are getting shrill highs, look to thy gear brother, it ain't the PSB's. My Sonographe amp is sweet as suger with them, but my old Adcom 555 hooked to them for a try left me with earbleed. It's the gear.

Secondly, no bass or no impact? That's almost bordering on a joke. I never experienced such slam like I have with these. Very deep, exceptionally controlled and stops on a dime. Again, if you ain't getting it, look to thy gear brother.

Overall, these babies do it all well. Side by side against the 4t's they completely overwhelmed them. Much more and deeper bass and a considerably wider soundstage. In fact, the soundstage is HUGE. Not the height my maggies had (understandably, they're 2 feet shorter) but EVERY bit as wide and deep, and I mean that.

With really good gear they resolve with a very sweet delicacy. All the tonalities are there, great placement within the soundstage and a very clean resolution. They are capeable of delivering the goods, even when used with top flight gear. That makes their price an absolute steal.

And they excell played moderatly low, but can also really lay it down if you want to turn it up. You will reach your point before they do, I guarantee it. They destroyed my Maggy MMG's, and I think they'd give my old MGIc's a run as well, and I LOVED those speakers. The maggies have more air and a bigger presentation, but the viceral impact these PSB's put out is strikingly clear and very invloving.

Absolutely the best speaker under a grand, possibly twice that?

Gear used;

Conrad Johnson PV-5 preamp (updated)
Ah! Njoe Tjoeb 4000 player
AR-ES1 table
RG Range Expander
CJ Sonographe SA250 amplifier
MAD Pearl flat dielectric interconnects
Alpha Core Goertz cable

Also heard these thru my friends Classe CA-200 amp. Much more control and deeper in the lower end (if that was possible) and very rich sounding.

Buy them and don't look back.

Similar Products Used:

Magnepans

Build Quality; Appearance; Binding posts; price and of course THE SOUND.

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These speakers are AWESOME. When I auditioned them at the store, I was blown away by the experience. Music was crisp. Highs were clear and the bass had a "kick" to it. When it came time for a Home Theatre demo, I had brought my copy of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. As most of you are aware this DVD just begs to be auditioned for speakers. Well, the PSB Image 5T's did an amazing job. I heard thigs I never heard before with my AV-55's. I closed my eyes when the boats arrived on the beach and when that whistle blew and the doors opened....WOW. What an experience. I was ducking for cover.

I also auditioned the Imax movie SUPER SPEEDWAY. Put on the chapter where Mario Andretti is doing practise laps at over 200 mph. I got the salesman to turn off the picture so I could concentrate on the sound. I knew exactly where Mario was driving on the course. The sound of the engine starting up, the wind whizzing by and the car doing lap after lap is not to be missed. The PSB Image 5T's did an outstanding job. They sound is natural and pleasing even at low levels.

These speakers are fantastic. Home Theatre and 2ch stereo sound great. I cannot find a flaw with the 5T's. My PSB Home Theatre ROCKS!!!!

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Sony (SS AV-55) I was a young buck when I bought these, thought they were great. Little did I know.....

very dynamic,efficient, and great sound for the money

bright sometimes harsh highs and unrealistic sound in upper frequency range

I'M GOING ON MY EIGHTH MONTH WITH THESE SPEAKERS AND HAVE AROUND 500 HOURS ON THEM. LET ME FIRST TOUCH ON THE GOOD POINTS FOR THE MONEY THERE IS LITTLE OUT THERE THAT CAN TOUCH THESE GUYS! VERY DYNAMIC AND EFFICIENT HAVE RAN DENON 2801 HOME THEATER RECEIVER WITH THEM AND GOT GOOD RESULTS IN H.T. EXPERIENCES. AFTER SWITCHING TO SEPERATES I.E. CARVER SUNFIRE TUBE PREAMP AND HAFLER DH 500 AMPLIFIER WITH ROTEL 951 CD PLAYER AND TRANSPARENT REFERENCE CABLES ALL THE WAY AROUND SOUND NOTICABLY CHANGED IN THE UPPER FREQUENCY RANGE. I HAVE DECIDED TO GO WITH VANDERSTEEN C1'S AND SWITCHED OUT OTHER EQUIPMENT AS WELL NAMELY ALL ROTEL FRONT END.

Similar Products Used:

boston acoustics vr series, padigm monitor series