Most reviews leave out what I feel is the most important crieria for speakers - the type of voicing: aggressive or laid back.

A person who likes aggressive, forward speakers is not going to like a laid back speaker - no matter how good that speaker is. And vice-versa.

I fell for the print-review trap and bought the Bronze's with only a short listening time at a local dealer. It turns out the dealer had a room perfectly treated so the Bronze's sounded their best. Unfortunately when I got them home I could barely stand to listen to them.

It turns out I lean toward the laid back sound and the Bronze's are quite forward and bright. The dealer's sound room was rather dead so the brightness of the Bronze's was reduced when I heard them there.

The moral of the story is: If you are thinking of spending $1000 on speakers and you don't know what kind of voicing you like don't even THINK of spending any money until you have heard different speakers and have determined your preference as to voicing.

Or, it may turn out you don't really care much about the mystical qualities all the high-end mags talk about. In which case you can save a bunch of money by avoiding the high-end altogether and just buy a good pair of bookshelf speakers and be happy with them!

open sound, smooth highs

lacks presence

After numerous visits/listening sessions, we had decided on buying the Bronze's as our front speakers. For a speaker that retails around CDN$1300, they had a really open sound and *much* smoother and listenable highs than the PSB Image series. However, the last store that we were going to visit had some Mirage OM-series speakers, which we felt were better than the Bronze series (even the OM-14s, which go for about CDN$400 less retail), and they seemed to make up for what the Bronze's lacked in presence.
The Mirage OM-series seemed to fit in the middle between the PSB Image series' visceral mid-bass presence but high-end harshness, and the PSB Bronze's open and clear sound but lack of some indefinable energy/presence.

The PSB speakers are great sounding (maybe the Image's just need to warm up a lot more) and definitely good value for their price range. Be sure to check out the Mirage OM series, too, since they seem to have a much better clarity and soundstaging in the same price range.

Similar Products Used:

Mirage OM-10s, OM-14s; PSB Image 4T/5Ts, and some Polk, Infinity, and JBLs

Great mids, warm, detailed.

Wasn't as boomy as some other floorstanding speakers...but I prefer it that way.

Its interesting to note that out of the 20 reviews, there have been 1 2-star rating, 1 3-star rating, and 2 4-star ratings. The other 16 people have given it a 5-star rating. I'm also giving it 5 stars for value AND for overall rating as well. (For those who are into stats, if you take out the lower two ratings, you come up with a 4.89 score). These are overall excellent speakers for the price and if you are on a budget (and who of us isn't besides Bill Gates) these speakers are worthy of your consideration. Remember, your mileage may vary and that everyone hears things differently..so I would recommend that you listen to lots of speakers yourself rather than just going on someone else's reviews. Use these reviews to help narrow down your choice.

I've listened to all of the above speakers and outright liked the PSB Stratus Bronze. I'm not a diehard audiophile...I pay for the difference I could hear. I suppose if I listened to $15k speakers I might hear a difference as well...BUT I also have spousal considerations and 2 kids to put through college. I wanted to spend about $2k on speakers and kept within my price range in putting together my music/ht system.

Stratus Bronze, Stratus 5C, Image 1B, Subsonic 6 - $1945 for the whole package. AND I didn't buy it from a guy in Canada or over the internet! I looked at all of these folks and while many looked reputable, I didn't want to have to deal with sending back possibly defective products and have to pay for shipping. In the end, the best deal I could find over the internet from a guy in Canada was around $1600 (not including $200 shipping)...so my local authorized dealer came down as far as he could go and it was comparable (I did have to pay taxes in California). Throw in the many times I went in to listen to the various speakers and I was quite satisfied with the service I recevied and the price. Plus, the dealer gave me discounts on speaker cable, interconnects and the like. Ok...that's my plug for local authorized dealers. Now onto the speakers themselves.

I LOVE them! Detailed mids and there's enough bass for the stuff I listen to (Jazz, and acoustic instrumentals). The subwoofer does a great job when I need to go lower for movies and such. There was a noticeable difference in warmth and mid details between the 5T and the Stratus Bronze (was it worth the extra money??? depends on you - by the time I had the discount for my package deal...the difference between going with the Stratus Bronze and the 5T was $300 - negligible in my eyes when I consider it will be a long term investment). If any of you are in the SF Bay Area on the Peninsula, I would highly recommend going to Mateo Hi Fi in San Mateo and speak to Mike D'Orr. Mike was extremely helpful, educational, without any of that haughty attitudes I came across oh too frequently in other high-end hi fi shops in the Bay Area.

Of course, since I just laid down $2k I would suspect i would WANT to love them. [Social Psychologists call this the Confirmatory Bias - we take in information which supports our ideas and discount any information that would lead us to believe otherwise] Bias and all, I'm quite happy with the Stratus Bronze and the entire PSB system. I was a former PSB Alpha owner...and while those speakers blew me away a couple of years ago...As my financial means and resources increase, I am continually surprised at the next level of sound quality that Paul Barton has designed throughout his line of speakers. Who knows? Perhaps my next speakers will be the Stratus Goldi's!!

Similar Products Used:

Listened to Paradigm Monitor 7s and 9's, Paradigm Reference 60's, PSB Image 4T, 5T, and 6T.

Superb transient response, tonal & timbre balance, image, and efficiency, along with phenomenal value. Detailed highs, plenty of good, clean, low bass. Small footprint.

possible set up, placement considerations (very minor)- but I needed to report something???

These speakers present the most fantastic value for quality sound. The Bronze just enter into the true high end, so for those of you without big bucks (like me), you can enter the Audiophile playground at about 1/3 the price, and play with the other audiomaniacs.

These speakers play symphonic and instrumental works with fantastic sonic purity, detail and image. I just played the Saint-Saens Sym #3 (Organ Symphony) and the image and instrument placement was great. Best of all the 32hz note of the Organ was there! (not like in person, or perhaps a $20,000 system, but there).

In playing Eddie Harris's Last Concert (jazz) you could hear the wetness on the reed of his tenor, "INCREDIBLE"!

I must tell you the best part of the psb Bronze was the low price. I had enough $$Money$$ left over to buy a truly great amplifier "Audio Refinement Complete". The combination of both is wonderful. So, for less than 2 grand I'm listening with the other audioits and enjoying my music.

Before you buy Paradigm, B & W 600 series, Mirage, Soliloquy, Tannoy, Monitor Audio, check out psb Bronze. If you are a musician, like me, and make your living teaching and listening to music, I believe you will hear the difference. All the others were quite good too..however all things considered and the "VALUE", psb Bronze gets the nod!!

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch Heresy, AR 11, Paradigm 7.

Paradigm 7; AR 11; Ohm Walsh 4

Very good low frequency response; excellent all-around sound; 2 pairs of binding posts per speaker for the truly ambitious

none

I've owned these speakers for six months now and have given them a workout on three different amps, each progressively more powerful. I initially hooked them up to a 40wpc (into 8 ohms) Rotel 930AX, which made them sound pretty good, but a little thin. Subsequently I had them on a Yamaha DSP-A1, and the sound was, as I expected, quite bit less compressed than on the smaller Rotel amp. We recently hooked them up to an Aragon amp (100wpc into 8 ohms) and noticed a dramatic increase in bass output and bass control in general. The low frequency was good enough with the nicer amp that I kept checking to make sure the sub was turned off; not wall-rattling bass, but deep enough to impress me when listening to the likes of William Orbit, Garbage, The Future Sound of London, and other friends of low frequencies. Conclusion: not surprisingly, the more power you have, the better the bronzes sound. I'm still looking for the right amp to drive 'em.

I do have one caveat: the aluminum tweeter has a distinctly different sound from that of the B&W speakers I was using before, and it takes some getting used to. I now find that I prefer it to the cloth, but I can see how some people may find the aluminium to have a harsher sound. I haven't found the height of the tweeter to be a very big concern.

Finally, I should mention that my choice of these over the DM603's (and any number of comparable speakers from other companies) was influenced by the fact that I got a super deal on them. I can't say for sure if I would have bought them if the price had been anywhere near retail. IMHO they're still a better deal than the Stratus Silvers.

Similar Products Used:

B&W DM603, PSB Stratus Silver

Sounstage
Clarity
Power consumption
Size

Cabinet finish (boring)

Good solid speakers - excellent for the price (and you can get them for under retail - around $800 - check the Web). If you manage to get these under retail you should be very happy with the Sound Quality to Price ratio (thus the 5 stars in both) Should you pay retail - for whatever reason I still think you'll be very happy - read on.

They are clean and open. You should have but don't require a big amp - these are quite efficient.

I brought a variety of music to the testing sessions and PSB came out tops. Their soundstage did not extend beyond the speakers but it was distinct between them - you can easily place instruments.

I made a number of comparisons and in the end it came down to two. I chose the Bronze over the Vandersteens mostly on esthetics and partially because I liked the type of sound the PSB emitted (this will vary from ear to ear so test them out yourself). While the PSBs are far from beautiful (standard black ash and black grille - a little boring) the "boxless" Vandersteens are a little cumbersome - heavy and you can't really grip them easily (I was concerned because I move houses a good deal).

My advice - don't buy blind. Test out the speakers but definetly, definetly include the PSB Bronze on your list if you are spending $700-1400.

Good luck.

Similar Products Used:

Reviewed:
NHT
B&W
Polk
Energy
Vandersteen

Fine finish, slim looks. Decent efficiency and nicely constructed.

Hollowness to midrange, a little 'hooty.' Recessed vocals. Course on the treble, especially given the price. Lacks a "presence" or clarity of the better speakers in the price range.

I've touched upon some of the performance aspects of the Bronze i in my review of the 5T, so I won't belabore it hear overmuch. I was quite disappointed with this speaker, more so that with the Image series because while they cost more, I don't feel they sound substantially better. By virtue of some positive early press I added these speakers to my "short list" of must-audtion speakers. But a cursory comparison to the B&W and Monitor Audio speakers the store also carried shot them down pretty quick.

The cabinet quality seemed quite high, but the driver quality seemed very low. I may be wrong, but the woofs seemed to be essentially paper, lightly coated. The whole affair seemed cheap for a "reference-ish" type of speaker.

The Bronzes really were deficient in bass, and lacked an airy and detailed treble. My main complaint was in the midrange, however. I couldn't accept that degree of coloration at the price.

I truly respect Mr. Barton and his noble aims, as I stated in my review of the Image 5T, yet I cannot endorse this speaker. At this price, I would highly recommend the Monitor Audio Silver 7i, which utterly devastates the PSB in every concievable way, or even the much cheaper Monitor Bronze 3 which similarly demolishes them. Likewise, any comparably priced B&W will kill them, as will a couple of Klipsch and Infinity speakers. I don't mean to be unkind, but the store where I heard them is liquidating them at rock bottom prices: no one considers them the equal of the B&W (but there's no shame in that, I guess).

Much better out there. If you're in the market, there's better for the money. Shop around before you buy. If you like the PSB, more power to you, different strokes for different folks and such. But if you're up in the air, do yourself a favor and listen to the brands I've listed above, and the Def Techs if you can, and especially the stellar Monitor Audio Silver Series.

Enjoy the music.

Note: Two stars is a little harsher than they perhaps deserve, but 2.5 wasn't an option.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 601/602; Monitor Audio 5i & 7i, as well as the Monitor Bronze 3; new Klipsch and Infinity lines.

I did a quite a bit of auditioning of speakers in the $1,000 to $1,800 range before settling on the PSB Bronze (B&W CDM 7SE, JM Lab Tantal, Vandersteen 2Ce, NHT 2.5i, etc.). I consider myself to be an "Audiophile" on a budget, and while price was a big consideration in my selection, I feel that the PSB Bronze out performed all of the speakers I auditioned, period.
My taste in music is quite varied and I brought along some well recorded CD's of classical, jazz and contemporary rock with vocals to audition with. While some of the other speakers had a little more "air", none had a more realistic sound or as seamless a response overall.

I have been listening to these speakers for several months now and am more pleased as time goes by. They have great detail and clarity, plenty of bass and are remarkably non-fatiguing. I choose the Cherry finish (very realistic synthetic actually) and have received a number of complements on their appearance. Most critical is that they have passed the "Wife Test" (my critical listening set up is in our living room and tower speakers were a tough sell!).

Overall, I feel that these speakers are one of the best values going. They're not as "pretty" as the B&W's, but then I think that they sound better and they cost about $800 less.

I think that the PSB Silver-i is slightly better yet, but not $700 better in my estimation. If you are shopping for speakers in the $1,000 range, I recommend that you listen to the PSB Bronze. Great sound, killer value, good looking.

Great sound! But i must say i prefer the silver or the 1000-series from PSB

Rob Babcock,..... it seems to me that you have way too much time on your hands. Reviewing speakers you don't even actually own. Do you think people actually consider what you say to be accurate?

It sounds like you are from a competitive speaker manaufactuering company just trying to damage the reputation of one the best (and highly rated) speaker companies in the world....PSB. I mean you have reviewed at least two of their speakers and rated them low....who do you work for....?

I think you just like to hear yourself talk. You are obviously in the minority when you degrade an outstanding speaker such as the Stratus Bronze. Don't take my word for it....just research the enormous amount of positive reviews the publications (audiophile, stereo review, home theatre to name a few) have said about PSB and it's outstanding line of speakers. Are there better speakers out there .....of course there is...there are hundreds of speakers that are better rated....but for the money, sound quality, build quality and overall sound.....PSB is oustanding.


I am giving the rating a 5 star, to offset what I believe to be an unfair review and rating