PSB Speakers Stratus Silveri Floorstanding Speakers

PSB Speakers Stratus Silveri Floorstanding Speakers 

DESCRIPTION

The Silveri is a three-driver, "2-1/2-way" system that uses the same 1-inch aluminum-dome tweeter used in the Stratus Gold, combined with a pair of 6.5-inch woofers with heavy magnets, cast metal baskets, polypropylene cones and rubber surrounds. Its sophisticated crossover design operates both woofers at low frequencies, for bass response equal to that of a single, substantially larger woofer but uses only one of them through the midrange to the tweeter.

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 25  
[Jun 09, 2016]
nic
Audio Enthusiast

What I can tell you the are very detailed and dimensional, with great separation, even more so when they are Bi-wired. I can't think of anything negative to say about them. These units do it all, clearly, cleanly, and accurately. If you can find these anywhere near what I payed for them, don't think twice,very good speakers for Used Price. just buy them and be happy.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 27, 2014]
Eric Rubinstein
Audio Enthusiast

I have now had these speakers for 7 years. I use a PSB Subsonic 7i woofer with them. This combo is spectacular, and the sound improves with age. This combo is better than the Gold i's alone (quicker and tighter response). This combo is in fact superior to many "audiophile" speakers costing several times as much. If you can find a pair in pristine condition, grab them!

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 16, 2004]
bmw-k
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Great responsive range coupled with wonderful detail in the treble and midrange. Bass drives very deep, down to the upper-20's (albeit quietly!).

Weakness:

Cabinet design is a dated box style, and is not as thick as other speakers, only 3/4 inch thick on the front. The box design could very well be the cause of the issue: Slightly boomy bass notes caused by resonance. However, in no way did the resonance obscure notes, it merely broadened the volume of the bass.

Equipment: Yamaha RX350 reciever/int-amp. I purchased a set of PSB Stratus Silver i's after a long review of no less than 2 dozen speakers. I have listed the ones I can remember below. These are nothing short of an amazing bargain of a speaker. I can only agree with everything positive that everyone else has said about the speakers: very natural & neutral sound, excellent detail, very easy to drive and forgiving even with less than perfect systems. I will compare them to the Wharfedale 30's & 40's as the primary competition at the pricepoint. Especially since What-Hi-Fi gave the EVO30's 5 stars. The Wharfedale's have a slightly better tweeter - a German silk dome vs. the PSB aluminum dome. This is more a question of taste than to truly say one is "better" than the other. The EVO30's were able to exhibit a bit more detail than the PSB's, at the expense of being a bit bright. With the PSB's, the detail was definitely there, you just had to work a little harder to hear it. My favorite test on tweeter resolution is Vivaldi's 4-seasons, Fall. There is a harpsichord that plays behind a wall of violins - it is quite easy for the harpsichord to vanish. On the EVO's, the harpsichord played as loudly as the violins, making you work to discern between the violins and the Harpsichord. Call it a 50/50 ratio. On the PSB's, it was more like 40/60 harpsichord to violins, which is much more realistic. Flat out, where the PSB's Silver i's excelled was in the bass response, which was near flawless compared to the EVO30's. Where the EVO's sounded muddy or mushy around 40-60hz responses, the PSB's were tight, clean, clear, and quick (albeit ever so slightly boomy on some notes). The boomyness is apparant on modern "alternative rock" tracks, such as Dido, Blue Man Group, and such. Compared against the Monitor Audio GR 20's, there was no comparison: The PSB's were far more musical and had a much cleaner representation of sound than the MA's. I listened to some Magnepan 12's in comparison to these, and was surprised. The Maggies have a simply HUGE soundstage that is worth listening to. I can certainly understand why people get attached to these speakers. Bass response on the Maggies left a little something to be desired: I couldn't feel the bass the way I could on the Silver's, however the Maggies would be easier to listen to if one listens to mush 24 hours a day...In the end, the Maggies were just too large and got veto'ed by my Fiance'. Where the Maggies lacked bass, they made up for it in easy listening, fantastic soundstage, and increadible detail in the treble. They are not the most natural of sounding speakers and do take a bit of getting used to. Comparing the PSB Stratus Gold i's to the Silver i's was quite revealing. The biggest difference was that the Gold's held an ever so slight improvement over mid-range clarity due in large part to the 3-way design over the 2 1/2-way design of the silvers. In addition, the Gold's have a 10" woofer that acts more like a sub than a true woofer: bass notes were remarkably clear and the woofer was able to very quickly recover from challenging passages such as the cannon shots during the 1812 Overtures. In the end, it was the overall size that pushed me away from the Golds and to the Silvers. Simply put, the Golds are near twice the volume as the Silver's and were just overkill for my room. I added PSB's Stratus Subsonic 7 to the Silver's (15", 330watt sub) and can honestly say that for 95% of all my music listening this is a far better solution than the Gold's, especially for home theater. The Silver's are worth a listen and will surprise many, many ears. I give them 4-stars for value (I wish they were cheaper! Even $1100 for blems can be hard to stomach), but 5-stars for performance compared to other speakers in their price range.

Similar Products Used:

Products tested against PSB's (My ears only). Magneplaner 12 PSB Gold i's Warfedale EVO 30's (What Hi-Fi rated 5 stars), 40's Monitor Audio GR 20 (What Hi-Fi rated 5 stars)

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Dec 28, 2003]
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

vast soundstage transparent natural

Weakness:

none yet

have these two days now constant listening all i can say so far is these speakers are absolute crackers great quality a must if your auditioning speakers these are hooked up to roksan kandy mkiii cd player roksan kandy amp

Similar Products Used:

paradigms b&w

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 28, 2003]
Sonefree
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

This beauties is everything you can expect from a speaker.

Weakness:

Don't place them to close to the wall.

this speakers sounds so natural. I had PSB Image 5T, but sold them to buy Silveri. If you are looking for high end sound for bargain price look no further. Speakers don't get mutch bether that this. Another thing I love about them is the look. They are the most beautifull speakers I have seen. Buy expensive electronics to drive them, they are 4 ohm. and pretty hard to drive. Don't buy cheap recivers and expect great sound. I listen to all kind of music, and they sound great on everything.

Similar Products Used:

electrokompaniet, Bose, B&W, PSB 5T, JMLab.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 23, 2002]
jamesw20m3
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Sound, build of cabinet, soundstage, solid metal biamp binding posts. Can find good deals

Weakness:

None so far

Just purchased these beauties from Canada and WOW are they great. I have used PSB for years and love the sound. Traded up from the award winning image 5T to the Stratus Silveri and truly cannot believe the difference. The soundstage is huge!! Clarity is pristine. If you can find a good deal and are in the market for new speakers look here. These babies compete with anything and beat most!

Similar Products Used:

PSB image 5T, JBL studio 38, paradigm s60, b&w nautilus 804

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[May 14, 2002]
turbobuick86
Audio Enthusiast

I shopped and shopped and shopped looking for the best bang for the buck. I came across these speakers through an ad on audiogon.com classifieds. The dealer was local to me and I was able to test drive them at the store in Walnut CA. PSB''''''''''''''''s list price is $2,050 for the piano finish silveri''''''''''''''''s. These were factory blems for sale at $999. Nobody in this house can find a blem on these beauties and their looks are only surpassed by their sound. While mine are relative still new, I can only expect greater sound as they break in a bit more. To my ears they provide exceptional sound for both HT and Stereo listening. They are definitely worth giving a listen to if you''''''''''''''''re in the market for a medium priced, well built, and designed speaker that can provide a very large soundstage. I''''''''''''''''m driving the Silveri''''''''''''''''s with a Yamaha rx-v3200 av receiver. While there is always a better speaker out there somewhere, I''''''''''''''''m rating them a 5 based on price vs performance.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[May 14, 2002]
Andrew
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Sound, Looks, Value for dollar Full-Range for Music Excellent Imaging Natural Low Distortion under stress

Coming back with a follow up review after owning these speakers for 1.5 years. They''re great. Everything sounds quite natural and musical. I never hear anything I would call a speaker characteristic - just the music, or voices. It''s in the living room and sound is even good for people sitting on couches miles from the sweet spot. Highs are clear, midrange and vocals are natural sounding and have great definition. Imaging is as good as the recording provides. Bass is tight, clean, and extends as far as most music will ever go - much stronger than one would expect 2 6.5 inch drivers would provide. Just not the lowest registers of pipe organs, and no earthquaqes - but they don''t distort on this either. After almost 2 years, I have to say the PSBs are the most satisfying audio purchase I''ve ever made Equipment Used: Harmon Kardon Citation 100WPC Amplifier Parasound PLD2000 PreAmp Toshiba DVD player

Similar Products Used:

Infinity Kappa 5 Magnepan 2.5r

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 24, 2000]
Edward
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Incredible value for the price. Excellent midrange and very good reproduction of all kinds of music.

Weakness:

None significant considering the price.

Replaced 11 year old JS Engineering Infinite Slope Model 1's (no longer manufactured, and still in use in my basement) with these. I was surprised at the improvement. The Silver I's are very easy to listen to, with excellent imaging and more potent bass than I expected. I auditioned a number of more expensive speakers, none of which were clearly superior in all ways to these. Build quality seems fine, and although the styling might seem bland to some they blend into our decor (very traditional) fairly unobtrusively considering their size. I thought there was a pronounced break in period, with continuous improvement over the first 6 weeks or so (maybe 150 hours of listening).

Unless you are willing to spend a whole lot more money both on speakers and electronics, I don't think you can do much better than the Silver I's.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 08, 2000]
Andrew
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Dynamics, looks, freq. response, imaging, sweet spot

Weakness:

heavy weight and expensive shipping

I think these speakers are great. Smooth, clear, and full range for someone listening to music. I was surprised that two 6.5 inch woofers could go so deep but they do. Nice big sweet spot covers my whole couch. I've heard other good systems but I haven't heard anything I thought was better, just different. I think with these speakers I can just relax and listen to the music, without worrying about needing to tweek anything. Above average sensitivity also seemed to double the effective power of my amp.

Also the Cherry finish looks good, my wife is impressed with their appearance.

Similar Products Used:

Magnepan 2.5, Infinity Kappa 5

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-10 of 25  

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