Incredible imaging-Huge Soundstage-beautiful neutral sound-Impressive bass for design

None

There is not a better 50liter enclosure - 3way 2x6.5 driver speaker made in this pricerange, period. I’ve tried quit a few, had Paradigms ref 60's demo's in my home for a week and couldn’t touch the Silveri's with a ten foot pole. These speakers really take time to break-in due to their robust driver design but the wait is really worth it. I know I could have bought paradigm ref 100's for close to the same money but if I wanted a speaker this large I would have went for the awesome gold's and extra cost without a doubt, heard them both and the difference is as large as the silvers vs ref 60's as well. The Silver's also play incredibly loud if needed as I’ve seen 105db from them with no sweat. Mr Barton has been developing these babies since 1980 and it really shows, the bottom line here is you get what you pay for.

Marantz Sr8000
Bryston 4BST
Sony 530 dvd
Rega Planet cd/AQ Lapis
Psb Stratus Silveri's AQ/cystal
Psb Startus C6 CC AQ/cystal
B&W 601's AQ/type4+
Definitive 15TL Sub

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm ref 60's,Paradigm Mini Monitors,Paradigm monitor 9's

uncolored midrange, extremely tight bass response, value cannot be beat by any other speaker within its price range spatial imaging is superb

for its price point, absolutely nothing

I had recently purchased the b&W nautilus 804 speakers and was extremly ( and still am ) happy with them. However, we had recently decided to fix up our living room and decided that a nice pair of speakers were in order for that room as "background music". Not wanting to blow the budget, i began looking for speakers in the 2000-2500 canadian dollars realm. After having read on several products and reviews, i decided , amongst others, to audition the psb silver stratus i's loudspeaker. to cut it short, i purchased these speakers and immediately put them in the living room where the
b&w's had been. What extraordinary speakers!
First of all, right out of the box i knew they were going to perform impressivaly because of their weight and build quality. I purchased the piano finish look and they are quite honestly the most beautiful speakers that i have ever seen. once i got them hooked up i could not believe that they could sound so close in timbre and midrange to the b&W's. Not only were they as good, but their spatial imaging was phenomenal. the only thing that the B&W's could do better was their openness in the higher frequencies and that they did not sound as boxy as the psb's. Overall, the psb's were 85% of what the B&W's were but at half the price.
i have read some reviews that the speakers have a tendency to sound a little "bright". I had read a review by paul barton stating that these speakers should be listened with the grilles on as he tweeked the tweeter a little "hot" because most wives want the grilles on.
Finally, thanks to Chris at Remote Possibilities in
Richmond Hill for helping me with the set up and his invaluable advice.

Similar Products Used:

B&W nautilus 804

uncolored midrange, extremely tight bass response, value cannot be beat by any other speaker within its price range spatial imaging is superb

for its price point, absolutely nothing

I had recently purchased the b&W nautilus 804 speakers and was extremly ( and still am ) happy with them. However, we had recently decided to fix up our living room and decided that a nice pair of speakers were in order for that room as "background music". Not wanting to blow the budget, i began looking for speakers in the 2000-2500 canadian dollars realm. After having read on several products and reviews, i decided , amongst others, to audition the psb silver stratus i's loudspeaker. to cut it short, i purchased these speakers and immediately put them in the living room where the
b&w's had been. What extraordinary speakers!
First of all, right out of the box i knew they were going to perform impressivaly because of their weight and build quality. I purchased the piano finish look and they are quite honestly the most beautiful speakers that i have ever seen. once i got them hooked up i could not believe that they could sound so close in timbre and midrange to the b&W's. Not only were they as good, but their spatial imaging was phenomenal. the only thing that the B&W's could do better was their openness in the higher frequencies and that they did not sound as boxy as the psb's. Overall, the psb's were 85% of what the B&W's were but at half the price.
i have read some reviews that the speakers have a tendency to sound a little "bright". I had read a review by paul barton stating that these speakers should be listened with the grilles on as he tweeked the tweeter a little "hot" because most wives want the grilles on.
Finally, thanks to Chris at Remote Possibilities in
Richmond Hill for helping me with the set up and his invaluable advice.

Similar Products Used:

B&W nautilus 804

Accuracy, vocal reproduction

None, considering the price

In my quest for the best sounding speakers in my price range, I recently conducted an in-depth speaker evaluation in my home.

After researching speakers practically forever and visiting about 10 dealers to listen to their wares, I determined a few things about my speaker search: I wanted a mid-sized tower model, and I was willing to spend about $1500 on a pair of them. I finally narrowed my search down to 3 models: Paradigm Reference Studio 80, PSB Stratus Silveri, and (no snickering please) the Cambridge Soundworks Tower.

After some serious legwork arranging to borrow loaners of each of these models, picking them all up, and wiring them to my Harmon Kardon AVR55 receiver (65 watts per channel) through a Niles speaker switch box, I was finally ready for a long (and enjoyable) evening of speaker evaluating. I know the speaker switch box isn't ideal, but I figured that any sound degradation that it caused would affect all of the speakers equally, and I wanted to be able to switch between the models quickly and easily. I experimented briefly to find good placement and tone control settings for each model. My listening room is about 15'x25'x8'. The speakers were all located against one of the 25' walls, which is not ideal because they fire towards a wall that's fairly close, causing some loss of clarity from reflected sound, but that's where I have spousal approval to put speakers.

I used a variety of music for my listening test, including:
* The Neville Brothers' "Yellow Moon"
* Metallica's "Black Album"
* "Stevie Ray Vaughn's Greatest Hits"
* "Maynard Ferguson's Greatest Hits"
* Wynton Marsalis' "In Gabriel's Garden"
* Pantera's "Reinventing the Steel"
* Harry Conick Jr.'s "Red Light Blue Light"
* Some Shania Twain album (my wife's fault)

Each of the albums I used poses a different challenge to speakers, so I think I got to hear just about everything each model has to offer.

Now that you know my evaluation methods and parameters, I'll cut to the chase for those who are getting tired of this review, then I'll follow up with the details. I ended up buying the PSB Stratus Silveri. It was a tight battle between them and the Paradigm Reference Studio 80. The Cambridge Soundworks Towers sounded decent overall, but were not competitive with the other two models. Now, here's my evaluation of each model:

I got the Cambridge Soundworks based largely on the prospect of getting a great bargain. I'd heard that the manufacturer's factory-direct sales strategy allows them to offer a lot of speaker for the money. When I listed to them in the showroom, they sounded quite good. Unfortunately the CS retail stores (located only in New England and California) only carry CS speakers, so there is nothing there to compare them to. They sounded fine by themselves (I actually had them for several weeks before the evaluation) but were not impressive when compared directly to the other two models. I didn't like the effect of the bipolar driver configuration; it made the soundstage too diffused and the imaging unfocused. I guess this is the intention, but I didn't care for the effect. I'd characterize the tonal balance as mellow to a fault. Percussive sounds didn't snap and pop like they should, and most music sounded heavy and slow compared to the other models. The bass got deep and loud, but the bass definition was lacking; it was tough at times to distinguish one bass tone from another, and all bass instruments (acoustic bass, electric bass, synthesizer bass notes) sounded too similar. On the positive side, midrange (including vocal) tonal reproduction was pretty good, and they could play quite loud without breaking up or losing their tonal character. I'd say they'd be very good home theater speakers, but only good music speakers, and I listen mostly to music.

When I listened to the Paradigm Reference Studio 80 in the showroom I was thinking that perhaps the room or the electronics was responsible for their extremely dynamic and exciting sound. As it turns out, they sounded very similar in my (admittedly modest) system and room. These puppies can really rock. For starters, they're very sensitive. I found that the PSBs needed another 4-5 volume points (my receiver's volume range is 1-80) to play at the same volume. The bass response is tremendous, bordering on ridiculous. I actually resorted to playing DJ Bass Boy's "I got the Bass" (a leftover from my days as a car stereo fanatic) to see how far you can push these speakers. Suffice it to say that they produce a ton of bass; I found the resonant frequency of my house... my entire house. The highs sparkle and are detailed and crisp. Early in my evaluation, I thought these would be the clear winners because they are so exciting to listen to. I'm glad I took the time to do careful A/B comparisons with the PSBs, because this pointed out the shortcomings of the Paradigms that eventually made me choose the PSBs. To summarize, the Paradigms trade too much accuracy for excitement factor, in my opinion. As I listened more, the highs became fatiguing due to their brightness and slight lack of clarity. Some vocals sounded strained and thin, without enough lifelike resonance. I realized that even the bass, which was so impressive initially, could be more defined and lifelike. All bass instruments sounded similar, lacking individual character, and bass tones were just tones, without enough initial attack (like the plucking of a string or mallet striking a bass drum). Overall I'd rate these as outstanding home theater speakers and very good music speakers. If you're planning to open a dance club in your living room, these are your speakers.

Which leaves the PSB Stratus Silveri. By now I'm sure it's no surprise that I love these speakers. I'll start with the positives, of which there are many. First and foremost, they are amazingly accurate, while still providing enough presence and dynamics. Vocal reproduction is outstanding, which is what finally sold me on this model. You can accept some coloration in the reproduction of most instruments, but everyone knows what a human voice should sound like, so it was critical to me that my speakers reproduce vocals well. These were the only speakers with which I could close my eyes and convincingly imagine that the singer was in the room. The tonal balance tends to be slightly dark, yet no details are lost. On the contrary, drums and percussion sound excellent, with just the right balance of pop, sizzle, and resonance. On several songs I heard distinct drum strikes in places where the other models reproduced just indistinct rumbling. The bass, which I initially judged to be inferior to the Paradigm's, has its own redeeming qualities that eventually made me change my mind. The PSB's bass does not go quite as low (although still plenty low for any kind of music short of DJ Bass Boy or pipe organ), but it is much better defined. You can easily distinguish bass instruments from each other, and bass doesn't sound like test tones, but rather like music. The clincher for me was acoustic jazz bass, which sounded by far the most lifelike on the PSBs. You can hear each pluck of the strings and the resonance in the bass' body. I'd characterize the highs as "just right" also. High pitched instruments like cymbals sound clear and defined, without the excessive sizzle that leads to ear fatigue. In my opinion, there are few negatives with these speakers. Compared to the Paradigms, I'll grant that the PSBs are not quite as exciting on loud electric music, on which the Paradigms shine. Technically, the Paradigms can also play louder before their dynamics get compressed than the PSBs, but to me the Paradigms became painful to listen to at very high volume because of their fatiguing brightness and thin vocals. And make no mistake, the PSBs can play loud before they start to compress. I'm sure they could go louder with more power behind them, but my neighbors are already annoyed enough as it is. Again, it shouldn't surprise you that I rate the PSBs as outstanding home theater and music speakers.

A quick statement about evaluating speakers at home, then I'll quit rambling on. I found the experience very enlightening, and I encourage anyone considering plunking down a considerable amount of money on new speakers to do the same. It takes some effort, but the peace of mind of knowing that you picked the speakers that you like best in your system and home is well worth it.

Similar Products Used:

Cambridge Soundworks Tower, Paradigm Reference Studio 80

Imaging, dynamics, looks (piano black)

need power

I finally found a speaker that allows me to enjoy the music
again. I got caught up in the HT craze and ended up with speakers that weren't good for music. The ACI's were very
nice but a little bright for my taste. The PSB's are oh
so smooth but still provide detail and great imaging. For
full range you'll need a sub, that's the only reason I'm
upgrading to the Goldi's. Five stars anyway because they aren't really designed to be a complete full range speaker,
at least not in a larger room. They're probably all you'll
need in a smaller room. Mine is 16x24.

Similar Products Used:

Wilson Witt, Klipsch kg series, M&K 750, ACI sapphire III