PSB - Why no love?

Doomster69

Active Member
Joined
May 13, 2015
Messages
200
Points
28
Location
Gurgaon
Hi FMs

I am an owner of multiple sets of PSB speakers. I love their forward mid range and somewhat warm sound signature. They sound most natural to me.

However, in all my research, i dont come across many people who own PSB speakers or alot of reviews or research on PSB speakers. What further amuses me is that they are well regarded by likes of Stereophile and yet they arent as popular as say - KEF, Monitor, Klipsch, ELAC and the likes?

Would love to hear opinions from FMs and users of PSB on this - i hope im not missing out on something that others know :)
 
Public memory is short. It today's market you constantly need to be churning out new products that get better with each iteration to remain in public memory.

Either that, or you should be seriously good, like, like an AudioNote, a Magnepan.
 
Just like any other product, speakers also go in and out of vogue. Since most people don’t audition themselves and go only on recommendations from others (nothing wrong with that), unless there is someone who owns a pair of those speakers and writes about their experience extensively on this forum, the tribe won’t grow.

i would’ve probably never ended up with a lot of gear that i have currently had i been aware of this forum at the time when i started my journey. But just to clarify and not ruffle a lot of feathers, the hits and misses far outweigh that particular benefit.

And i audition as far as possible. I would’ve conducted home invasions of FMs had it not been for the pandemic.
 
Last edited:
PSB has a very good sealed sub as well PSB350,but the prices are quite expensive in India when compared to svs. A friend owns these subs and the NAD amp is very efficient.
They arent agressive in their marketing like klipsch, kef,polk
 
PSB has a very good sealed sub as well PSB350,but the prices are quite expensive in India when compared to svs. A friend owns these subs and the NAD amp is very efficient.
They arent agressive in their marketing like klipsch, kef,polk
What marketing in India?
 
I have auditoned psb at lakozy..and facilitated a buy thru this forum for my freind.. I think it was a B1.. They are really great speakers. Built to last. and like u rightly said, they have pretty good midrange..

We once took the b1 + pulz combo for a all boys farmhouse party..it rocked :)
 
My first serious speaker was a PSB Image B15. I still have it. It has a sound that is easy going and packed a punch for its small size.

I think the lack of interest for the brand comes from a portfolio that has never been that big or the fact that the name never really comes up when someone is looking out for a speaker. The are not cheap either. You can't compare them to the likes of JBL, KEF and some of the other popular makes. They also take a long time to cycle products or bring something new to the market. This does not go down very well if you are in Audio, where you need to be churning out new products fast. If you look at KEF's line up over the last decade, you will see a vast change in speaker design and materials. With PSB, nothing much has changed over the last decade.
 
@sandeepmohan said it well. In the early 2000s there were several really nice Canadian speaker manufactures like PSB, Mirage , paradigm, athena etc who had come into prominence due to their high value for the dollar and were well reviewed apparently all triggered by the research and facilities Canada had set up including a lab.

Somehow over the years they seem to have faded from the limelight although the quality is still good
A lot may have to do with China's emergence jn this field. Also Klipsch bought up companies like mirage/Athena over time
 
Online influencers and local availability is a major factor other than price .
Also the online space has conflicting information .Eg : Search audiosciencereview and stereophile forum for psbalpha-a popular entry spkr .Now all these influencers do impact customer buying behaviors.
 
When I was hunting for my very set of components including my first FS, PSBs was my desired brand. I took out time to even visit Delhi's showroom of Lakozy during a NCR travel and have been a fan of their sound signature. I will admit that I will agree to OP's comment on lack of love for PSB. I just do not see any PSB model in any of the conversations in this forum itself and I do not see their new speakers being reviewed in mags like WhatHiFi.
 
Hi FMs

I am an owner of multiple sets of PSB speakers. I love their forward mid range and somewhat warm sound signature. They sound most natural to me.

However, in all my research, i dont come across many people who own PSB speakers or alot of reviews or research on PSB speakers. What further amuses me is that they are well regarded by likes of Stereophile and yet they arent as popular as say - KEF, Monitor, Klipsch, ELAC and the likes?

Would love to hear opinions from FMs and users of PSB on this - i hope im not missing out on something that others know :)
Every single PSB speaker I've listened to has sounded quite good to me.

A pair of PSB Image B6s on stands, and a NAD 326BEE made up my first HiFi setup. I still regret selling those. I should have stowed them for use as a second setup or TV/Movie setup (which I needed not much later). I was hopping for a home office setup just 2 months ago, and I almost ended up with a PSB + NAD setup again, but I voted to reduce complexity (fewer boxes) and bought studio monitors and a studio subwoofer.
 
Country of original company matters, There are internet influences and there's clever marketing, which is more biased towards USA products. For example nobody in HFV would have bought Indiq Audio if they relied on YouTube / Google reviews. Because indiq offers unbeatable customers service and 15 days no question asked money back policy ; with word of mouth publicity on this forum it has garnered enough fan support. Now imagine how feasible for Indiq Audio to gain customer base in Canada even if they appoint a good Distributors worldwide. Maintaining the initially gained Customer base equally tough task in my opinion, companies unable to spend on marketing usually suffer in the long run, unless you have niche market base or offer some Extraordinary and VFM stuff.

PSB have decent speakers but nothing extraordinary, combined with no proper marketing strategy; you'll find them losing fan base. They're good products in my opinion. I have Recently Tried PSB 250 and 350 Subwoofers ( Dealer was kind enough to provide home audition, otherwise even I would not have bothered), They're Awesome sealed subwoofers, but not cheaper than well marketed products like SVS, so selling and reselling them becomes a bit difficult.
 
Country of original company matters, There are internet influences and there's clever marketing, which is more biased towards USA products. For example nobody in HFV would have bought Indiq Audio if they relied on YouTube / Google reviews. Because indiq offers unbeatable customers service and 15 days no question asked money back policy ; with word of mouth publicity on this forum it has garnered enough fan support. Now imagine how feasible for Indiq Audio to gain customer base in Canada even if they appoint a good Distributors worldwide. Maintaining the initially gained Customer base equally tough task in my opinion, companies unable to spend on marketing usually suffer in the long run, unless you have niche market base or offer some Extraordinary and VFM stuff.

PSB have decent speakers but nothing extraordinary, combined with no proper marketing strategy; you'll find them losing fan base. They're good products in my opinion. I have Recently Tried PSB 250 and 350 Subwoofers ( Dealer was kind enough to provide home audition, otherwise even I would not have bothered), They're Awesome sealed subwoofers, but not cheaper than well marketed products like SVS, so selling and reselling them becomes a bit difficult.
While the arguments are valid in general, wonder if it’s true even of PSB, which is owned by the same parent company that owns the extensively marketed BlueSound and NAD brands. Perhaps they don’t expect see speakers business as lucrative as electronics to invest in and are happy just milking the cow as long as possible?
 
I reiterate, unless PSB owners write about their products and considering there are a dearth of professional reviews, you won't see PSB products selling much any time soon. The best example is the shift of buying trends from one product to the other based upon user reviews that I've seen on this very forum. And to my mind, if a product aint good enough for users to rave about it, well...
 
Perhaps they don’t expect see speakers business as lucrative as electronics to invest in and are happy just milking the cow as long as possible
Mostly right, with speakers I'm seeing either the budget segment is moving or highend ones are selling. Mid tier ones need to be constantly innovative like Wharfedale, Dali and Kef to keep selling in good numbers. Laid back attitude of Psb isn't good in the long run
 
Every single PSB speaker I've listened to has sounded quite good to me.

A pair of PSB Image B6s on stands, and a NAD 326BEE made up my first HiFi setup. I still regret selling those. I should have stowed them for use as a second setup or TV/Movie setup (which I needed not much later). I was hopping for a home office setup just 2 months ago, and I almost ended up with a PSB + NAD setup again, but I voted to reduce complexity (fewer boxes) and bought studio monitors and a studio subwoofer.
Good to hear.. I have been itching to hear my psb X2Ts paired with nad...till now its been marantz and yamaha aventage.. How was your personal experience with them?! Also would you say the pairing makes for smooth listening as compared to analytical/crisp presentation from other pairings?

Country of original company matters, There are internet influences and there's clever marketing, which is more biased towards USA products. For example nobody in HFV would have bought Indiq Audio if they relied on YouTube / Google reviews. Because indiq offers unbeatable customers service and 15 days no question asked money back policy ; with word of mouth publicity on this forum it has garnered enough fan support. Now imagine how feasible for Indiq Audio to gain customer base in Canada even if they appoint a good Distributors worldwide. Maintaining the initially gained Customer base equally tough task in my opinion, companies unable to spend on marketing usually suffer in the long run, unless you have niche market base or offer some Extraordinary and VFM stuff.

PSB have decent speakers but nothing extraordinary, combined with no proper marketing strategy; you'll find them losing fan base. They're good products in my opinion. I have Recently Tried PSB 250 and 350 Subwoofers ( Dealer was kind enough to provide home audition, otherwise even I would not have bothered), They're Awesome sealed subwoofers, but not cheaper than well marketed products like SVS, so selling and reselling them becomes a bit difficult.
Very valid points on the marketability aspect (new or used). I must confess I'm one who chose an svs over the PSB sub myself (movies inclination).
It's quite reassuring to see brands like Indiq fighting out this competitive space and yet still build a niche brand through customer loyalty and 'try it before u buy it' approach. Another homegrown brand I recall is Lyrita audio. Apologise in advance if I'm not informed on their brand value, but from whatevr I read on HFV, they too are a boutique brand for some very decent preamp.. So wish I can lay my hands on a tube pre for a taste.. Most prolly will be good addition if I can afford it. PSBs get aptly sparkly with some tubes in the chain.. The holographic part is to die for...

While the arguments are valid in general, wonder if it’s true even of PSB, which is owned by the same parent company that owns the extensively marketed BlueSound and NAD brands. Perhaps they don’t expect see speakers business as lucrative as electronics to invest in and are happy just milking the cow as long as possible?
Possibly.. Paul can only push the speakers so long as its lucrative enough.. With more established product lines I amps and upcoming streaming based products, there may be a case of shifted Co. focus. I hazard a guess that might be the reason they really don't push for the ecosystem approach featuring the PSB speakers. Guess their real pull comes from reviews from stereophile and the word of mouth!!

Just like any other product, speakers also go in and out of vogue. Since most people don’t audition themselves and go only on recommendations from others (nothing wrong with that), unless there is someone who owns a pair of those speakers and writes about their experience extensively on this forum, the tribe won’t grow.

i would’ve probably never ended up with a lot of gear that i have currently had i been aware of this forum at the time when i started my journey. But just to clarify and not ruffle a lot of feathers, the hits and misses far outweigh that particular benefit.

And i audition as far as possible. I would’ve conducted home invasions of FMs had it not been for the pandemic.
Yes.. Even my purchase was audition based. Chose mine over some KEFs, Monitors and Paradigms. There is no substitute for auditioning (even if done in a treated room).

I have auditoned psb at lakozy..and facilitated a buy thru this forum for my freind.. I think it was a B1.. They are really great speakers. Built to last. and like u rightly said, they have pretty good midrange..

We once took the b1 + pulz combo for a all boys farmhouse party..it rocked :)

My first serious speaker was a PSB Image B15. I still have it. It has a sound that is easy going and packed a punch for its small size.

I think the lack of interest for the brand comes from a portfolio that has never been that big or the fact that the name never really comes up when someone is looking out for a speaker. The are not cheap either. You can't compare them to the likes of JBL, KEF and some of the other popular makes. They also take a long time to cycle products or bring something new to the market. This does not go down very well if you are in Audio, where you need to be churning out new products fast. If you look at KEF's line up over the last decade, you will see a vast change in speaker design and materials. With PSB, nothing much has changed over the last decade.
Agreed... But then why would there be this craze/fan following for/to bring back vintage gear.. The L3R is a great example of limited innovation (read changes to original best seller model) still doing well.. Thats one gear that has actually appreciated to point of being out of reach for most ardent audiophiles (with middle class pockets). Change is good but in audio I think its all about some difference/improvement being induced..i would think that's the strategy they adopt to keep it going..

When I was hunting for my very set of components including my first FS, PSBs was my desired brand. I took out time to even visit Delhi's showroom of Lakozy during a NCR travel and have been a fan of their sound signature. I will admit that I will agree to OP's comment on lack of love for PSB. I just do not see any PSB model in any of the conversations in this forum itself and I do not see their new speakers being reviewed in mags like WhatHiFi.
So true and similar experience.. I wouldn't have come across psbs if not for an audition at Lakozy. My recent purchase for the PSB alpha was influenced more from an existing user pov than reviews in stereophile and YT. There too, as another FM pointed out, there are divergent views. If psb alphas are measured on linearity, they may be rated poorer than most.. But once uv heads them, that (may) may not matter.. Its quite a realization on really 'how much' marketing matters in this industry.

PSB synchrony towers - smooth and refined.

I wonder if the newer stuff with the yellow drivers is as good
From what I can remember from an audition some 7 yrs back, the PSB imagine series (yellow bass drivers) compares to synchronies sounded recessed in terms of scale and sparkle, more mid upper and mid-bass centered. Synchronises sounder more open, airier and overall sound scale was grander..
 
@sandeepmohanA lot may have to do with China's emergence jn this field.
This is unavoidable. Even a reputed company like KEF, ELAC goes to China for their speakers. Its no bad thing actually. The ability to mass manufacture helps to some degree with pricing for the manufacturer. My PSB's are Made in China too.
 
This is unavoidable. Even a reputed company like KEF, ELAC goes to China for their speakers. Its no bad thing actually. The ability to mass manufacture helps to some degree with pricing for the manufacturer. My PSB's are Made in China too.
No doubt ..and I believe this has only improved the industry.
Just the canada's decline was also at the same time ..I remember some really innovative speakers from makers like Mirage/Athena/Energy and Paradigm which had come in canada other than PSB ,
 
A beautiful, well-constructed speaker with class-leading soundstage, imaging and bass that is fast, deep, and precise.
Back
Top