First off: WOW
I've only been using them for a day or two, but I think they will replace the PSB's without a hitch.
Now as to review without much scientific basis involved (sorry, I don't have golden ears or fancy test equipment):
I set them up at ear level (co-incidentally on my PSB's with foam for now) and toed them in twords my listening area. First thing I noticed was imaging; much better than the PSB's, although they might be better if they were higher off the ground. Regardless, these fill the room with sound cleanly and easily.
Secondly; these speakers are WAY easier to drive than the PSB's. Not to mention, they can too go deafeningly loud without distortion.
Third (and the best part): SOUND QUALITY. I've had many setups over the years. My first "setup" was a Pioneer SX-626 hooked up to Kraco Car speakers and an old Sony CD player. I've moved on since then (still have the Pioneer) and most recently, have owned 4 sets of speakers in the past 4 years: Yamaha HTIB speakers, BIC American Floorstanders, PSB 600i, and now Studio 20's. I've also have also listened to a few albums for 12 years (
) on my different systems, and these speakers are hands down, the most revealing speakers I've ever had the pleasure of owning.
The best part... on albums I've had less than a year or so (Soundgarden, Alice in Chains), they sound good on the PSB's, but listening to the "Orange" AIC album, you can tell there is so much more going on in the song. You can hear every little detail; the speakers really are revealing. The bass is also very well detailed and excellently controlled for speakers that are physically small. I've been without a subwoofer for a while, and while some may argue my PSB's are more capable of bass, in my situation, the 20's have better bass response as well as cleanliness. By far, the bass is the most noticeable mark left by me; with these I really don't need a subwoofer right now (since I don't watch a whole lot of movies to begin with). They really do wonders by themselves.
When Seth first sat me down to audition these, he said that they would be a bit "bright"; however, that word to me associates accentuated treble, which these speakers do not do. These speakers are clean and sterile; they do not color the sound (as far as I know), and are not forgiving of poor recordings (as finding out with internet radio). However, despite all that, I haven't had this much fun in a while listening to my audio system in a while; AM/FM radio, CD's, games, movies, all GREAT.
For reference, my setup:
Yamaha DSP-A1000
Yamaha CDX-900U (CD player)
Yamaha TX-950 (Tuner)
Computer (source)
PS3 (source)
Albums tested (and reccomended worth buying) :
Alice in Chains - (what I call the orange album; case is translucent orange)
Fiona Apple - Tidal
Diana Krall - Live in Paris
NIN - The Downward Spiral SACD DE (did not use SACD player)
