Not really no, I've never done something like that before.
I just remembered, there is a store fairly close to me that sells PSB speakers, they don't have the Image T6, but they have the Image T5 and they have all the other Image series speakers as well. I'll have to pay them a visit and audition the PSB. If I do happen to like PSB, I'll ask them if they can get a pair of the Image T6 for me and maybe give me a deal as this place is good for giving deals most of the time. I think it's between Paradigm and PSB now, considering they are relatively close in price for each of their offerings.
One thing about the Image C5 center, it has two 5 1/4 woofers, while the Paradigm CC-290 center has two 6 1/2 woofers plus a 4 1/2 midrange driver. The Paradigm is a 3-way and the PSB is either a 2 or 2.5-way design. Wouldn't the Paradigm sound better?
On the other hand, the Paradigm Monitor 9 is a 2.5-way design while the PSB Image T6 is a 3-way design.
Accutech does offer some good advice and I share this with him. Listen to as many speakers as you can so you can make an informed decision. Also, hearing is very subjective and no two people hear exactly the same thing.
To help you I would do the following:
What I would do is to take a pad of paper with you, write down the make and
model of each speaker you audition and what you liked and disliked about the
speakers you were auditioning. Was the bass tight and deep or was it boomy
and loose sounding? Were the mids life like or were they hollow or just too
pronounced? Was the treble irritating and harsh or were they dark and not
revealing or were they smooththat made you want to listen for more? How was
the imaging?
Bring music with you that you are very familiar with and know quite well. To
make it easier to audition HT speaker systems, listen to the main speakers in 2
channel mode with music. Music is much harder to reproduce accurately then a
movie soundtrack so if the speakers do well with music, then they will do well
with HT. Speakers that do HT well may not do well with music. When auditioning
the center channel of the same brand and series as the main speakers, pick a
difficult source like an announcer that mumbles alot. If you can understand what
the mumbling announcer is saying, then you have a good center channel.
I would go to speciality stores first and start auditioning speakers first
instead of going to the internet first. Once your likes are determined, you can
mention them here and fellow members can make internet brand recommendations
based on your likes/dislikes. The specality stores are better setup acousticaly
then the big box stores which will make auditioning a little easier. It will
give you an idea of what you like in a speaker.
Keep track of what amp or receiver is powering the speakers you're auditioning.
Try to get a receiver/amp that closest resembles what you have or want to get.
It just reduces another variable when audtioning speakers.
One thing to keep note off. When auditioning speakers, make sure the volume
levels are matched between the diiferent speaker pairs because the louder
speaker pair will always sound better. Listen to levels that you think you
would listen to most of the time because thats how you are going to be using
them most of the time.
