Going nuts and mad over them PSB offerings!

[Mor Åse]

Dear Sirs,

I am strongly addict to the art of watching movies, on Bluray, and listening to music, in particular Spotify, but also some of SACDs.

I had a nice setup of Marantz 5006, PSB T6, SVS PC 12NSD, Dali Ikon Vocal, Klipsch RS 42 mk2. And a big 51" Samsung 3D display, Sonos 90 and Apple Tv. Of course some players, like Sony BDP S790 and Oppo 93 EU.

I was in heaven in the midst of all this gadgets, what a sound they produced!

I didnt afford any of these devices, I will have to eat cheap leftovers and cheap white bread for several years now :-(

Then a deus ex machina sprung forward, summertime and Hifi sellouts, all the sudden my Klipscch and Dali were sold.

And I got even more addicted, I bought a SVS PB 12 NSD, a pair of PSB Imagine mini and a PSB Imagine center.

Hmm even more lovely sound, the dual subs filled my room with nice and believable LFE, such lovely voices the Imagine produces paired with the truly heavenly midrange reproduction of T6 !!

Q and problem:

A nice but persistent seller just now tries to sell me a pair of the PSB Imagine Surround speakers, he says I MUST have some real "bipolar speakers"
The price is not bad, approx 40 % off regular price, they have been in his store for approx four months and are as new, HE says.


The main problem is, I simply cannot afford them ( I would have to use an expensive credit card)

--- I was thinking of using the PSB MINIs as rear speakers,
and get a pair of PSB Image B 5 to use as side /side surrond speakers.

But, is this 40% off offer to good to "run away from"?
And, will these Image B5 be of much lower quality than the rest of my 7.2 ?

Someone should knock on my door and say enough is enough, use the B5s ;-(


Sorry for the long posting!

Just now listening to Hilde Louise Asbjørnsen, Norw Jazz singer, have a listing to her, you will find her on Spotify!

 

[theJman]

The main problem is, I simply cannot afford them ( I would have to use an expensive credit card)

You seem to have already answered your own question. Perhaps it's time to take a step back and just use what you have for now, instead of getting something else that might make it difficult for you (financially). There's always tomorrow...

 

[avliner]

Have to agree with Jim... there's always tomorrow, so...

 

[Mor Åse]

The question was meant to be:
"Is PSB Imagine mini a significantly better speaker than PSB Image B5/B4?"

and/ or

"Do we need an expensive bipolar speaker, such as PSB Image S, as rear speakers, or will a good normal speaker, such as PSB Imagine mini", do the the trick?"

I listen a lot to my expensivee SACD, ex Brothers in Arms, and find the rear speakers very critical, thus I sold the harsh sounding Klipsch, replacing it with a Imagine mini.

Now - this seller says you cannot use succh speaker, you HAVE to to use a high quality bipolar! Such as Imagine S.

--------------

Thats why "I lost" it

I have used so much of my money on my system already, I had already bought the fantastic Imagine mini ---
the seller "did" his his job, leaving a customer "on the brink" of a purchase :-(

Thus --this question should have been posted in the more informal sections, but I havent posted 5 yet....

Thus, since SACD listening is as important as watching the movies - please give me some input -- what would I eventually
benefit of getting a bipolar speaker such as Image S or the expensive Imagine ditto ?

 

[3db]

The question was meant to be:
"Is PSB Imagine mini a significantly better speaker than PSB Image B5/B4?"

The Minis are better than the B4/B5 but by a narrow margin. However, for their intended use or futur use, I would say that you would not be using teh full potential of either the minis or B4/B5. Their difference would only become really apparent if they became your main speakers. In your proposed futur setup, there simply isn't much call on them for you to notice any differences. The above only applies for movies.

"Do we need an expensive bipolar speaker, such as PSB Image S, as rear speakers, or will a good normal speaker, such as PSB Imagine mini", do the the trick?"

I listen a lot to my expensivee SACD, ex Brothers in Arms, and find the rear speakers very critical, thus I sold the harsh sounding Klipsch, replacing it with a Imagine mini.

If you listen to a lot of multichannel music, stay away from bipolar speaker configurations and stick with monopoles. As far as movies go, I have a 5.1 arrangement with monopoles and I would never think of moving to bipolar set ups.

Now - this seller says you cannot use succh speaker, you HAVE to to use a high quality bipolar! Such as Imagine S.

--------------

Thats why "I lost" it

I have used so much of my money on my system already, I had already bought the fantastic Imagine mini ---
the seller "did" his his job, leaving a customer "on the brink" of a purchase :-(

Thus --this question should have been posted in the more informal sections, but I havent posted 5 yet....

Thus, since SACD listening is as important as watching the movies - please give me some input -- what would I eventually
benefit of getting a bipolar speaker such as Image S or the expensive Imagine ditto ?

To repeat myself again, stick with monopoles for multichannel music and avoid bipoles. You don't need them.

 

[theJman]

stick with monopoles for multichannel music and avoid bipoles. You don't need them.

I would tend to agree. If music is that critical for you monopoles are perhaps the better option.

 

[GranteedEV]

The main problem is, I simply cannot afford them ( I would have to use an expensive credit card)

My advice is, enjoy what you have, but stay away from "credit". If you can afford it in pure cash that's a totally different thing.

But, is this 40% off offer to good to "run away from"?

Not really.

Someone should knock on my door and say enough is enough, use the B5s ;-(

For surrounds? Look through your collection and evaluate how much your surrounds are actually contributing. I suspect not much.

"Is PSB Imagine mini a significantly better speaker than PSB Image B5/B4?"

I doubt it. Even if it is, it's not worth eating white bread for. Stick to 100% Whole Grain.

I recently upgraded from the very nice EMP E55Ti speakers to the amazing Philharmonic speakers. Were they worth paying what I paid? Yes. But it's not like my life changed. They're just speakers. White bread is gross.

What I mean is, when I first upgraded from "whatever" to the EMPs, it was a night and day difference that actually gives you a feeling of euphoria consistently. You really were hearing things on a regular basis in unexpected places that "frustratingly" was masked on everyday speakers. Sure I already knew some of this from headphones, but what stood out wasn't the stuff I sat down and listened to critically, but rather everyday stuff - video games, movie soundtracks, sports, and anime. The critical listening stuff is fun, but in its own way it's almost tedious because you're becoming focused on the equipment, whereas in my opinion the equipment should dissappear.

In my opinion, yes better equipment sounds better, and you can no doubt hear it - but it doesn't "dissappear" any better - you may not notice right away if someone swapped it out.

Even if there are details being masked by medium level equipment, they may not be "worth the effort", so to speak. it's like, 90% of the time, the medium level speakers are good enough for the medium level source material we subject ourselves to. The better speakers really shine on the other 10%, but it's not a life altering difference the way the jump from poor-to-medium is. It's more like rather than

So my question to you is - what are you chasing.

Most of us here like hi fi / HT as a hobby, but we're pretty much pretty happy with what we already have. Upgraditis is not necessary - it's just our irrationality speaking for us. Some of us even have more systems than we can actually listen to.

If you're chasing something better, ask yourself if it's because you're currently dissatisfied, or if it's because you dream of somethin magic. That something magic probably won't happen "often" enough to justify "sacrifice".

To repeat myself again, stick with monopoles for multichannel music and avoid bipoles. You don't need them.

Essentially, if you look at any multichannel mixing desk / room, you'll see ordinary speakers as surrounds.