PSB Imagine vs. Paradigm Studio

[snmhanson]

I have posted a few times regarding speakers for my new media room. I had decided upon Paradigm Studio 60s w/ either a 590 or 690 center - either discounted V4s or the newer V5s depending on what I could get V5s for. I heard that there really isn't that much differece sonically between the two. Now I found a place that I can get a pretty good deal on some PSB Imagine speakers. They would end up being considerably cheaper than the Paradigms. Only thing is that I've heard the Paradigms in person and thought they sounded great. I haven't heard the Imagines yet and probably wouldn't have a chance to. Can anyone give me an idea of how they would compare?

I will be feeding them with a NAD T-973 amp (not sure on the processor yet but will be using a Marantz receiver as a processor for now) and my listening will be mostly HT with maybe 10-20% music. I do appreciate listening to music though so I don't want to totally discount those needs. On the other hand, I am just getting into higher quality A/V so I will probably not be quite as discriminating as many people on this board. One thing I did notice is that the Paradigms are generally rated at 8 ohms while the PSBs are rated at 4 ohms. I assume that my amp will be able to handle either load with relative ease - am I right on that? Also, the impendance seems to be a bit lower on the PSBs when compared to the Paradigms. Not sure but I think that the 4 ohms means there is less resistance which could help make up for the lower impedance of the PSBs.

Whatever input anyone can offer will be greatly appreciated. I know that PSBs aren't as common as Paradigm so it may be more difficult to find someone with an unbiased real-world view of them and even more difficult to find someone that can offer a true comparison between the two. However, anything anyone can tell me about them would be great. In particular I am trying to find a comparison on how the Imagines will sound relative to the Paradigms - both in terms of quality and in terms of their natural sound. I also want to make sure the Imagines would be a good fit with the gear I am using (I already am fairly certain the Paradigms would work well).

Thanks,

Matt

 

[fredk]

Your Nad will handle 4 Ohms just fine.

I havn't had the pleasure of listening to anything in the Imagine line yet. I am waiting for a local dealer to get some in. PSB has pretty much the same design goals as PSB: a reasonable cost neutral speaker.

 

[TheFactor]

I have the Paradigm Studio 60's for fronts and a 690 for the center and I truly love them . I've had them for over a year and couldnt be happier , I think you would be too and there built like tanks very solid. I highly recommend them . I havent heard your other choice so cant say which is better but I dont think you can go wrong with Paradigms it takes a lot to keep me happy and Paradigm has managed to do that and dont have any intentions of ever getting rid of them

 

[jostenmeat]

Now I found a place that I can get a pretty good deal on some PSB Imagine speakers.

Could you kindly PM with the prices you've been quoted, and where. TYVM!

On the other hand, I am just getting into higher quality A/V so I will probably not be quite as discriminating as many people on this board.

Remember, it's only your opinion that matters in the end. After all, none of us will be listening to them. (Unless you invite us over).

I assume that my amp will be able to handle either load with relative ease - am I right on that?

Yes. I use the same amp. And I use it on Images for the moment. Even after treating the heck out of the HT, which allowed me to raise the volumes even further, it pretty much yawns. I used to have this same amp drive some electrostats that drop to 0.7 ohm, and IIRC I think I only once got the fans to even kick on.

It is my very strong impression that most speakers start wimping out, or get overwhelmed, before most decent/beefy amps do.

I know that PSBs aren't as common as Paradigm so it may be more difficult to find someone with an unbiased real-world view of them and even more difficult to find someone that can offer a true comparison between the two. However, anything anyone can tell me about them would be great. In particular I am trying to find a comparison on how the Imagines will sound relative to the Paradigms - both in terms of quality and in terms of their natural sound. I also want to make sure the Imagines would be a good fit with the gear I am using (I already am fairly certain the Paradigms would work well).

Yeah, good luck on that one. If only because you know for sure that you'd like the digms, would I vote for those. I will say that people LOVE the audio in my HT, even if I believe that has a lot to do with treatments, and EQ, but for some folks that's their favorite part, in my dedicated multirow theater.

 

[3db]

Sorry I can't help you with this one. I'm a PSB fanboy and I'm not ashamed to say it. They make dam good speakers and back when I was looking for speakers, I picked PSB Image series over Paradigm's Monitor series.

I've not heard the new Imagine line nor the new Studio series from Paradigm. The Studio series have a well deserved cult following. They are a great series of speaker. I think the Imagine series is targetting the Studio series as the cost between the two series is with in arms length of one another. Both companies make awesome speakers. It will just boil down to personal preference. It'll be interesting to hear the outcome of this. Let us know how you make out.

 

[snmhanson]

Thanks for the replies. It's good to know that I am not really restircted on speaker choice with my NAD amp. It's also good to hear that no one had anything bad to say about the Imagines. On the other hand, and as I expected, you all seemed to have great things to say about the Studios. The Studio line also has much more selection for each speaker than the limited selection that the Imagine series offers. Unless I can find someone to offer a good comparison between the two I will probably stick with my plan to get the Studios - unless I can find somewhere to demo the Imagines.

Thanks again,

Matt

 

[Warpdrv]

If I couldn't audition a set of speakers, I wouldn't even have them on the list.
The studios are fantastic speakers, but do try to take your time and audition
as many speakers as you have available to you.

Good luck with your hunt - take your time so you are happy for many years to come.

 

[coilman]

goingto compare

heyall, little bit of newbie, but great site and info been listening for awhile and started audidtioning speakers: def tech,klisphs,monitor audio,usher and next week finally found paradigm,s and psb.s to audition will give thought soon even though so far it has been the sts,s that has impreessed me--but the search always goes on also i am comparing 5.1 set-up and sts pair. have notfound complete 5.1 in sts yet

 

[KEW]

Matt,
I have listened to both the PSB Imagine B and the Paradigm Studio 20 v5.
It was my experience that they do not have the same sound character.
The major difference I heard was in the high frequencies.
To my ear, the Paradigms had more presence and the Imagines sounded veiled. However, to your ear, the Paradigms may sound overly bright or even harsh or fatiguing and the PSB's may be perfect.
The high end was by far the most dominant difference in their sound. When I was listening to some electric guitar without cymbals, etc., the differences were very subtle to my ear.

 

[coilman]

got one out the way

hey all me agin- auditioned the psb imagine t's- has great soundstage . i also thought highs were kinda of soft. mad at paradigm dealer not getting back to me for comparison but will still pursue until i find them

 

[coilman]

got one out the way

hey all me agin- auditioned the psb imagine t's- has great soundstage . i also thought highs were kinda of soft. mad at paradigm dealer not getting back to me for comparison but will still pursue until i find them

 

[jhayman]

Well I have heard them both over a few sessions over the course of a few days..
I felt the 60's sounded a bit harsh the higher they went ,they had more bottom end, but in the end the Imagine T's were just awesome the imaging just blew me away..
The 60's just lacked in that area, now of course it's all about how your ears pick it up..
I found a great place for PSB, PM me if you would like info..
using a NAD 555 amp

 

[uscguy22]

Jhayman, i'm in the market for some PSB Imagine B speakers. I auditioned the Paradigm Studio 20s this past weekend and I prefer the PSBs. I'd be interested to know where your souce for the PSBs are as I am looking to purchase these very soon. thanks.

 

[jhayman]

Hey the place was in the town of Whitby on Hwy 2..between Thickson rd and Brock St..
on the north side a stereo store but I cant remember the name...
sorry

 

[3db]

Hey the place was in the town of Whitby on Hwy 2..between Thickson rd and Brock St..
on the north side a stereo store but I cant remember the name...
sorry

Both PSB and Paradigm are headquatered in TO so you should be able to find plenty of dealers of both un like Ottawa who have a single dealership for each.

 

[AbyssalLoris]

Just giving you my 2 cents, as I have recently listened to the Paradigm Studio 10, Studio 20, as well as the Imagine B. None of the towers as I wasn't interested in them. I believe you're looking for towers so this input may not be directly valid unless you want to extrapolate.

The Studio 20 is at a higher price point than the other two and not a very fair comparison. Between the Studio 10 and the Imagine B, I found them to be substantially similar. You'd think my conclusion is different from that of KEW, but it is only a question of degree, because I agree with the rest of what KEW said. The highs did seem more forward in the Studio 10/20 and the Imagine was comparatively 'veiled'. But to me, the Imagine sounded just right whereas the Studio series sounded a little too bright/harsh. Note that I listened to the Paradigms and the PSBs in different stores, so YMMV. Another aspect is the soundstage/imaging or whatever other nebulous term you want to give it. With my limited ability to discern this, I found that both speakers were very good in this department, with the PSB probably faring a little better. However, during my listening, the PSBs were mounted a little higher than the Paradigms had been. No idea what effect that has. For my tastes, I would have picked the PSB.

 

[PENG]

I have not heard the imagine line yet but if they are as good as the Image and Sychronies then I would likely prefer them to the Studios. The Studios are fine speakers, I just find them, or even the Signature series ones a little bright for my taste. My taste is biased as I tend to compare it to the of kind of sound I thought I heard in live unamplified concerts.

 

[English210]

Which Imagines are you considering? The Imagine T towers? I first Paradigm Studios when I first started looking to upgrade, and they were fine, but nothing special. The Imagines were special, but I liked the T2's, and didn't listen much to the T's. The Paradigms I think listed at around $3K, the T2's at $3.5K. For my tastes, in terms of 'speakers disappearing leaving the music', I'd go with Imagines, but that's me...

 

[Cos]

I hear a lot of people say the Paradigm's sound bright. At this point, I won't disagree, but can someone explain what they mean by bright. Here are the measurements for the Studio 60v5

SoundStage! Measurements - Paradigm Reference Studio 60 v.5 Loudspeakers (5/2009)

Is there a way to measure if a speaker is bright, if so, I would love to know what to look for?

On a side note I will say that the Studio is much less forgiving with lower quality source material than other speakers I have listened to.

If you do decide to stay with Studio, I would seriously go CC-690 over the CC-590. I speak from experience as I had the CC-590v3 when I had my Studio 60s V3 and moved the CC-690v4 and dialogue was significantly better. I sold all my old stuff and even got the CC-690v5 to mach my studio 100s.

I am also growing to love the not so pretty, but great sounding Golden Ear Speakers and with their full size offering in the center channel now, it would be a great match to the Triton II/II or Seven.

 

[PENG]

I hear a lot of people say the Paradigm's sound bright. At this point, I won't disagree, but can someone explain what they mean by bright. Here are the measurements for the Studio 60v5

SoundStage! Measurements - Paradigm Reference Studio 60 v.5 Loudspeakers (5/2009)

Is there a way to measure if a speaker is bright, if so, I would love to know what to look for?

On a side note I will say that the Studio is much less forgiving with lower quality source material than other speakers I have listened to.

If you do decide to stay with Studio, I would seriously go CC-690 over the CC-590. I speak from experience as I had the CC-590v3 when I had my Studio 60s V3 and moved the CC-690v4 and dialogue was significantly better. I sold all my old stuff and even got the CC-690v5 to mach my studio 100s.

I am also growing to love the not so pretty, but great sounding Golden Ear Speakers and with their full size offering in the center channel now, it would be a great match to the Triton II/II or Seven.

I don't consider the Studio 60 V5 bright, but I feel the Studio/Signatures are a touch brighter than the PSB synchrony and Image line speakers and I thought the PSBs are a little closer to being neutral. The Studios do seem to have a dip in the 1 to 2K range but I am not sure if that's a contributing factor. Compare that to the two PSBs you will see what I am talking about. Again, I like the Studio 60 V5. If I were to choice between it and the S6, I would probably go for the Studio and save $3,000 for higher end subwoofer but then I wouldn't choice either.

http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=754:nrc-measurements-psb-imagine-t2-loudspeakers&catid=77:loudspeaker-measurements

SoundStage! Measurements - PSB Image T45 Loudspeakers (7/2006)