PSB T6 vs Bookshelves

S

Sylar

Full Audioholic
I have been leaning towards buying the PSB T6 or Paradigm Monitor 9. Will try to decide this weekend.
Read good stuff of the Paradigm Studio series. The tower is beyond my price range. Have been pondering if it is worth considering some Bookshelves over these 2 towers.

Some that I have come across & heard so far, & within my budget.
B&W 685, 686
PSB Image B6, B5

Havent heard these, but they are available to buy..
PSB Imagine B
Paradigm studio 10
 
Seth=L

Seth=L

Audioholic Overlord
Are you looking to buy new only, or are open to the idea of buying used? You can get much better speakers in the same price range if you're buying used.
 
S

Sylar

Full Audioholic
Are you looking to buy new only, or are open to the idea of buying used? You can get much better speakers in the same price range if you're buying used.
New only...where I live old ones are hard to come by. I live on the other side of the planet :D
 
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
I have been leaning towards buying the PSB T6 or Paradigm Monitor 9. Will try to decide this weekend.
Read good stuff of the Paradigm Studio series. The tower is beyond my price range. Have been pondering if it is worth considering some Bookshelves over these 2 towers.

Some that I have come across & heard so far, & within my budget.
B&W 685, 686
PSB Image B6, B5

Havent heard these, but they are available to buy..
PSB Imagine B
Paradigm studio 10
In order of preference,

Paradigm Studio/PSB Imagine
PSB Image
B&W
Paradigm's Monitor series.


What's the intended application? Is strictly 2 channel or is it part of a HT suite? Do you oiwn a sub?

The T6s will dig deep enough for almost all genres of music except for rap ( I don't call it music personally) and the deeper registers of pipe organs. They received rave reviews by all the audi rags out there.
 
S

Sylar

Full Audioholic
What's the intended application? Is strictly 2 channel or is it part of a HT suite? Do you oiwn a sub?
Both 2 channel & surround.
No I don't own anything as of now. Am looking to buy from scratch. So choosing front speakers first, will buy the surrounds & sub slowly.

Before I jump in and buy the T6, i wanted to double check if I can do better with bookshelves in this price range.
 
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
Both 2 channel & surround.
No I don't own anything as of now. Am looking to buy from scratch. So choosing front speakers first, will buy the surrounds & sub slowly.

Before I jump in and buy the T6, i wanted to double check if I can do better with bookshelves in this price range.
You could move into the Studio series or Imagine series bookshelves for the price of the T6s. They would offer you smoother mids and highs and better imaging and detail then the T6s but the T6s are no slouches and a fine speaker to begin with.

I own the old Image T45s towers for my main speakers which are ridicoulsy good speakers. I also have an Image 8C and 1B surrounds and a subsonic 5. I run my mains full range when listening to two channel such as vinyl or CDs but set them to small on teh receiver for HT and let the sub do the bass. I'm happy with my setup. There are two things I feel I waant to upgrade, a bigger display and a sub that digs deep into the low 20s.
 
S

Sylar

Full Audioholic
You could move into the Studio series or Imagine series bookshelves for the price of the T6s. They would offer you smoother mids and highs and better imaging and detail then the T6s but the T6s are no slouches and a fine speaker to begin with.

I own the old Image T45s towers for my main speakers which are ridicoulsy good speakers. I also have an Image 8C and 1B surrounds and a subsonic 5. I run my mains full range when listening to two channel such as vinyl or CDs but set them to small on teh receiver for HT and let the sub do the bass. I'm happy with my setup. There are two things I feel I waant to upgrade, a bigger display and a sub that digs deep into the low 20s.
I presume if I decide to go with T6, the C4/C5 would be the recommended center?
 
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
I presume if I decide to go with T6, the C4/C5 would be the recommended center?
Its best to match the series of a manufacturer mains and center channel ...so yes.

Audition audition audition is my advice to you before purchasing. Hearing is personal and subjective and what sounds good to me or others may sound bad too you.

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.

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.
 
R

rushwj

Audioholic
Totally agree with above post. My dealer would use a db meter on the iPad there to give the volume matching. Really liked the idea, downloaded it for free on my iPad and iPhone, checked my normal listening levels for music/movies/tv and then can level match when auditioning. It's probably not the most accurate, but does seem precise (consistent) and is close enough to give you a good idea for volume matching.
 
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