Has anyone heard one or both of these PSB bookshelf models: Image B25/Stratus Mini? What can you tell me about either one? If you had your choice, which would you prefer in your music setup?
Q
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The B25 is a very good speaker, but no match for the Stratus Mini. If you have the extra cash, get the Stratus.
The B25 has been compared quite favorably by some folks, and compared well with the studio 20 by the same. I will be hearing the 25 again tomorrow, time for a re-hear, perhaps.
Lige
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You will love the B25, until you A/B them with the Stratus Mini-LOL!
The Stratus Mini will then open up music detail that was no where to be heard on the B25's, which is a very good speaker for @$450.00. To be more specific the great soundstage of the B25 opens up even more with the Stratus, the tight bass on the B25 becomes fuller and more realistic on the Stratus, the highs become more realistic (listen to the cymbal work of any good drummer), and vocals will just blow you away. You are truly engaged with the music, not the sound of a great pair of speakers when you step up to the Stratus Minis.
Nils
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1.Would $800.00 brand new be a good price for the Stratus Mini's?
2.At that price, are the Stratus Mini's $350.00 better than the B25?
Nils
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Anyone?
Theysoundgoodtome
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Nils, The PSB's are much more laid back than most of the speakers discussed in this forum. Some people prefer that with the way that many CD's are recorded, but I don't know how they would sound with vinyl.
It is my understanding the Stratus Mini have been in production for quite a long time and no modification have been made to it in ages. Dollar for dollar, I would look at newer PSB bookshelf or even a small monitor from StudioLab which will render much more details and imaging. The Stratus Mini is, in my opinion a laid back sounding monitor with very little fault but not at full retail price of 1K. NEVER
The thread 'dyanaudio focus 140' up there will be a start. Look for Frank for a Q.He is the best for that product, lines and matching equipment.IMHO No dealers in Canada, no listening myself, but a lot of talk about them. Seems the upper lines are a bit hard to drive, by some accounts, I wanted to run a pair, with my power, but none to be heard. More available in the US and abroad. They have a broad product range.
Nils, my impression of the Dynaudio product, from posts is'accurate, punchy' for the bookshelfs, and a lot more good reviews.
Nils
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Thanks for everyone's input. One more speaker to throw into the fray: The Polk LSI9. Any opinions on those vs. the PSB Stratus Minis and the Paradigm Studio 20's?
Nils, my only Polk experience was not a good one, and nothing like the LSI9 so I will defer to your own ears.
Art Kyle has the 20's running on Prima tubes right now, and I think he has a woodie every time he writes.
Some other members also with the paradigm's, 20's and more.
I have seen the Ascend written up pretty well here time and again, the cheaper 170(now in SE) seem to fave a few hounds in the hunt. But be forewarned, they are ugly. Like a Happy 40th Birthday card from your ex, type ugly.
Thanks for asking, Tdog. The only time I heard the 60's was in a less than favorable room with a few beers. Guy was running a Marantz high current amp and the presentation was not to my liking. I could, however imagine the Stratus sounding similar in the same situation.
I have changed out the original 1" metal domes for the soft domes from the 600/800 series, before Psb went all metal.
I have also upped the resistors in the trebble xo's, I actually smoked one.
Now, consider that I listen to rock and roll, and pound the system pretty good sometimes. The silvers have very little for bass. Good sub(s) are fairly mandatory for them(I have cheapo's). Clarity, however, has never been an issue with the Stratus Silvers, particulary as the drivers are seperately xo'd and run 20hz or so away from each other at low freq, extending to 1k(or so) at upper mids. I find that sound to be flexible enough to accomodate James Taylor, James Brown and the James gang.
Hi my name is James and I am an audioholic.
My next move might be to Outlaw mono200's, and from what I have experienced so far(the speakers are 12 yrs old), they suck up power and have a very wide inpedance swing, enough so that a regular amp will shut down.(regular being an onkyo avr that resolutely refused to comply with the speakers demands. Although note, the amp worked a bit better with 12g rip cord than with the twisted Kimber that I was lent). In short, I like the speakers, if I read the price list correctly, I think they may be overpriced. Mine are piano black, and I paid like a grand(Canadian) years ago.
The newer Silver i have not made leaps nor bounds, mostly better internal wiring, the xo's are available for like 300 bucks for either.
My opinion on PSB vs Paradigm is that overall, the PSB Image line is better than the Paradigm Monitor line. The Paradigm Studio line is better than the PSB Stratus line. Their may be one or two exceptions as I haven't compared every single one against it's competition, but the ones I've heard (most of them) went that way.
I think that most people who like the PSB sound also like the Paradigm sound, and vice versa. Like the Image line vs the Monitor line, I think everything the Stratus does, the Studio does better. Mainly, I think they do a good job of minimizing the short comings and one-upping the strengths.
This was a few years back, but I remember that the Studio 60 had better controlled and lower bass, and the highs were smoother compared to the Stratus Silver i. Construction seemed slightly better on the Studio 60 too, but not remarkably. I don't think that one would hold itself together any better or worse in the long run.
As far as Stratus vs Image, I don't know. They're different. I guess the Stratus line is 'better' than the Image line, but I don't think they're as enjoyable to my ears. I don't think they do much for me and the music I listen to. I listen to a lot of classic and current rock/metal, whereas I think the designer (Paul Barton) had classical music in mind when he came up with the Stratus line.
I love the Studio 100, but don't have the funds to afford them or amplification to drive them at the monent. I've heard from a couple to Paradigm Studio fans (most notibly Art Kyle) that the Studio 60 and 100, while very good, aren't worth the asking price; equivlant or better can be had for less. I was told to check out Splendor, Dynaudio, and ProAc. When funds allow, these will be on my list.
I listened to some PSB Image B25 today, and I was very impressed with them. The distinction beweteen highs and lows was very good. Unfortunatley that is the highest end speaker they have for PSB. I wished I could have heard the Image T45 & T55's as well as the Strattus Silveri towers.
Steven D.
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The tweeter on the LSI9 is a thing of beauty. The biggest problem I have with the Polks is the purple, I mean black finish-LOL.
All kidding aside, get the Polks in the other finish and you should be good to go.