PSB Synchrony One . . .

[Pat D]

On a business trip, I had a chance to listen to the new PSB Synchrony One, which is simply one of the finest speakers I have ever heard. I used my usual Denon 1985/1986 Classical Sampler disc, Denon GES-9079, bands 9, 10, and 11, which are excerpts from a symphony and two operas, with full orchestra, bass, baritone, and soprano soloists, and male chorus. We tried a few minutes of the beginning of Rachmaninoff's 2nd Symphony with the long passages of massed violins playing above the staff to see if there were any diffraction effects (I used Anissimov on Naxos 8.554230, but a number of others would have done as well). Also, some of Stokowski's Symphonic Synthesis of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov with Serebrier and the Bournemouth SO on Naxos 8.557645, which I just bought (good, but Stoky's own performance was better). Wonderful, wide image, good depth, very smooth and neutral response, and the speakers were sonically invisible.

The horizontal dispersion measurements in Stereophile are some of the best I have seen.

http://stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/408psb/index4.html

Though I have not made a direct comparison, I think they are slightly more forward than the Paradigm Signature S8, first version, which I heard quite a while ago. But I think the PSB Synchrony Series speakers are very fine products, and the

I passed on the smaller tower, the Synchrony Two, due to lack of time, but we did listen some to the small Synchrony Two B, which was very good for a small speaker, but seemed slightly colored on massed strings and also seemed to have diffraction effects on the Rachminoff symphony. They do measure quite well, though.

http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/measurements/speakers/psb_synchrony_twob/

The larger monitor, the Sychrony One B, was to my ears clearly superior. It threw a big image, though not quite as detailed as the Synchrony One towers, and passed quite well on the Rachmaninov symphony with seemingly little diffraction, though perhaps not quite as well as my Paradigm Signature S2 speakers (first version). The bass response seem quite adequate for the material, similar in that respect to that of the older Stratus Minis, which we have in our family room. They have somewhat deeper bass than the Signature S2, which is not a factor if one uses a subwoofer, as we do. They are even smoother than the Stratus Minis and their treble dispersion is more even. All in all, one of the finest monitor speakers I have heard.

I wasn't able to audition the second versions of the Paradigm Signature Series as their dealer was closed the day I had at my disposal.

In sum, I strongly recommend auditioning the PSB Sychrony Series speakers if one wants first class speakers and is willing to pay a moderately high price.

[blackraven]

My good friend has the Synchrony One's and they are an excellent speaker. Much better than the Paradigm signiture series IMO. They image well and have excellent bass. They are slightly foward. He's running a Belle's Hot Rod amp, ARC Tube preamp and Marantz SA-8001 SACDP. They need some volume to sound good though.

He bought them from audiophile liquidators highly discounted.

[bobsticks]

Nice review Pat. Do I sense a possible upgrade coming?

[Pat D]

Nice review Pat. Do I sense a possible upgrade coming?

Anything's possible, I guess, but I really like my Paradigm Signature S2, v. 1, speakers--I wouldn't have bought them otherwise. The chief difficulty is getting my wife to agree to a really good placement and a little room treatment to get the best out of them. Even Stereophile put them in Class A. limited LF. But I still like to listen to other speakers when I get a chance.

Blackraven may well like the PSB Synchrony speakers better than the Paradigm Signature Series. But at this level of quality, you pays your money and makes your choice. I am not at all certain I would. I liked the Signature Series, v. 1, somewhat better than the PSB Platinum Series, at least in the auditioning I did, but M2 and T8 are fine speakers. I do think the PSB Synchrony One B is probably better than the PSB Platinum M2 monitor, but I still prefer my own Signature S2's.

The big Signature S8, v. 1, is a great speaker. I haven't heard the Signature Series, v. 2, speakers, which seem to measure somewhat better than the v. 1 speakers judging by the NRC measurements for the S1 published in Soundstage, but whether I would find the differences significant is another question.

[blackraven]

I found the signature series too bright and not deep enough bass for a speaker costing $5K.. Listened to them with a jolida tube amp and rotel CDP. They didnt even come close to the sound quality of my Magnepans and for the money the PSB's had a better tonal balance.

[Pat D]

I found the signature series too bright and not deep enough bass for a speaker costing $5K.. Listened to them with a jolida tube amp and rotel CDP. They didnt even come close to the sound quality of my Magnepans and for the money the PSB's had a better tonal balance.

I wouldn't dream of trying the 4 ohm Paradigm Signature Series with most tube amps (read: amps with a high output impedance).

Our home is not really suited to large dipole speakers (I used to have Quad ESL-63s), and I haven't listened to any Magnepans for quite a number of years. It would be interesting, though, if I have the time when next I visit a large city.

Judging by John Atkinson's room responses shown in Stereophile for the Signature S2, v. 1, the Signature Series does seem to have more energy in the upper treble and extreme highs, as the PSB Synchrony one shelves down slightly above 7 kHz.

The low bass cut-off for the Paradigm Signature S8, v. 1, and the PSB Synchrony One are quite similar, at about 10 dB down at 30 Hz, but probably augmented by some room gain in the home. The Synchrony One shows a peak in the midbass (the effect would be highly dependent on the room placement, of course), and it may be something of a measurement artifact with the 3 bass drivers.

http://stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/408psb/index4.html

http://www.soundstagemagazine.com/measurements/paradigm_signature_s8/

I would like to hear the second versions of the Paradigm Signature Series, but the dealer was closed the day I was in the bigger city. Maybe next trip. I must say the Signature S8, v. 1, sounded beautiful when I heard it a few years ago, very smooth and well-balanced, but it's too long ago to say much about the differences with the Synchrony One. On the quite separate occasions when I heard each, I thought I could very well live with them.

I did want to say that the Synchrony One sounded wonderful and the Sychrony One B sounded very good, though I'm not convinced that it is better than my Signature S2, v. 1, speakers.

[blackraven]

I have to correct myself. We listened to the S6's not the S8's. But checking the specifications of the PSB's and S8's and correct me if I'm wrong, but the PSB go down to 30Hz and the S8's to 40Hz.

[Pat D]

I have to correct myself. We listened to the S6's not the S8's. But checking the specifications of the PSB's and S8's and correct me if I'm wrong, but the PSB go down to 30Hz and the S8's to 40Hz.

I didn't cite specs, I looked at the measured low frequency extension in Stereophile and Soundstage (the two usually look about the same for the LF extension, though their methodologies are different). Both measured about -10 dB down at 30 Hz anechoic, which is quite respectable and provides a comparative estimate for the limit of useful bass in the home.

Actually, the manufacturer's specs for in room extension aren't that far off.

Paradigm uses the DIN low frequency extension and comes up with 26 hz.

http://www.paradigm.com/en/reference/speaker_only-specification-34-1-2-17.paradigm

PSB uses -10 dB for LF extension and gives 24 Hz.

http://www.psbspeakers.com/products/Synchrony/Synchrony-One