PSB Image or Imagine

[JohnMichael]

No I am not buying new speakers. As a caregiver to the elderly naps are frequent. Not mine but during quiet time I visit sites with my iPhone. On another site we had been posting pictures of our rooms. One member had the Image T5 amd I thought "why not the Imagine T's"?

I had read the reviews of the Imagine T and thought it sounds like a good choice. I wondered why he did not step up to the Imagine? Then I realized I knew little of the Image T5's so I looked them up. An Audioadvisor link to a youtube video was available. The video explained that both the Image and Imagine used the same 2 inch front baffle and the tweeter and upper driver were the same in both speakers. The Image T5 is $1,000 a pair and the Imagine T is $2,200 a pair. Is it the better looking cabinet that justifies the higher price or is the lower driver in the Imagine T better than the lower driver in the Image T5?

My question what are we paying for? Is a better cabinet worth double the price or is it a better lower drive and crossover? Just curious what others think.


Audio Advisor Review - PSB Image T5 Tower Loudspeaker - YouTube

[blackraven]

The new Imagine line uses trickle down tech from the Synchrony line. I think that they borrow the cabinet design as well as the woofers and tweeters. The Synchrony's are a superb speaker and would be on my short list of speakers in the $3K-4K range. I own a pair of the Image B6's and they are a fine speaker but they don't have the detail and air of say a B&W 685 or even my Monitor Audio S1's. The Imagine line is definitely a step up.

[Jack in Wilmington]

My dealer just picked up the PSB line, so I got my first chance to listen to them on my last visit. In the one room he had the Imagine Ts set up with the new Sonus Faber Venere 2.5 and Golden Ear Tritons and Totem Hawks. I wasn't there long enough to hear the Golden Ears or the Totems as I was just a bystander during someone elses audition. I really liked what I heard from the Venere's and I'm not a huge SF fan, the PSB's didn't have the same warmth and the trumpet sounded a little etchy and sterile. I need to go back and listen to all four for a better comparison. I'm also curious what the customer thought and if he purchased anything.

[JohnMichael]

The Venere 2.5 are beautiful speakers. I would love to hear them. They have a fabric dome tweeter while the PSB's have a metal dome. Usually in my budget range I tend to prefer cloth domes over metal.

My question still is the Image T5 which has 2 out of the three drivers of the Imagine T and the same 2 inch thick front baffle why is the T5 $1,000 and the Imagine T jumps all the way to $2,200? I know the Imagine is more attractive but why that much price difference? I have not heard either one and my questions are only of value and not sound.

The Monitor Audio RS6's that I own I felt are good value for the money but not always to my taste. They offer good bass, a very open sound, great detail and excellent dynamics. A lot of speaker for $1,000.

[blackraven]

Jack, next time you go to your dealer, give a listen to the PSB Synchrony One's. They will have the warmth that you said was missing from the Imagine line. The Synchony's are a stereophile rated Class A speaker and the Imagine line is a Class B and the Image line is a Class C.

2012 Recommended Components Loudspeakers | Stereophile.com

Here is a discussion about the 3 PSb lines and their differences from users-

Why pay more for PSB imagine if it uses the same drivers as the image series?

here is a brief description of the Imagines stating is used tech from the Synchrony's-

PSB Imagine T & Imagine B Loudspeakers | The Absolute Sound

GoodSound! Equipment Review -- PSB Imagine B Loudspeakers (11/2008)

[Jack in Wilmington]

With them being new to the PSB line they didn't have the Synchony in house yet. They had the Imagine T and a bookshelf that I didn't catch the name of was out with the Totem Rainmaker and a Paradigm that could have been the S1. Hopefully when I go up in the next week or so they'll have more on the floor.

[blackraven]

With them being new to the PSB line they didn't have the Synchony in house yet. They had the Imagine T and a bookshelf that I didn't catch the name of was out with the Totem Rainmaker and a Paradigm that could have been the S1. Hopefully when I go up in the next week or so they'll have more on the floor.

The Synchorny's have great bass and are very dynamic with a liquid midrange. Treble is a little laid back and may be too much for some tastes. They have a totally different sound than the paradigms S line which is more forward and brighter in presentation. My experience with the Synchrony's is hearing them with a pair or nuforce Model 9se monoblocks (also with a Bells Hot Rod amp), Marantz 8001 SACDP and an older Audio Research LS series tube preamp.

[JohnMichael]

Interesting thread from AVS Forum but Jim Price in the You Tube for AA states the tweeter to be the same as in the Imagine T. I am not sure if he means the upper mid/woofer are the same or just that they use the same cone in the two speakers. I am a believer in better cabinets and crossovers. I just wonder why it takes more than double the price to achieve the improvements.

[Jack in Wilmington]

I'm hoping that they put the Synchornys in the room with the Sonus Faber Cremona M. That room has Bryston and Audio Research gear in it, so the electronics won't be a problem. I've listened to the Cremonas many times in that room and they are definately a speaker that needs to be matched to very good electronics.

[frenchmon]

Interesting thread from AVS Forum but Jim Price in the You Tube for AA states the tweeter to be the same as in the Imagine T. I am not sure if he means the upper mid/woofer are the same or just that they use the same cone in the two speakers. I am a believer in better cabinets and crossovers. I just wonder why it takes more than double the price to achieve the improvements.

JM...I read some place the mark up on audio gear is like 5x what we aught to be paying for gear...so im sure some of thats simply because they can mark up even though same tweets and speakers are the same. But I do know from speaking to a guy over at the Canton U.S.A. distributorship that even though the same tweeters and such, its how they tweak the crossovers. It has to do with the refinement and the voicing to get a certain level of sound. The Canton Vento's which I have, look Just like the Canton Reference series stand mounts....the Ventos have the same ceramic tweeter as the Reference but the Reference cost much more....its the tweaking of the crossovers and the voicing that sets them apart.