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  1. #1
    Ajani
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    PSB is launching the new "Imagine" speaker line

    http://www.stereophile.com/news/psb_..._loudspeakers/

    PSB is launching the new Imagine speaker line (presumably to replace the G Design series)... Why am I not suprised??? After the fantastic reviews of their new flagship Synchrony line, it seemed inevitable that the other lines would soon be rebooted...

    Imagine Towers will have the same complement of drivers as the Synchrony 2 and will cost $2K.... Oh and they're already being hailed as one of the Best Speakers under $2K by Wes Philips (Stereophile)....

  2. #2
    Shostakovich fan Feanor's Avatar
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    Another Canadian(?) speaker

    Quote Originally Posted by Ajani
    http://www.stereophile.com/news/psb_..._loudspeakers/

    PSB is launching the new Imagine speaker line (presumably to replace the G Design series)... Why am I not suprised??? ....
    Another made-in-China Canadian speaker gets a great review. {Yawn } I'm not surprised either: déjà vu all over again.

    Here is the best sub $2k speaker, and it's actually made in North America.

  3. #3
    rbr
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    Question about PSB's

    Quote Originally Posted by Feanor
    Another made-in-China Canadian speaker gets a great review. {Yawn } I'm not surprised either: déjà vu all over again.

    Here is the best sub $2k speaker, and it's actually made in North America.

    Last time I checked Canada is in North America!!!

  4. #4
    frenchmon frenchmon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rbr
    Last time I checked Canada is in North America!!!

    ....But assembled in China. But who cares...so is my Camry


  5. #5
    Shostakovich fan Feanor's Avatar
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    Read the 'Phile article

    Quote Originally Posted by rbr
    Last time I checked Canada is in North America!!!
    If you read the Stereophile article at the link provided by Ajani, you'll realize that the only thing Canadian about the Imagine line is the design. It is clear that the speaker is not only assembled in China but all the components are made there as well.

  6. #6
    Ajani
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    Quote Originally Posted by Feanor
    Here is the best sub $2k speaker.
    If you really like Rock, Pop or Rap, then probably not... For persons with specific musical tastes, Planars are the absolute best bang for the buck... but for the rest of us, the search continues... so many cone speakers to choose from...

  7. #7
    Shostakovich fan Feanor's Avatar
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    True enough

    Quote Originally Posted by Ajani
    If you really like Rock, Pop or Rap, then probably not... For persons with specific musical tastes, Planars are the absolute best bang for the buck... but for the rest of us, the search continues... so many cone speakers to choose from...
    Planars like the Magneplanar MG 1.6 aren't rockers' speakers. (It is depressing to think that most people prefer Rock : their loss however.)

  8. #8
    nightflier
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    Made in America: is there anything left?

    Quote Originally Posted by Feanor
    Another made-in-China Canadian speaker gets a great review. {Yawn } I'm not surprised either: déjà vu all over again.
    I was sort of expecting this whole made-in-China ebullience to slow down as gas prices went up, but now that they are coming back down, I think the trend will continue. What's unfortunate is the reasons that electronics are made cheaper there. Buying China-made gear contributes to that unfortunate relationship between Western consumerism and the living conditions of 3/4 of the rest of humanity.

    Politics aside, one should also ask whether the $2K price tag is appropriate - what is the markup on a speaker that is only "designed" in Canada? Would for example a pair of Thiel CS1.6 not be comparable (I am presuming these are still mostly US-made)? OK, so maybe they are not as full-range, but that's because most American labor is still paid an acceptable wage and meted out some benefits (although this too is eroding fast).

    Well, at least there's a little less guilt involved in owning them. Heck, you can even buy them on the Internet: invented by Al Gore (lol), using Microsoft or Apple software, researched through C-Net and found with that American icon of Internet success: the Google search engine. Just point your browser to Texas-based Crutchfield, use your Bank of America credit card to buy your all-American Thiel speaker, and FedEx'ed to your door.

    I know I'm in the minority here when I suggest these things matter, but since I am re-building my 2-channel setup, I will say that this has become one of my primary criteria. I refuse to believe that I can't find good sound at a fair price and with a clean(er) conscience. Of course, I've also come to realize that being green is more expensive. A good pair of speakers made in the USA is more expensive than a comparable speaker made in China, Mexico, or the Philippines (unless they own the means of production: e.g. Nohr). Likewise the convenience of choosing a green lifestyle is largely possible because I do live here in America where I have that choice and the means to make it - kind of like people who choose to be vegans, I suppose. But I also believe that doing a little is better than nothing at all....
    Last edited by nightflier; 08-08-2008 at 03:55 PM.

  9. #9
    Ajani
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    Quote Originally Posted by nightflier
    I was sort of expecting this whole made-in-China ebullience to slow down as gas prices went up, but now that they are coming back down, I think the trend will continue. What's unfortunate is the reasons that electronics are made cheaper there. Buying China-made gear contributes to that unfortunate relationship between Western consumerism and the living conditions of 3/4 of the rest of humanity.

    Politics aside, one should also ask whether the $2K price tag is appropriate - what is the markup on a speaker that is only "designed" in Canada? Would for example a pair of Thiel CS1.6 not be comparable (I am presuming these are still mostly US-made)? OK, so maybe they are not as full-range, but that's because most American labor is still paid an acceptable wage and meted out some benefits (although this too is eroding fast).

    Well, at least there's a little less guilt involved in owning them. Heck, you can even buy them online from all-American Crutchfield, if you want.

    I know I'm in the minority here when I suggest these things matter, but since I am re-building my 2-channel setup, I will say that it has become one of my primary criteria. I refuse to believe that I can't find good sound at a fair price and with a clean(er) conscience. Of course, I've also some to realize that being green is more expensive. A good pair of speakers made in the USA is more expensive than a comparable speaker made in China, Mexico, or the Philippines (unless they own the means of production: e.g. Nohr). Likewise the convenience of choosing a green lifestyle is because I do live here in America where I have that choice and the means to make it - kind of like people who choose to be vegans, for example. But I also believe that doing a little is better than nothing at all. Even McDonald's, the world's largest buyer of beef, is now offering a veggie burger, right?
    Let me play Devil's Advocate:

    If you stop buying Chinese made products, so as to have a clear conscience about not exploiting underpaid foreign workers... what happens to those workers??? Does your not buying from that company, result in the workers getting better wages and a higher standard of living OR are they just out of a job and now have no income instead of a lousy income?

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