Pat D

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1200.00 from Cox Communications (

Summary:
The rooms in our house are small enough to make it difficult to get the best out of dipolar or bipolar speakers. So when the power supply on one of my Quad ESL-63 speakers blew, I figured the best thing would be to look at forward radiating speakers. The Quads should have a lot of pace, and in that room, I was never able to get the best out of them, particularly on piano recordings. Since I have a big subwoofer and listen at moderate levels (usually well under 90 dBa), I decided that small monitor speakers would be sufficient and cost effective. The Stratus Minis have not disappointed me. I made up a short list of speakers to audition, based on expectations, local availability, and reviews, but of course, I was open to listen to other speakers. We had to do some traveling due to a family emergency, but this did provide an opportunity to listen to a number of different speakers. The list of contenders below in other similar products used does not include all those I auditioned by any means. It shows ones I did like a lot, and excludes a couple I tried at home which did not work so well there. They by no means had the same balance but all had a smooth neutral sound and a wide soundstage. Since I liked them all, I simply cut the more expensive ones from the list. This left the B & W 705 and the PSB Stratus Mini. The Stratus Mini seems somewhat more laid back (this is a good thing to my mind) and I judged them to be more forgiving of some poor recordings. They were also cheaper and available from a local dealer, making it any easy decision. I found the Stratus Minis played all types of music very well, whether male and female vocals, chorus, piano, small ensemble or full orchestra. Male vocalists such as Roger Whittaker, the Clancy Brothers, and Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) come across as natural and neutral. Diana Krall (Love Scenes) and Patricia Barber (Modern Cool) are very well reproduced. My brass recordings on the Nimbus, Vox, Telarc, Columbia and other labelssound great, very natural as do many others. The Stratus Minis throw a wide and deep soundstage with big orchestral and choral works such as Beethoven’s 9th Symphony (Leibowitz on Chesky) and Berlioz’s Requiem (Shaw on Telarc) , not emphasizing one part of the frequency range more than another. Choral reproduction is superb, and my Mozart’s Requiems with Colin Davis and Peter Schreier sound about as good as I have ever heard them. Piano reproduction is very good, whether with superb modern recordings such as Earl Wild’s Chopin Ballades and Scherzos or older recordings with Horowitz and Rubinstein. Transient response is superb on guitar. Sharon Isbin’s renditions Bach Lute Suites and Michael Hedges dynamic Aerial Boundaries are quick and clean with no overhang. To show the quick and clean transients from the midbass to the high frequency, I have found nothing better than David Chesky’s Club de Sol with all sorts of drums, cymbals and things making tinkly sounds. The Stratus Minis handle the difficult transients in medieval or renaissance instrumentals on my Nimbus, Naxos and Vox recordings using metal stringed harps, anvils, bells, and so on, in a very natural fashion. Some recordings which sounded problematic over the Quad ESL-63s such as famous recording of Brahms Hungarian Dances on Naxos, sound fine with the Stratus Minis. An old favorite, Bach’s Magnificat in D with Felix Prohaska on Vanguard, sounded rather harsh with the Quads but is quite acceptable with the PSB’s, which are smoother in the upper mids and treble. Indeed, I am finding that most recordings sound better in our room with the Stratus Minis than they did with the Quads. It really is a first class speaker. No speaker, of course, sounds best on every recording, but with accurate ones, a little adjustment of the balance with tone controls can help many recordings sound fine. The Stratus Minis are more accurate than the Quad ESL-63's. Indeed, most recordings sound even better with them than they ever did with the Quads. Some few do not, but that is to be expected with a change in speakers. They play beautifully and do not add any obvious coloration to the sound. The Stratus Minis provide a wide and deep soundstage with many recordings and seldom call attention to themselves. They are a very neutral speaker with a wide and even horizontal dispersion and with vertical dispersion as good as most. They need to be placed about 25 inches off the floor. They can actually bolted to the PSB M2-Si stands which I bought, which is very convenient for moving the speakers around. I found the best location was about a foot and a half from the back wall, which gives the smoothest reproduction of male voices and the smoothest transition to the subwoofer.

Strengths:
Smooth, neutral sound. Wide and deep soundstage. One has the impression of listening to the recording rather than the speakers. Good bass response to below 40 Hz, sufficient for most music. Easy to integrate with a subwoofer.

Weaknesses:
Relatively low voltage sensitivity and minimum impedance. Needs an amplifier good with 4 ohm loads. Will not play super loud (for those who need that). Bass falls off below 40 Hz, but that's what subwoofers are for.

Similar Products Used:
OWNED: Kef 104aB Quad ESL-63 RECENT AUDITIONS (serious contenders only): Totem Mani-2 Signature Paradigm Signature S2 (and the big S8, which I just had to hear) B & W 705 Dali Helicon 400 Sonus Faber Concerto Grand Piano PSB Stratus Mini

Heue Jung Park

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $670.00 from Online Audio Communi

Summary:
For 1month, I have listened with this Stratus mini monitor speaker with great satisfaction due to highly cost effectiveness to its musical potency. I had heard with Dynaudio Contour 1.1,Audience42, Audience52, KEF Q1, Boston CR7, Jordan M2, etc. for the porpose of musical interest. Later,I met this monitor speaker incidently. It has well balanced tunning, proper voluminous hardness like Dynaudio, neutral & natural sound, extensive sound-staging & depth, colorlessness and musical comfort. I am waiting impatiently for the day being aged muture sound of my mini.

Strengths:
Wide sound staging with depth Massive and hard bass property A comfortable tone color best cost-effectiveness Good Musicality

Weaknesses:
Less Detail and Dynamics

Similar Products Used:
Dynaudio Audience 42, 52; Coutour 1.1, 1.3se

Scott Carr

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1160.00 from Stereoland

Summary:
I have listened to these speakers for over 1 year now after upgrading from the PSB Image 2B's. Both of these speakers are bookshelf models which I prefer over floorstanders. The differences are quite noticeable though and let me outline what I mean. The 2B's are rated at 89db@1watt/metre, nominal 6 ohm, and handle 140 peak watts. While the Mini's are rated at 86db@1watt/metre, nominal 4 ohm, can handle 300 watt peaks, and are biwireable. In the process of upgrading the speakers I also added another amplifier to bi-amplify the Stratus Mini's. The added power and current really makes these speakers shine. I must admit after hearing the 2B's with there brighter tweeter and weaker bass response, relatively speaking, the Mini's sounded relatively flat at first. My ears were not used to hearing nearly flat response acrsoss the frequency range with little colouration. The Mini's are truly a speaker that takes some time to adjust to but once you do you'll be overjoyed that you decided to keep them. These speakers continue to amaze me with the music they reproduce. I listen to all kinds of music from jazz, classical, pop, rock, blues, and techno. Sometimes if I have an excellent recording I feel as though the musicians are right in the room with me. If you do decide to purchase a pair of Mini's I highly recommend bi-amplifing them as they do require more power and current because of the relatively low sensitivity and impedance. If you enjoy listening to music for extended periods and like to hear an accurate reproduction of the original recording then this is the mini monitor for you. After reading a few professional speaker reviews of this speaker I now know what they mean when they say that this is a true mini monitor which gives you a reproduction of the original recording and allows you to listen for hours without fatigue. In closing I would just say that I am very glad that I decided to upgrade. Keep in mind that the PSB Stratus Mini's will require most people a lenght of time to adjust to such a high quality reproduction. Give yourself and the speakers time to break-in and get to know one another. If you have any more questions about these speakers or my review you can contact me by email.

Strengths:
-Floorstander frequency response in a bookshelf monitor. -Excellent bass response -Can listen for hours and hours without fatigue. -Some recordings sound as though the musicians are in the room with you -Sturdy speaker construction -Speakers can be bi-wired or bi-amped

Weaknesses:
-Requires a good amplifier with high power and current to make it sound best. -Takes time to break-in(may sound dull at first but you realize that this is what it really sounds like without the recording being emphasized). -It took me about 9 months to a year to really appreciate these accurate mini monitors.(it was worth the wait!)

Similar Products Used:
Kef C20, Paradigm 7SE&9SE&Atom, Energy Pro22, PSB Image 2B. I currently have my PSB Stratus Mini's set up with a NAD C350 integrated amp, NAD C270 amp, NAD C420 tuner, NAD T531 DVD/CD player, Sony TCWE635 tape deck, Sony CDPCE370 CD player and JVC hi-fi VCR.

pablox

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 7.00 votes

Price Paid:  $450.00 from ebay from original o

Summary:
Audio enthusiats should do them selves a favor and listen to thses speakers before purchasing. Everythg about them is good except the almost complete LACK of bass response. I listen to an eclectic mix of oldies, seventies, eighties and ninties (no rap it all sucks) music. A lot of it is soul music with heavy bass. These speakers have absoulutly almost zero bass response. They cannot be used by themselves for any 2 channel music listening or home theater with bass.

Strengths:
Build quality

Weaknesses:
Lack of all bass

Similar Products Used:
polk, wharfedale, jbl, acoustic research

DMolisher

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $800.00 from The Sound Concept

Summary:
Got a good price on a pair of dealer demos, and happily upgraded from my recently purchased JM-Lab Chorus 706. The improvement in bass response in my bedroom was truly astounding, while the Minis offered even better high-frequency detail. Much better than my attempt to add a JM-Lab Cub sub to the Chorus 706's. Higher-end JM-Lab (Cobalt & Electra), and lower end PSB Image, could be a little harsh, by comparison. Similarly, Magnepan MCMC1's offer more detail but also a touch of sibilance, and without a trace of bass (fast, musical $450-750+ sub required). I prefer PSB to Paradigm at every price point I've heard. Thiels are better (and used in my main system), but at a substantial cost. Next, I plan to upgrade to PSB's new Platinum M2; it's better in every way (at double the cost), and even bests Thiel CS1.6 in some areas (at a similar price).

Strengths:
Incredible bass response for the size! Relatively detailed, yet NEVER harsh or bright. Still totally competitive many years after its introduction.

Weaknesses:
Not the last word in detail. Ho-hum cosmetics.

Similar Products Used:
PSB Stratus Bronze, Platinum M2, and Image 2B; Thiel CS1.6 & CS2.4; JM-Lab Chorus 706, Cobalt 806S, & Electra 906; Magnepan MCMC1; Paradigm Reference Studio 20/40/60/80/100.