Flat frequency response, build quality. MUCH more forgiving to placement than the other speakers I heard (very appreciated, considering dorm room layout)

No bi-amp posts.. oh well..

I shopped around for some speakers to put together a 'dorm-room reference' system on a budget. These speakers fit the bill for me. The Axiom M3Ti, M22Ti and Totem Mite's were the competition. The Totems are REALLY nice, but 60% more money, and seemed a little to punchy in the mid-range and harsh in hi-end. The Axioms M3Ti was my next competitor - they seemed to have excessive sparkle, though I think their imaging was overall better. The Axiom M22Ti where similar to the M3Ti, but seemed more filled-out, so I was almost settled on them. Then I stumbled upon the PSBs. I found that the PSB 2B had the most "flat" response when I heard all of them. Then I saw these measurements: http://www.soundstagemagazine.com/measurements/axiom_m22ti_se/ http://www.soundstagemagazine.com/measurements/psb_image2b/ And hark - scientific evidence of what I was hearing! I don't think they're better or worse than any of those other speakers in the price range, but I know I just LIKE them better. And isn't that what selecting speakers is all about?

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They seem to match well with my Yamaha RX-596.

Uncoloured frequency response, great imaging, bass (considering it''s a bookshelf speaker), depth and clarity, overall build and sound quality,

None

These speakers seem larger than their actual size. They are dynamic with excellent imaging and have a large amount of bass for the size of the speaker. My father and I listened to the PSB Image 2B and 1B and several other bookshelf speakers from KEF and Paradigm. We used the same classical music to audition each model and we both came away thinking the PSB Image 1B was by far the most musical to our ears. We ended up purchasing a pair but after listening at home for several days we decided to return them. They didn''t have the same overall dynamic sound and bass depth that we wanted and heard at the store. Perhaps if we would have let them break in they may have improved. I decided to upgrade to the Image 2B and this speaker fills the room with music much better and has the right amount of bass for my medium sized room. My dad ended up purchasing a pair of Paradigm Atoms. We compared the two and the 2B''s are a far better speaker but also twice as big and double the price. Although, we did have the chance to listen to the comparative Paradigm Mini Monitor, KEF Q15.2 and KEF Cresta 2. None of these speakers have the same large soundstage, depth and imaging as the PSB Image 2B. I have owned KEF C20 bookshelf speakers and Paradigm 7SE, 9SE speakers from the 80''s and these PSB bookshelf speakers are far superior sounding to even the large Paradigm speakers of years past and new Paradigm and KEF bookshelf speakers of today. I don''t think you could find a better speaker for the money anywhere. PSB 2B''s are Fantastic!

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Paradigm 7SE, 9SE and KEF C20 Compared to Paradigm Mini Monitor, Monitor 3, Atom, KEF Q15.2, Cresta 2, and PSB Image 1B. PSB Image 2B are on speaker stands used with: NAD C350 Integrated Amplifie

I owned the Image 6T floorstanding speakers for 1 year and grew tired of their overwelming stature. I soon bought a pair of Image 2B''s with the stands and am very pleased their performance. 1. First the bass factor: Solid kick drums and instruments but average for synthetic and home theater. You will need to suplement with a sub if you are to listen to bass heavy hip-hop and DD/ DTS. String bass guitar is the woofers highlight replicating a Mesa Boogie amp 5 feet away. Every detail is smooth and present but never boomy. A big plus for fusion, jazz and well recorded rock albums. 2. The Mid Range. The design of the driver affords a small diameter inner cone, where faster vibrations give to a broader spectrum of mid tones. Amazingly simple in theory, but in practice creates an amazing soundstage. The well defined mids are in my opinion the reason the stage is so transparent. With the lights off, you are hard pressed to find where the sound originates. Vocals blend to the middle and horns are felt in accurate stereo. 3. Good tweeter/bad tweeter Strenths include a mellow, far from harshness but some detail is lacking. For artists like "Chemical Brothers" and other elec

Not perfect, but I''d rather spend $300 on imperfection than $1000.

I think these are the stars of the Image line of speakers. They seem to project exactly what PSB intended to do with affordable materials. The imaging is excellent, bass response is impressive, tweeter is mellow and detailed and the midrange is defined and smooth, a direct result of the driver design. This is not a 5 star speaker but a 5 star value comparable to B & W and Paradigm''s which list for 40 % more. These speakers will shred all Polk and Energy lines that the big outlets seem to promote. Mass produced loudspeakers are super tinny, overemphasising "clicks" and "ticks" to give the illusion of detailed sound. All the stereotypes that low prices speakers have are ignored resulting in a powerful, flat and transparent loudspeaker.ô

clarity, bass reproduction, timbre

absolutely none

Fantastic. no other speaker at its price range can beat it

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Dyanaudio, Mission, JM labs

Open sounding, solid cabinet (looks great), binding post connectors, Bass impressive for such a small cabinet.

Could use a tweeter upgrade

I am currently powering these cabinets with an H/K Avr 550 and they do sound great. After reading the reviews on this site and some others I decided to purchase these speakers without listening to them. The 2B''''s are excellent for HT but I would prefer a little more sizzle in the 1" aluminum done tweeters for music. I find I have to boost the highs a little bit to get the more neutral tonal balance. The mids are warm and open and the bass MUST be augmented by a sub (it is a bookshelf speaker!!!) This is an impressive speaker for the price as well as speakers costing 3 times as much! I can''''t wait to get the 5T''''s and the 9C!

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Polk, Paradigm, Mission, ADS, Boston, DBX Soundfield 5''''s

clean smooth sound
solid bass for bookshelf speakers
quality of materials

none so far

Hooked up to a NAD receiver. This is my first HiFi setup. So far I'm very pleased. The 2Bs have nice clean strong sound that complements my listening tastes well.

Contrary to most HiFi saleman, my listening taste is alt/modern rock music, hair bands and techo (i.e. fair of amount bass). I'll through down a little classical or John Williams from time to time. Anyway my point is that in day to day music listening these speakers sound great. Music is reproduced accurately and with realistic bass.

Over a 3 month period, I researched and demo'd similar bookshelfs from Paradigm, AR, and NHT. The PSB's were the last set I demo'd and once i heard them is was a no brainer. 3 months later I have no doubt that I made the right choice.

Thank you all for your reviews. I find this site very helpful and I continue to recommend it to friends.

Doesn't cost to much...

low fi sound!

I've compared it to the Mission 774, I know that they
are not at the same price range but I've read a review
of the 774 (at this site) telling that the PSB was much
better.
I used the Rotel RB 991 amp + RSP 985 pre/pro for the
comparison.
The PSB sounded ok, but they lacked any characteristic
of high end sound while the 774 sounded AMAZING!!!
If you got low end electronics the PSB is an option,
otherwise, it's a cheap low fi speaker.

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Mission 774,

Superb, accurate and uncolored sound

None for the price

I am in the process of building a HT system after having gone from my audio-only system of Adcom gear and Polk SDA speaks. I have a Harmon Kardon AVR65 and Velodyne CT100 sub and been looking for 2 months for a good value in mid-end speakers. I listened to and ruled out all the mass-market speakers(Infinity,Polk,Boston Acoustic,Klipsch.etc)right off the bat. I purchased the Titans first and demo'd them for a week. They are excellent for the price but a bit bright in the high end and have a little midrange color. Remember that bass extension below 70-80Hz was of no concern to me thanks to the velodyne(an excellent sub, very tight and musical but capable of moving large quantites of air when called upon!)so I was evaluating all these speakers with that in mind. The Paradigm minis are even better than the Titans and worth the extra $100(they are $330)for tighter more accurate mid-bass and mids, and a better tweeter and more solid cabinet. I nearly bought the minis and probably would have been quite happy with them but I stumbled across the PSB Image 2B. This same shop also had M&K and Acoustic Energy Ageis(don't know the model).

Bottom line is I love these speakers! I wanted something very accurate and uncolored thru the entire spectrum. These do it. I think alot of consumers are caught up in the mass-market sound that alot of speaker companies have adopted. This sound tends to be bright highs and exaggerated bass, the "home theater" sound. This may sound attractive at first to the uneducated listener and that is the intent. There are more than enough buyers who hear this and are sucked in. Listen to any true audiophile grade speaker and they all have one thing in common-accuracy and neutrality. IMO, the ideal speaker should reproduce the source the way it was intended to sound. Good recordings sound fantastic on these speakers, less than stellar recordings still sound great but the weaknesses are revealed. These speakers are quite detailed and revealing. For audiophiles on a budget I highly recommend these. The AE's were also very nice but I found them slightly warmer and laid back, but not too much so. I paid $249 for 2B($369 retail) and the AE's were $299 so was a no-brainer. Quality and finish is very good for this price. Go listen for yourself.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Titans and mini-monitors, AE Aegis,Energy C2,Pinnacle,Jamo

Seamless integration with the rest of the Image series for great home theater. Nice sounding and fairly inexpensive.

None noted thus far.

I purchased these for a home theater system along with the 5T's and the 9C. Initial impressions were OK out of the box. The high end was a little harsh as someone else noted in their review. I was assured by the salesperson that after a break in period they would mellow. He was certainly correct, as they sound quite nice now. I'm not sure whether it's the speakers that were broken in or my brain :), but I find them much more enjoyable now than when I first got them. I've placed the 2B's in the main listening positioning of my system to see how they performed and I was quite pleased with the results. Imaging, soundstaging, bass extension, clarity and precision were all very good for a 300 dollar set of speakers. If I were going to use a bookshelf as my main speaker and I had no more than 400 dollars to spend, I couldn't imagine a better speaker than this. I tried Paradigm Titans a while back at home and really didn't like the way they sounded. Sort of flabby and imprecise. They sounded great in the showroom, so my room probably caused this more than anything else. I also tried the B&W DM602S2($600) and KEF RDM Ones($750). I liked both of these speakers better than the the 2B's, but not nearly as well as the 5T's(which is closer to their price).

My associated equipment is: Rotel RMB-1085 Amplifier, Rotel RSP-985 Pre/Pro, Panasonic DVD-A320 DVD player, Pro-ject 2.1 Turntable with Grado Red Cartridge.

Before I go, I would like to comment on the review by Robert Ker. The Mission 774's cost 1200 dollars, the 2B's 300 dollars. This is hardly the basis for a fair comparison. The comparably priced PSB's compare quite favorably with the Mission 774. In fact, I liked the Bronze i quite a bit better. Of course, that doesn't mean the Bronze i is a better speaker, it just means I LIKE it better, which is a subjective thing. As to them being cheap low-fi speakers, I would quibble and call them cheap mid-fi speakers. There a hundreds of better speakers out there, but how many are there for ~$300? The answer: Not many for sure and none that I could find. Even if you had to pay full retail($369), they would be a bargain.

Listen for yourselves, don't take my word for it. Happy listening!

Price, Size, Front-ported and terrific sound

None noted, considering of course that they are bookshelf speakers.

Exactly what I was looking for. Front-ported bookshelf speakers that sound great. Due to space constraints, I am forced to actually place these in an enclosed bookshelf. The enclosure I have them in made them sound boomy and the highs were a bit harsh, really very bright. Sudden, loud highs would almost make me jump out of my seat. I packed the rest of the enclosure with books and voila, huge improvement. The highs were still a bit brighter than I cared for. This has changed completely after the break-in period. Any tinge of brightness has been completely removed. Now they are actually warm sounding. Amazing.

Bass is relatively good. Considering the size of these little guys, it's super. There are a few selections of music that give a little trouble in the bass department. When played at high volume with a very hard hitting bass at around 90-100 Hz there is an apparent knock on each note. It sounds like wood blocks knocking together, so it's possible that this is something else in the cabinet making the noise.

I paid 330 dollars for these and I'm thrilled. 5 Stars, definitely.

p.s. Be sure to take into account the breakin requirement when previewing these in person, the difference before and after is dramatic.

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B&W 302, Yamaha