price, appearance , size, sound, bass response mids better that 5t, imaging is excellent

Can't handle the power that the 5t's can but everthing comes at a price including the mid's ( 5 1/2" divers make for better mid's but can't handle as much pain )

This is the best speaker for the money on the planet and when you have four of these coupled with the Harman Kardon Receiver in five channel stereo with 9c center for better dialogue in 5.1...it rocks I just love it...5t's not as good for mid's and not required..I have Paradigm ps1000 which is a killer sub for 5.1 and works very well with the Harman Kardon set to LFE not L+R&LFE for music with nice tight bass with this setting...Paradigm subs better than PSB for the money ...ps1000 not recommended for music if you have small speakers..the 4t's are excellent but work better if your receiver is not bright..the Harman Kardon is not..do not expect the 4t's to sound good with low end receivers they will sound harsh revealing cheaper upstream components

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm,Energy,PSB alpha's Century and image series

Musical and enjoyable sound

Slightly harsh in the treble

I replaced my PSB Alpha Minis with these speakers last year, having bought them at around $430. They are paired with a NAD C340 integrated amp and a Cambridge Audio D500 CD player. I originally had a Harman/Kardon FL8300 CD changer which although excellent value for money died on me. I then bought a NAD C520 CD player, which sounded unbelievably harsh, much worse than the FL8300, which I had not expected.

I replaced that with the D500 player which sounds much better, although the treble still sounds harsh on occasion. It seems to me that the mellow FL8300 did not reveal this aspect of the speakers at first, but the brighter CD players that followed did. This brightness was probably reinforced by the relatively aggressive amp.

Other than this quibble, which occasionally does annoy me, I do enjoy these speakers very much. The imaging is superlative for the price and given the size of my room, and I appreciate the tight and controlled base.

Similar Products Used:

PSB Alpha Mini, B&W DM601

Size, bass, imaging

None

There is nothing that can approach these for under $600. I don't know how anyone can say they lack bass... compared to what in this price range? Throw in Massive Attack's "Protection" and tell me there's not enough bass.

When I listened to these at the dealer, I took Spybreak from the Matrix soundtrack. The PSBs took it in stride.

Similar Products Used:

B&W, Pinnacle

BASS WHERE IS IT

A nice looking speaker balanced from the mids to highs the speaker is better as a home theater speaker then for a real music lover. This speaker does lack any kind of bass so you might want to use it with a sub. Actually you must, if you like any bass at all. All in all its an ok speaker
I've heard better and worse.

Similar Products Used:

Any mid price to lower end towers

Looks

price for value

Love the looks of these speakers. The base is lacking,the highs are ok, but the mids are a little distorted. Sometimes
they sound like cheap boombox speakers. I wish I didnt purchase on looks . I reviewed the missions 700 series but were too bulky and they sounded abit muddy. The Energys sounded thin, not complete( small sound stage) and had a weird look to them. I also looked at Paradgim Monitor 5's and didnt go that way because maybee only 1 midrange driver or plane looks but they sounded real nice very clean
and true . I might see if I can return these or sell them to my brother in law and look at the Paradigm line again.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm,Missions & Energys

Great bass response, slim, attractive.
Excellent stereo imaging
Cherry finish is beautiful.

Reveals the harshness of cheap a/v receivers.

I've been trying out similar speakers in the $450-$750 range for about a year now. Energy e:xl 25 & 26, Mirage FRx 5 & 7, Paradigm Phantom, Paradigm Monitor 3 & 5.

The Energy e:xl series was the most disappointing. The Mirages were much more musical in the highs using the same electronics. The Paradigm Monitors (both 3 & 5) were far better (also better source - Bryston and Proceed), but somehow not very involving. Then I listened to the 4T and that made up my mind. Very musical, very involving, with all the bass extension (more?) of the Energy 26 and the excellent imaging and soundstage that PSB is famous for.

For my tastes, I preferred the speakers in this order:

PSB 4T (tie with NHT Super Two)
Paradigm Monitor 5
Paradigm Monitor 3
Mirage FRx-5
Energy e:xl-26
Paradigm Phantom
Energy e:xl-25

I really love the 4T although they are less forgiving in the highs than typical for PSB; while they sounded great driven by my little NAD receiver (and the dealer's Adcom amp), they really reveal the harshness of the Newcastle 925 I'm using for my home theater. I plan to upgrade the front amps as soon as my fiancée lets me.

I have them double bi-wired with AudioQuest Indigo and that tightened the bass considerably vs. single run.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm monitor & phantom, Energy e:xl, NHT Super Two, Mirage FRx, B&W DM602...

Imaging, flat response, appearance, price/performance

Nothing major

These are outstanding speakers. When I was considering what
to purchase, I auditioned Paradigm, Mirage, KEF, Klipsch and some others. In this price range, I thought the PSBs were the clear winner. (Incidentally, I was least impressed with the KEFs--much too forward. I'd give second place to the Paradigms.)

The highs on might be a bit bright for some (not as bright at the Mirage at this price point), but suit my taste perfectly. What really made these speakers stand out from the pack, though, were the mids. Incredibly clear and well-imaged. A good test track, I found, is the Art of Noise "Il Pleure" which tests a good dynamic range as well as really stressing the vocals. I tell you, you will swear the singer is standing in the room.

As far as bass (not "base") response, these speakers deliver clear and tight bass. The frequency response is very flat and if you are used to speakers that thump, then these might sound light on the bass. Be very careful with how you place them, as I've found six inches either way closer or futher from the wall makes a big difference. The bass these produce is very tight and moving them a little closer to the wall gives them a bit more umph without making them muddy. I agree that bi-wiring also seems to help. Also, be careful about your upstream components. Don't use these speakers with consumer-grade low-current amps--the bass *will* sound a bit off. These things want current. Listen to them with something like a NAD or HK (or better) component driving them.

With a good amp, the real problem with these speakers is that they may be a bit too revealing. If you have a CD that is originally from an analog source and a less-than-forgiving DAC, you can hear pops or clicks from the analog source when you really crank these up. If you need a better amp or a better DAC, these speakers will let you know.

Oh, and as others have mentioned, they look great and don't take up too much floor space, which is always a plus in a real living room.

I like 'em and am planning to do HT with matching Image componts (8C up front, 1B or 2B rears), except maybe the sub. PSB subs seem a bit pricey for what you get. Any recommendations that would match well with these?

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm, Mirage, KEF, Klipsch

Dynamics, Imaging, Appearance

High end resolution

For the money, these are excellent speakers. I've listened to speakers ranging from $500 to $1500, and the 4Ts impressed me the most - for the money. The best I heard were the Meadowlark Kestrals ($1500), and that was my benchmark. Check out the Meadowlark Audio website for an eye-opener in loudspeaker design.

I found the psb 4Ts came the closest to that sound. It's an even, non-fatigue, non-hyped sound that lets you simply enjoy the music. The dynamics are great - a little below 40hz at times, and the imaging is spectacular.

Visually, they're a major improvement. These speakers look great next to my entertainment unit. After ditching my small monitors on stands, my girlfriend was happy - even before hearing them.

For home theatre, a sub would be a must for proper dynamics, but for stereo music/HT, the low end is impressive.

Recently they made Stereophile's list of components to buy - check out their review.

Set up: Arcam Alhpa 8 Integrated Amp
Arcam Alpha 7 CD Player
Rega Planer 2 Turntable
NAD 412 Tuner
Kimber PBJ Interconnects
Kimber 4PR Speaker Cables

Similar Products Used:

B&W, Meadowlark,
B&W, Paradigm, KEF, Tannoy, Meadowlark, Vandersteen, Dynaudio

precise soundstage and imaging, decent range, price/esthetics

nope

I like 'em, I like 'em a lot. These towers are just perfect for my small/medium sized living room, and a 60/40 HT/Music application suits them well. I did like the PSB 5T's better, but only for the slightly better range, but I'm going to get a sub and that will take care of that. The Paradigm Montior 7's were nice, but I think the PSB's were a little more accurate, they placed the soundstage better. Besides, it seems Paradigm believes you should pay more for video sheilding..well..they can basically take that idea and...ahem, sorry. These are damn fine speakers for the price ($596 CDN) and do a good job on both HT and music. For all you Yamaha reciever owners that are scared that you'll never find speakers to match your "bright" reciever, try these out, it's like they were made for each other.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Monitor 7 and 5, B&W 601/602, PSB 2B, 3LR, 5T

Value, not bright sounding, balanced sound, bass extension, small footprint

Need break in time to smooth out high end, cheesy binding posts, poor manual

I am very happy overall with these speakers. I was looking to avoid the harsh/bright high end response that often plagues speakers in this price range. After break in (about 50 hours) any harshness with the metal dome tweeters dissappeared. Very balanced sound, good imaging, and the cabinets seem to be well constructed. Bass response/extension is excellent for such a small tower. I didn't feel the larger Image 5T (about $250 cdn more) was a better value because I intend to add a subwoofer to my home theater anyway. I have been running them bi-wired through a marantz reciever. A few small complaints: the binding posts are chintzy, they look a lot better with the grills on, and PSB definitely didn't spend much time putting together the manual. I have combined these with a set of Image 1B bookshelfers for surround and a Image 8C center channel. Worth a listen if you are looking for speakers in this price range.

Similar Products Used:

lisened to Paradigm, Mirage, Mission, Energy