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PSB STRATUS GOLD
December 1995
If you want to get the most dramatic change in the sound of your system, it's pretty much common knowledge you replace the speakers. Speakers, however, can represent a major change in your wallet, unless you're one of those who'll spend kilobucks on the source end, and chince out by sending the signal downstream to a $100.00 pair of bookshelf speakers.
So as a "Workin' Man", it isn't going to be the easiest thing to find outstanding speakers in the budget category. Enter the PSB STRATUS GOLD, manufactured by Lenbrook Industries Limited. (633 Pickering Court- Pickering, Ontario, Canada-L1W 3K1. 1-800-263-4641).
For a retail price of $2,100, you get an entry level high end speaker that isn't dreaming of being high end, but actually qualifies. I hesitate to call them "entry level," because these speakers will do plenty of justice to electronics that are in a class way above them. Are they the end-all to all end-alls? No. What they are, is a brute force beast with a sweet side.
Let's take a quick look at this pair-o-boxes from the ground up. The frequency range is stated at 36 Hz. to 20,000 khz. The speakers measure approx. 44-1/2" high, 13-3/4" wide, and 15-1/8" deep. They are a floor standing speaker that can be easily "walked" around on carpet, but a bear to carry up the stairs. (Get help!)
Removing the well constructed grill frames reveals a 10" low frequency driver, a 1" metal dome tweeter, 6" midrange cone, and a 3" front firing port. The tweeter is located between the bass and midrange drivers. All drivers are set flush with the face of the baffle, and the baffle edges are angled back in an effort to reduce diffraction. PSB utilizes allen screws to secure the drivers; a touch I prefer over phillips head screws.
The rear of the speaker shows two pairs of five-way binding posts, with gold plated nuts (no brass you-know-what jokes, please). The speakers can be bi-wired or bi-amped, as well as used with single cable via the supplied jumpers. For my listening, I prefer to bi-wire. Remember, the "Workin' man" ain't gonna spring for more amps, just to bi- amp!
I'm told (don't ask by who, this is the amateur hour, you know), the older versions of the Stratus Golds' had the binding posts located on the underside of the cabinets. I can imagine the headaches that would cause. The latest edition places them a foot up on the backside. Note that you will need large spades to fit the posts. I am using bare wire AudioQuest Indigo; a multi-wire, solid core that is easy to twist, and fits neatly through the holes in the posts. The current Gold is also said to have improved internal bracing system. Rigid bracing is a must with this speaker, important with the bass this baby can put out. The cabinet vibrates ever so slightly, doing the finger tip touch test, although I don't think anywhere near enough to create a sonic problem.
My pair are finished in black oak, and are also available in quite a stylish looking, natural oak. They come with a wood surround base. I highly reccommend cones (not supplied), as they help tighten up the bass properly.
The system used for reference in this review, consists of the following: Rotel RCD-955AX CD player (used as a transport), Audio Alchemy Clearlink digital cable, original Audio Alchemy DTI, connected via the I2S (I squared S) output to the Audio Alchemy V3.0 HDCD D/A converter. Output interconnects are AudioQuest Quartz coax to an Audible Illusions L-1 line stage preamplifier. Signal feed out of the preamp, is handled by AudioQuest Ruby coax, to a 200w per channel Rotel RB990-BX solid state amplifier. Speaker cables are the aforementioned AudioQuest Indigo.
So much for the preliminaries; how's dem boxes sound? These babies will boogie when-ya-wanna, yet be full of life with solo violin or harpsichord!
The bass is quite profound. Warning! Placing these speakers too close to boundaries can result in flabby, overbloated bass. They just plain don't need any reinforcement (your mileage/room may vary). I find that 10 feet into the room, and five feet away from either side wall, to be good positioning to keep the bass tight and throw a good soundstage. My room is 18' x 28'; a good size room for these big boys. A smaller room could present a problem for the Golds, minimonitors may be more appropriate. I haven't heard any tube amps with these speakers, but I venture to say, that power and control of a good solid state amp, is the better ticket here. Sensitivity is listed at 88db 1w/1m. The spec's say the bass extends to 36 hz; just a few herz short of the 32 hz lowest note on an electric bass guitar. 36 hz is the -3db point, not a brick wall. There isn't a whole lot, music wise, that you'll miss below 36 hz. Such bass terror discs as Stanley Clarkes' "East River Drive," Bela Fleck and the Flecktones' "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo," and Jean Guillos' "Pictures at an Exhibition," all perform admirably. Plenty of oomph, heft, and male anatomy nether regions. Ported speakers often offer you bass extension, sometimes at the cost of control. That's not a problem with the Golds', as long as you follow my tips of positioning and using cones. With the above you get tight, fast bass; without you get fast mush.
The midrange is a highlight of this speaker's design. Male and female vocal both have a naturalness that I've heard matched in speakers many times the cost of the Stratus Golds'. Mick Jaggers' voice on the new Stones "Stripped" comes through with remarkable accuracy. This a voice I've listened to, including live, for 25 years. Keith Richards' backing vocals, are sharp and absolutely discernible as a separate entity from Jaggers'. Van Morrissons' duo with John Lee Hooker on "Wasted Years" from "Too Long in Exile," has an uncanny realness too.
This is a good time to bring up burn-in. Until these behemoths are burned in (40-50 hours), you're not gonna really hear these things. The burn in period loosens up all those factory stiff components, allowing the drivers to integrate well, and reveal their true characters. The bottom line with the midrange is; don't feed garbage in, such as with a poor production, and they won't spit garbage out.
The upper registers can be deceiving. Most overly bright speakers, jump out at you immediately with a tilted up frequency response. The Golds' are a speaker that don't throw the treble tizz at you for wow factor. Rather, they present the high frequencies in a well blended, clear fashion. Cymbals sound real, not like a white noise test tone. Listening with the grilles off, allows for more prominence of the treble, although the speaker sounds as if it was certainly designed to be listened with the grill on. Either way, the top end is sweet, airy, and will not throw you into the land of listener fatigue.
Overall tonal balance is very good. In my system, I'd say they lend themselves to more of the british, darker sounding variety. I want to emphasize that even though I say a darker sound, do not think I mean veiled. If you like a forward presentation, with a bright sound, this speaker may not be for you. However, if you take the time to set them up properly, and work with the synergy of the components, you will have obtain detailed, highly palpable sound.
Soundstaging is as wide as the recording will allow. Roger Waters' "Amused to Death" Q-sound tricks, are thrown 10' left or right of the speakers, in a long wall setup. Depth is very good; the Gold's will show you clearly the differences in amplitude of instruments, as they are placed further away from the microphone. I position mine 8 feet apart (center to center), with the listening position approximately 7-6 feet back from the speaker plane. This positioning allows the center image to lock in tight and lets the speakers disappear. I would characterize the sound to be laid back, as opposed to forward. Images will present themselves at the speaker face, but for the most part, the soundstage starts back about two feet. I can't say that I've ever heard a center image at the speaker plane. This could be a product of my room acoustics, but I wouldn't bet on it. Imaging is precise, but I attribute that mostly to the wonderful Audio Alchemy V3.0 D/A converter and the I2S bus connection. The Gold's merely don't get in the way of letting the V3.0 do its thing. More on the V3.0 at a later date.
For $2,100 (not including possibly a discount from your favorite dealer), and a bit of time to set them up well, I think you'll find the PSB Stratus Gold to be an impressive achievement. For me, they offer a great taste of the high end, for my limited budget. I believe they'll live through quite a few upstream upgrades. They've certainly found a home at Casa de Good Tunes.
See ya......Workin' Man
don & Terri
