PS Audio Aspen FR30 loudspeakers
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GSOphile
Active member
Their website says PSA will pay return shipping.
I do. I bought all of my speakers without seeing or hearing them. Coincident Technology Pure Reference Extreme, Wilson Audio Sophia v3, Magico S3, Magico Q3, Magico M3, Magico S-Sub, Magico ACC. Gotta be $200K+ worth of new speakers there bought sight unseen sound unheard.
I'm not a fan of the FR30 aesthetic, it's ugly. For $28K it's at the same price point as Magico A5. I mean seriously, who would buy FR30 when you can get A5 for the same money? At least the PS Audio gives you an alternate color option. They have been developing this speaker for 5+ years so it's about time, they would have spent a lot of money getting it to this point.
BlueFox
New member
Same here. I bought all my current gear without hearing it, and absolutely love my stereo. I probably did spend a year reading reviews and audio forums about the gear and the manufacturer before deciding on it.
arancano
New member
I am not a fan of PS Audio... and... $28,500 for PS Audio's first speaker.... sorry... but just got to say.... really.
I was a fan of PS Audio, until repeated mention in company videos and postings over 3 years of a $15,000 knock-it-out-of-the-ballpark speaker turned into one costing nearly double the expectation. Failing to meet customer expectations cultivated over a long developmental cycle with several blown launch milestones is always a risky proposition.
During that time I discovered the world of high sensitivity speakers and low powered tube amps. As many reviewers have said, when done right their synergy can reproduce sound that, to my ears, is far more appealing than the products offered by PS Audio, at a fraction of the cost.
Randy Myers
Well-known member
In my experience, that is kind of typical of PS Audio. Hype the crap out of things and deliver a product that rarely matches the hype.
I was actually considering a PS Audio DAC but glad I decided on the T+A instead. I see PS Audios being sold used all the time... there are at least 15 DACs being sold on the used market right now. I know there is an argument that could be made that this is because the sold so many, however my opinion is if people liked their gear so much why is it constantly being sold on the used market?
I was actually considering a PS Audio DAC but glad I decided on the T+A instead. I see PS Audios being sold used all the time... there are at least 15 DACs being sold on the used market right now. I know there is an argument that could be made that this is because the sold so many, however my opinion is if people liked their gear so much why is it constantly being sold on the used market?
arancano
New member
It's money that has to be recouped, partly through higher prices on the sale of PS Audio electronics. In his videos and posts, Paul expressed his dream of a comprehensive suite of products, including recordings and speakers. As a former customer, I thought it was a mistaken path for a small company. Development costs would just increase prices of PS Audio electronics, which went up recently ostensibly to pay for pandemic-related costs. Personally, I would rather have seen innovation on the products I used.
Many companies have failed when they extended beyond their core competencies and customers refused to pay for expensive new products they would be unlikely to buy, and for which there were already numerous alternatives in the market. The vision of cradle to grave offerings is admirable but my opinion is just that. The marketplace will decide in the end if the path leads to success or going six feet under.
arancano
New member
Randy, although we don't know sales figures, the amount of PS Audio products in the second-hand market is telling. I had an all PSA lineup and only the P15 regenerator remains in my rig. You don't see other prominent products as available. Case in point is the Decware Zen SET amp. There were none in the market last time I looked.
arancano
New member
The policy is admirable and one I used myself several times. However, someone pays for the generosity. It's reflected in higher prices for the PS Audio lineup. Recent price increases, justified to pay for pandemic-related costs, bear witness. Customers not in need of speakers subsidize those that do. It's the way business works, of course, but something feels wrong about the many subsidizing the very few who can afford $28,495 for a pair of speakers. Had they launched the speaker line with an innovative speaker in the range of $7,500-$12,500 I might feel differently.
arancano
New member
It depends, of course, on what is said. I'm not qualified to comment on the sound. Everything else is fair play.
arancano
New member
I would be interested in learning more about your sight unseen experience, like what percentage did you like or met expectations, what you did in those cases where they did not. I've read about some of the ones you mentioned but would love to hear your take (don't mean lengthy reviews) if its not too much of an inconvenience.
I was surprised by the PRE. For a wooden box enclosure speaker with off-the-shelf drivers and very basic first order crossovers they do a disappearing act and sound pretty good. The Wilson sounded OK also but the ported design need more space around them to sound their best. The S3 I blew up a mid-driver twice, don't know why. Easy to repair, just a direct swap not even any soldering required. Q3 on S-Pods faultless and only got squeezed out because Magico went one better with M3. Not planning to replace those any time soon, especially with a PS Audio product. PS Audio electronics I rate as junk, but these speakers seem to have gone through an evolution process several times over to arrive at something I expect would sound OK. Not my cup-of-tea as far as what the industrial designer cooked up. I watched a few of Chris' YouTube videos and he seems to have the technical chops and is less evangelical and a more refreshing approach to commentary than the usual tired old drivel they serve up.