PSB T3's?

M

Mechnutt

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I am thinking about pulling the trigger for a pair of PSB T3's. My 60th BD is coming up and I think that I want to move on from my Magnepan 1.6's. I have not heard the T3's but know the previous Synchnony One's intimately and loved the sound. Unfortunately, there is no where close where I can audition them. I have read just about every review and the T3's are definitely a different animal, more refined in every way and more dynamic. The Synchony's are a bit colored and warm which I like. The T3's are more neutral.

Has any one heard the T3's? I am curious about the tweeter. I know it is more refined but I always have concerns about sibilants as I am very sensitive to them.

Thanks,

Larry
 
Congrats Larry they are supposed to be first rate speakers and attractive too. When you get them set up and broken in you ought to see if Frank will let you borrow that new amp model again to try with them.
 
Congrats! Looks very attractive as well. Let us know how you like them :)
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Thanks guys! I got too good of a deal to turn down. I found them on Audiogon, brand new in a box with warranty from a dealer for $4400. They sell for $7600. If I don't like them, I can flip them. All the pro reviews that I have read love the speakers and say the same thing about them, so I have a good idea what to expect. They all say that you would have to spend 2 or 3 times as much to get that level of sound. Of course, I take it with a grain of salt. But they said the same thing about previous Synchony's and they lived up to their hype IMHO.

I'll post a review when I get them and as they break in. It will be trial and error setting them up due to the 3 bass tuning ports which come with rubber plugs. The 3 woofers have their own enclosures and the top woofer is tuned to crossover with the mid range which sits above it and the tweeter.

My wife likes the looks of them and is happy to get rid of the door panel Maggies, although I gave serious consideration to buying the Maggie 3.7i's since I love the Magnepan sound. It will be an adjustment.:yahoo1:
 
Larry

Having dealt with the set-up challenges Maggie's can present I'm sure you'll get the PSB's dialed in pretty easily and Pass seemed to be the amp of choice with the reviewers. Another favorite from other forums seems to be the Hybrid BHK amps. Looking forward to your impressions.
 
Jack said:
Congrats Larry they are supposed to be first rate speakers and attractive too. When you get them set up and broken in you ought to see if Frank will let you borrow that new amp model again to try with them.
Click to expand...

Jack, Frank has a new set of mono blocks coming out the beginning of October called the SET 600's (these are high power SS not SET tube amps). They are the monoblock versions of the 400 but more power. Supposedly they have more air and space in the mid range after I did a review on the 400 and 120. I don't think he was too happy with my pointing that out in the reviews. But he wants me to review the SET 600's with the PSB's when they are broken in. I suspect he addressed the mid range congestion issue.

I have heard his DVA 850 monoblocks and they are the bomb. 850wpc at 8 ohms and probably double at 4 ohms. TAS loved them. Great buy and value IMHO. They sound much better than my Pass amp.

I get the PSB's on Monday. I will post a brief initial impression.
 
Larry

I remember him responding to someone in that review thread about being able to turn two SET 400's into fully balanced mono's and for the price involved that would be an attractive option. If the upcoming 600's are supposed to be better yet that is a good thing especially if he keeps the price somewhat comparable. Looking forward to your impressions of the T3 as I have never heard a bad thing about them from owners or reviewers.
 
Congrats Larry. Paul builds a great speaker.


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Thanks guys!

It will take a while to get use to a box speaker again. I really liked the sound of my friends PSB Synchony One's and the T3's are supposed to be similar but better and different if that makes sense. I tried to audition them at Listen Up in Denver and Albuquerque but they did not have them on the floor. I considered the Sonus Faber Venere S and the Focal Aria 948's. I heard them both at Listen Up and the SF's were on Mac Gear and vocals sounded pitchy and sharp at times and bass was nothing special. The Focal's sounded pretty good, better than the SF's, but they had them hooked up to a Sony AVR and they would not change amps for me since I was just visiting. I am getting a better speaker with the T3's. I am taking a leap of faith based on pro and user reviews. Next up will be to upgrade my Pass X250 to a 250.5 sometime next year, and after that, a better DAC. Or maybe down size to an integrated to keep my wife happy. She wants me get a Vinnie Rossi Lio integrated. However, a Luxman integrated or Pass may be in my future if I can get a good price on a used one. I still have 1 kid in school that I am paying for. The Vinnie Rossi only has 40wpc and I want at least 100 for dynamics.

Larry
 
congrats on the t3's ...and happy birthday!

Mechnutt said:
...She wants me get a Vinnie Rossi Lio integrated. However, a Luxman integrated or Pass may be in my future if I can get a good price on a used one. I still have 1 kid in school that I am paying for. The Vinnie Rossi only has 40wpc and I want at least 100 for dynamics.
Click to expand...

fwiw: i heard the vinnie rossi lio DHT pre with the l2 monos at axpona (with harbeth speakers) -- absolutely stunning! 75wpc and the total package has a pretty small footprint and a very elegant appearance for the WAF.

if the integrated with DHTs is anything close to that, and cannot imagine that it is not, its a winner... but as you note only 40wpc.
 
aKnyght said:
congrats on the t3's ...and happy birthday!



fwiw: i heard the vinnie rossi lio DHT pre with the l2 monos at axpona (with harbeth speakers) -- absolutely stunning! 75wpc and the total package has a pretty small footprint and a very elegant appearance for the WAF.

if the integrated with DHTs is anything close to that, and cannot imagine that it is not, its a winner... but as you note only 40wpc.
Click to expand...

I first heard the VR Lio with Harbeths at Axpona 3 years ago and it was one of my top 3 systems there. I would love to have the DHT pre and his mono's but the price is too steep for me at the moment. Maybe when I retire in a few years. I also love the Harbeths but the WAF is not there with them. My wife put up with the Maggies for too long.
 
Well, I picked up the T3's from Fed ex today and have them playing now. Right now they don't sound very good. They are a little muddy and veiled sounding and certainly not in the same league as my Maggies. They certainly need to break in a lot. They are not nearly as detailed as my 1.6's right now.
 
I have about 10 hours of play now and things have improved a lot. I also tweaked speaker position and that tremendously widened the sound stage.

My impressions so far-

Very smooth and organic sound
great bass- tight, musical, no boom or muddiness, goes deep, really don't need my dual subs but the subs do add to depth and sound stage width
sounds great at low volumes
tonally rich midrange
wide sound stage
great rock and roll speakers as well as acoustic and piano
Good detail and texture, especially vocals
plays loud and clear

Things that I don't like-
needs more treble energy but this may be my set up and cables because I toned it down for the maggies
sound stage has good depth but not nearly as deep as my Magnepans

I know it is way too early to really nit pick as I expect a big improvement in the next 75-100 hours. So far, they do not sound as good as my Magnepan 1.6's. My wife however, loves the look and size:)
 
I have about 45 hours on my T3's and they are starting to come into their own. Bass has further improved and now rattles the room the way my subs did on bass heavy music. It happened over night. It is pretty amazing at how a speaker can change so much. The sound stage depth and height has improved and the tweeter seems to have broken in as treble energy has markedly improved. They really have a life like sound on some music, in some ways better than the maggies. The main drawbacks are that they sound great with excellent recordings but with average or poor recordings they do not sound very good, even worse than the maggies with poor recordings. Also, the maggies do horns better and are more life like.
 
Larry

If after a more complete break-in (200hrs) they still don't do the things you like about the Maggie's then a compromise your wife might live with could be the Spatial X-2 especially if you use Herbie's Gliders so you can move them back when not in use. If they are anything like the M3's though I don't think the 5 feet number from the back wall is at all necessary and in all but a larger dedicated room practical. I tried from 3 feet out to 5 feet and did not notice any appreciable difference. Even though the Nola KO's are open baffle on the top the Spatial's presentation is still just different. Even though I am completely happy with the M3 TM's in the Family Room set-up I would still like to move up to the X-2's at some point.
 
Jack, I had a pair of M3's (non turbo) for 1 week to audition last fall. They are a very nice sounding speaker but they could not compete with the 1.6's in musicality, speed, detail and resolution. They were well broken in by the time I got them. Paul Speltz from anticable sells them and brought the pair over for me to try. They had the older crossover design and the mid range sounded sucked out. I had a couple of friends over and they agreed that the Maggies smoked the M3's. I spoke with Clayton from Spatial and he agreed about the mid range. The newer model addressed this situation though. I believe there have been improvements to the crossover and drivers and I don't doubt that they sound better. It's too bad because I would have bought them had I liked them. I posted a review on the AC forum and I caught a lot of crap over that review.

The T3's will get better with more hours on them. If I don't like them I may take a look at Focal 1038Be2's as there are still a few pair around
 
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