PSB Speakers Alpha P5 Bookshelf Speakers - Dark Walnut

One review on this page has a typical case of 'apples and oranges' syndrome and cites alternatives to assert an opinion against the p5's price and sound quality. Cited in the review are various alternative speakers, some twice the price of the $400/pr p5's. I have come to the conclusion that the reviewer prefers a demonstative style of speaker as opposed to a speaker that a real person sits down and listens to for extended listening sessions. There are those audiophiles who only listen to special music which exalts their gear for demonstation purpose. Look, I'm just a poor soul who likes reliable, predictable sound quality day in and day out. Cited are the Focal 706, again way above $400pr, which are some of the deadest, un-musical speakers I've ever owned. I donated them to Goodwill after years of futility to make them come alive. I think 2 schools of audio thinking are at play. Some listeners seek a live concert sound. Trust me, you're not at a concert. 5-channel surround sound? Sorry. You AIN'T in a theater or the 'middle of the action'. Bottom line: Another person's ear or sense of hearing benefits me not.The PSB p5's are a sublime, immersive speaker that unite you with your music. They excel in the critical mid-range and possess a refined, neutral treble extension that's easy on the ears for long listening sessions. Bass is phat if placed close to rear walls. If you desire live, cupped- hands- to-the-mouth sound, buy klipsch. I have been searching for a speaker like the p5's a long time. No recommendations required, thank you.Additionally, the KEF q150, at MSRP of $599 with regular sale prices of $300, are a fair speaker but unfortunately the coaxial design has such a bright tonal character that I found that when the music was playing I wanted to leave the listening room often. The KEF q150, while decent, have a decided issue with high frequency brightness. I couldn't return them to Best Buy quickly enough with no regrets whatsoever.No, if your aim is to help buyers choose a pair of speakers, it behooves you to knowabout the science of how humans hear, ie,the science of psychoacoustics. It's been utilized by audio designers and helps speaker designers understand the nature of how we perceive sound. In the PSB the care and attention to psychoacoustics is in ample evidence. When you hear these speakers you don't recoil or run away or shrink into yourself. You simply follow the tunes, no matter how dissonant your jazz is, or how electrifying Miles' jazz -rock becomes. The music is the thing, not the speakers. The alpha p5's are a uniformly correct sounding piece of gear that miss nothing in your music. I admit it. Ear fatigue can be a factor with these speakers--but only after 12 straight hours of listening. Then I'm tired.TIP#1. Adhere to a roughly 6foot by 6foot by 6foot semi-equalateral triangle related to your listening place and the speakers, and the speakers distance from each other.TIP#2. The real icing on the cake to coax the phenomenal sound these speakers have to offer is choosing high quality speaker cables from upper-tier companies that specialize in nothing but, you guessed it, cables! Component interconnect cables and high quality weighted stands filled with sand or lead shot,etc, all go a long way to getting your music off the floor and realizing the music as intended . The reason these speakers are being compared to much higher models is self evident. They're good. I personally am driving the p5s with a Marantz pm6006 integrated using Transparent Audio Wave 200 spkr cable from several years back. As my source a Tascam pro cd player ( cd200bt) connected with Kimber PBJ interconnect. Source material is largely 50s and 60s modern Jazz and Blues. I listen to music everyday.

These make my large, older bookshelf sound old on the higher tweeter to the mid-area. The base sounds good, but get a sub if you need that deeper sound. They are currently being used as my side surround speakers and fit well with the four P3 speakers I'm using for height-atmos effects.

Build Quality, In my opinion build quality is on par with many five hundred dollars speakers in terms of quality components, I have not seen any speakers in this price range that comes with acoustically transparent perforated metal magnetic grill.Highs are very clean detail sound with good extension without overly forward or laidback, separation between notes are a bit airy, good sound dispersion.Midrange is almost perfect, this is the best you can get at this price, everything sound as close as possible to source, naturally balance sound with accurate tone.Bass performance is the star of overall musical sound signature because I get pretty well extended low frequency response from this mini monitor speakers but to get the maximum bass performance speakers without a sub woofer, should not be be more than 6ft apart with just a tad toe-in.PSB Alpha P5's balanced sound signature makes it very easy to pair with pretty much any kind of amplifiers.Great Value, Good Balanced Sound, Highly Recommended!

I use these for a small stereo in my home office. They are powered by an NAD 3020. They sound quite good for their size. They have the limitations all speakers this size have, but they work well, and they are a good value. As a point of reference, my favorite speakers are Vandersteen 5 Carbons.

These speakers are really incredible. I used a bluesound power-node to power them. Using in my living room to replace a Samsung sound bar and subwoffer, and it's mind blowing how great they sound. The sound quality is truly impressive, I thought I would need to add a subwoffer but it's not necessary. I Highly recommend these speakers, especially when paired with a quality source to power them.

One of the best book shelf speakers all round. Sounds large even in a spacious location. Very crisp sound without being shrill in the high range. Unless you need thump-in base for a dance event, you can do without a sub woofer if fed from a good amp. Very elegant finish and dimensions. Goes well with most neutral decor without being either obtrusive or obscure. Very Inexpensive for the quality, At 89db, fairly efficient. Can drive much higher volumes than normal selection. Specs don’t speak for overall acoustic experience. Beats more expensive brands by a mile for normal use as front speakers. Comes with small feet for insulation as well.

I saw the great reviews and decided to try them. Not sure why they have so many great reviews? DEFINITELY not sure why these are $400. The quality of the cabinet looks and feels cheap. If you knock on the cabinet, it very lively. The grills are ummmm…well…..meh. They are magnetic but they don’t line up when you place them on. You have to make them even and square. They are bright. Sometimes painful. The low end is just there. Nothing special. Nothing horrible. The $1 terminal cup really adds som class to this. I would honestly MAYBE spend like $150 ish on a pair of these. In case your wondering or saying but hey dude, you probably have a junk amp or receiver and that’s why these sound this way….. no, no I don’t. They were used with a NAD T758 V3i.I have a pair of Emotiva B1+ that blow these away in every aspect. Those , brand new were $270 for the pair. There’s my 2 cents. Do with it what you will.

These hit way above their head. I got them on sale for 299 and they are absolutely worth it. Not the greatest build quality, but Audiophile sound for sure. Will buy PSB again in a heartbeat!