PSB Image 5T vs Energy Connoisseur C6 vs Paradigm 7se MkIII

thattreeguy

New Member
I've consulted Audiokarma many times while researching audio gear but have never posted before. I thought I'd give it a go.

I'm looking to add quality sounding towers to my collection and have a very limited budget. I have found 3 contenders on my local CL. I was hoping to get feedback from people who have experience or even just an opinion about one or more of these 3 speakers. They are PSB Image 5T's (asking $300, talked him down to $250/pair); Energy Connoisseur C6's ($200); & Paradigm 7se MKIII ($100). I have never heard any of these myself and I've yet to check them out although I am meeting with the PSB guy on Sunday. The 3 criteria that are most important to me(in order of importance) are sound quality, build quality (will they last) and value (good for the price). I would also like to know how they compare to my current speakers. I bounce back and forth between my PSB 50MKII's and B&W DM310's. I enjoy mixing and matching different speakers, amps and turntables. So these new towers could be matched with a newer Yamaha 2 channel int amp A-S501, an early 80's Onkyo int amp A-8015, or a late 70s Yamaha CR-420. I also have a quite remarkable handmade Russian tube amp. I only listen to vinyl (if you havent picked up on it yet these speakers will only be used for music on an analogue 2 channel system) and they could be paired with any number of turntables (I have a TT addiction). Right now my main table is a Sansui SR 525 & I'm also rotating a Pioneer PL 55X & a Kenwood KP 3022. Sometimes its a 2.1 system with a Beringer powered sub. I listen to rock n roll in many of its glorious forms...right now Im listening to The Beatles & before that it was Witchcraft (Swedish stoner metal).

Any input would be awesome! THANKS SO MUCH!!

Sorry about length of post...got slight touch of the ocd.
 
I have a pair of Paradigm 9se MkIII and 7se MkII and I love both of them even though they are stacked in a corner right now not connected to any gear!
At $100 they are a very good value and depending on condition they would likely not lose you any money.
They are also very clearly the plainest style of the three speakers mentioned as they are just standard enclosures without fancy baffles made out of material other than wood/mdf.

I also owned a pair of the Energy C6 in glossy rosewood for a bit and they were a solid build too although mine were cosmetically challenged with a repaired cracked woofer.
I ended up moving them on as I had too many big speakers and they had a bit more curb appeal than the Paradigms that I preferred the sound of anyways.

No experience with the PSB speakers but all three of those models were still made in Canada at the time which matters a bit to some people.
 
If those PSB's sound anything like the Stratus Goldi Towers,your gonna love them!!!! I picked up a pair some months back,and they will never leave my house.
 
Those PSB's are good speakers. Very musical and they lean a bit toward the warm side of things rather than that brittle and bright sound that many rock speakers produce. They also image really well. Pretty sure those are from the late 90's. $250 should be top dollar though. Make sure the tweeters are working.
 
THANK YOU to everyone who responded! I appreciate it.

CL is tough. I drove over 60 miles round trip & the psb's were totally trashed...damn did they sound good though. Dented in tweeters, woofer missing a cap, looked like someone took a knife to the side of one of them, etc...unfortunate. The CL post had only one dark & grainy looking pic with the grills on...I should have known better.

Paradigms sold quicker than you can say speaker.

Energy's are still available so I'll check those out. There's a new post for some newer looking PSB Alpha T's for $225 but I'm thinking that might be one of their econo/intro speakers. Wondering if I could get better sounding older speakers for the same amount of coin?

I'm quickly learning that with a limited budget & CL, it takes patience and blind luck to acquire quality speakers.

The search goes on...
 
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