Your thoughts about PSB Alpha speakers.

[H/K crazy]

I picked up a pair of PSB Alpha speakers last weekend for $15. There is no model number on the back, just says "the amazing Alphas". They have a black wood grain finish and black grills. The grills have some white paint and what appears to be candle wax on them. I spent about one hour removing sunflower seeds and three large nuts from inside one of them thru the rear port. Any opinions about what they sound like and if they are considered to be worth while. How many watts are they rated for? I was thinking of hooking them up to a H/K 630 twin power receiver.

 

[lifer70]

Great little speaker that helped make PSB famous. Had them for my HT set-up for many years and they sounded very good. Should work fine with the 630 but, depending on your listening preference, might need a sub

 

[Audi0]

If there the ones i think your talking about. They were good budget speakers in there day. Excellent value. Very close in ideologies to the original paradigm titan build wise.

 

[Michael Powers]

More common are the Paradigm Atom speakers, IME. I've heard & liked both. You did outstanding on that deal. Unless the woofer's surrounds are butyl, you will need to have them replaced.

I hope that your H/K 630 has a better tuner section than my H/K 330b did. Awesome piece, otherwise.

 

[H/K crazy]

Thanks to everyone who answered, I'll go ahead and give them a test listening!!

 

[nick_ville]

I picked up a pair of PSB Alpha speakers last weekend for $15. There is no model number on the back, just says "the amazing Alphas". They have a black wood grain finish and black grills. The grills have some white paint and what appears to be candle wax on them. I spent about one hour removing sunflower seeds and three large nuts from inside one of them thru the rear port. Any opinions about what they sound like and if they are considered to be worth while. How many watts are they rated for? I was thinking of hooking them up to a H/K 630 twin power receiver.

That's a good price for a very nice little speaker. For a long time, I bought every pair I found and ran them in a multi-channel home theater system. They were great in the HT. I have recently sold off my last pair. Not because they aren't nice, but because I just wasn't using them anymore (two boys at home under 4 years old). I am trying to keep the stereos/systems down to one, plus a Sonos (maybe more in the future) for convience and less clutter.

 

[Andyman]

I picked up a set of PSB Alpha A/Vs recently and have been playing them in my main rig, and I'm very pleased at how good they sound. While they aren't knocking off the altec A7s, they certainly make for enjoyable listening. They also have received quite nice reviews in Stereophile as a Class d choice.

Once again, I have another pleasant sounding Canadian speaker

 

[suburbanbeat]

I've got a lead on a pair of PSB Alphas for $60. The seller says that he cannot see any other model numbers, suggesting that these might be the original Alphas. He says that they are likely 15-20 years old, which I think would make them part of the original line.

Good buy? The reviews for the current make are glowing. I'm attaching the listing imagine below in case anyone case you that to confirm that these are original Alphas.

 

[charles 1973]

I bought the original "Alpha Center" new in 2001. It does a great job for my living room HT in DD 5.1, and music when listening to the AVR's "Studio-Mix" or "Unplugged" matrix SS modes. I wish I had the matching front speakers. I'm guessing the "Amazing Alpha" came next. I think they are up to the Alpha C now. They are probably rated for 50 - 75 wpc. If you use a sub I wouldn't worry about powering them with most AVR's. The Alpha package with sub was a value leader back in the day. Recreating near theater like performance on a low budget for video, While doing a commendable job with music as well.

 

[GlenGC]

i had a pair of PSB little bookshelves few years ago.. i don't remember the models but they had amazing bass for such a small speaker... and sounded very pleasant..
then i got too excited with the power and blew up one of the tweeters :S

they were nice little speakers...

 

[Raynald]

I bought the original "Alpha Center" new in 2001. It does a great job for my living room HT in DD 5.1, and music when listening to the AVR's "Studio-Mix" or "Unplugged" matrix SS modes. I wish I had the matching front speakers. I'm guessing the "Amazing Alpha" came next. I think they are up to the Alpha C now. They are probably rated for 50 - 75 wpc. If you use a sub I wouldn't worry about powering them with most AVR's. The Alpha package with sub was a value leader back in the day. Recreating near theater like performance on a low budget for video, While doing a commendable job with music as well.

No, the original or "Amazing" Alpha speaker is from the early 90's, it replaced the previous entry level model the PSB Atom:

https://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/792psb/index.html

The B came along about 10 years later:

https://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/580/index.html

Another 5 for the B1:

https://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/507psb/index.html


All were very good speakers for the money when new and are bargains for typical used prices. The B1 are much more advanced and refined than the originals but all play music very nicely.

BTW, the Alpha C was the matching center for the regular B, not a later model:

http://www.psbspeakers.com/products/alpha/Alpha-C-Center

 

[Raynald]

I've got a lead on a pair of PSB Alphas for $60. The seller says that he cannot see any other model numbers, suggesting that these might be the original Alphas. He says that they are likely 15-20 years old, which I think would make them part of the original line.

Good buy? The reviews for the current make are glowing. I'm attaching the listing imagine below in case anyone case you that to confirm that these are original Alphas.

View attachment 963086

Those do not look like the originals due to the way the grills angle in towards the side of the speaker. The grill construction tells me they are older than the Alpha B. If I had to guess I would say Alpha AV:

https://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/241/index.html


Get the EXACT dimensions and compare to the specs in the reviews above, it should tell you which it is.

 

[charles 1973]

No, the original or "Amazing" Alpha speaker is from the early 90's, it replaced the previous entry level model the PSB Atom:

https://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/792psb/index.html

The B came along about 10 years later:

https://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/580/index.html

Another 5 for the B1:

https://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/507psb/index.html


All were very good speakers for the money when new and are bargains for typical used prices. The B1 are much more advanced and refined than the originals but all play music very nicely.

BTW, the Alpha C was the matching center for the regular B, not a later model:

http://www.psbspeakers.com/products/alpha/Alpha-C-Center

Thanks for that. I had not heard of the Amazing Alpha's before. It looks like the Alpha B & C use larger woofers than my Alpha Center.