PSB CS 180

otters

otters

New Member
Hi all, for my first post here, I'm looking for info on these speakers. Just picked a pair to upgrade from a pair of Paradigm Monitor 5 floor standers.

Other than these things being huge and sounding fantastic, I can't really find any info out there other than basic specs.

What can anyone here tell me about these?

Cheers!
 
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I used to sell them around 1990. They were originally going to be called Cirrus 180's, to carry on with cloud names like the stratus series, but some car manufacturer whined that they were using the name Cyrus already so PSB had to go with CS series.

Real oak veneer on the sides and back of the cabinet, they used a very strong injection molding for the front baffle for increased strength and to avoid diffraction effects common on ordinary wooden baffles.

Cast woofer baskets and rubber surrounds made for very nice bass units. I remember testing them and we got bass down below 30 Hz . One inch dome tweeters were custom made for PSB by vifa. They had very nice sound but could be heavy in the deep bass if you put them in corners (never bothered me because I always like deep bass).

Not sure what else you might like to know. I'm going by memory so far, but I know we had very nice brochures on the CS series. I think there was a test report done by a magazine.
 
Thanks for this, I like finding out the history of older equipment. They sound fantastic, my Paradigm Monitor 5 (v1) are going up for sale. The bass is incredibly rich but tight. Vocals come alive. Was listening to Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan this afternoon (so were the neighbours) and to me it was like having them there, in the room.

I managed to score them for $150 in pristine condition.

My understanding is that they're not that common, perhaps rare, as it was a short production run.

I've been looking for that review, but have not yet found it, even using my best Google - Fu.
 
I'll have a look through some older papers- maybe I can find it. Unless my memory is playing with me. I might be thinking of the PSB 50 mk2: it's smaller brother.

I know the CS 180 was the souped up, floorstanding version of the 50 mk2, which was a large bookshelf speaker using the same woofer and tweeter but in a much smaller and considerably less sophisticated cabinet. It was probably the finest bookshelf speaker we ever sold.
 
Is the CS 180 fairly rare?

On construction - these suckers are heavy. I found an old brochure online showing construction and I see what's behind that weight.
 
I can't quote any numbers but we only carried a few pair.

Snooping around the net I noticed somebody made reference to a test report on the CS 260, the CS 180's bigger brother (two 6 1/2" woofers ). That article appeared in Andrew Marshals audio ideas guide. Perhaps that was what I saw years ago. I will keep looking to confirm.
 
I'm just getting back into good old two channel stereo.

I had dug out a pair of Technics SB-L73 that I had bought with part time job back in 84-85. I always thought they sounded good.

A friend of mine came by, had a listen and called them crap, "Ugh, the bass, boom boom boom. Get some real speakers."

So, I scored a pair of Paradigm monitor 5. While sounding great, they weren't up to the occasional rock out on a Sat night. My Denon and Kenwood would cause the occasional over excursion.

So I started looking and was set on a pair of Century 600i. The same seller had the CS 180. Checked them out, listened to them, took them home, listened some more, fell in love until.... Hey wait a minute, these only have one driver, what the hell?

Contacted the seller, honest mistake, come back and get your Centuries. Same money, sorry for the mix-up.

But... Being amazed at the bass the CS 180s put out with such a small driver and the fact they're nice and tall - perfect for when I'm vegging out on the sofa, decided to keep the CS .

The more I listen to them the more I like them.
 
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