psb image t45 or paradigm esprit? (1 Viewer)

[AlexGoodman]

Hi, I'm looking for an affordable pair of floorstanding speakers for a condo. I probably will not add a subwoofer later. I've narrowed my likely choices down to the PSB Image T45 and the Paradigm Esprit. The cost difference between the two isn't really that relevant; I just want to be happy down the line. The speakers will be used mostly for music and drama/comedy movies. Any preferences? Thanks.

 

[Marty M]

I'll jump in here with an opinion. I am a huge Paradigm fan, but I don't think you will go wrong with either choice. Both brands are considered to be a great "bang for the buck".

The most important piece of advise I can give you is to choose the speaker that sounds the best to you. Only your ears can tell which is the best speaker. What anyone else thinks is irrelavant.

 

[Seth=L]

PSB's are power hungry, they will take more wattage to acheive the same volume of the paradigms. I have the predecesor to the image series, Century 600i's, I like the way they sound, but can get very harsh at high volumes if you don't have enough juice to give them. What kind of receiver or amplifier are you using to power the speaker, of course once you get them?

 

[dustinSkater]

I own the T55's, well almost. The feet on the bottom of them broke off. UPS picked up one and I think's a new one is on it's way back. They will be picking up the other within a few days. I only listened to them for a little while so I don't know how all of my stuff sounds. But I did have them hooked up and played them loud and I liked the way they sounded. I really didn't listen to much at all so I'm not exactly sure how the highs sound but from what I heard I really liked them. I have the ImageT55's, C60, and S50's. I have an Onkyo TX-SR703 and a 20-39PC+. When I had them hooked up nothing was calibrated, I just plugged everything in and listened to them. When I get everything back and get it all set up, if your still insterested because it will be a couple weeks, I'll post my thoughts, even though they're not the same speakers.

 

[Lindahl]

From what I've heard, the Image T65 gets a bit muddy and heavy in the bass. The Image T55 also, but less so. Following this trend, the T45 should be just fine, but it's something to keep in mind. This kind of behavior is similar to the Monitor Audio RS8 (which tends to be bass heavy) and RS6 (which is cleaner). Keep in mind that I haven't heard the Espirits, which may be worse. Regardless, you'll want to audition them both.