Review: PSB Synchrony One Speaker System
SOLID SOUND, STRUCTURE AND PERFORMANCE
October 2008 By Adrienne MaxwellThe ensemble ably reproduced big, bombastic action sequences without sounding taxed at higher volumes, and it exhibited excellent tonal consistency between speakers. Its neutral nature made it easy to discern the quality difference between compressed and uncompressed soundtracks. The Synchrony One C’s larger footprint, with dual woofers and an added 4-inch midrange driver, paid huge dividends with dense action sequences and deeper male vocals, both of which had a natural, open quality that you just don’t hear in smaller centers. In both dipole and bipole mode, the Synchrony S surrounds did a nice job of spreading out the rear effects to create an immersive experience, without being overly diffuse. The bipole setup, with the speakers placed slightly behind my listening area, more effectively distributed sounds to both the sides and back of my room.
I had to drive my midlevel receiver harder than usual to exploit these speakers’ full potential. Don’t let the bookshelf design fool you; you should mate the PSBs with a solidly powerful amplifier. Also, the Synchrony One C was too large to fit in the cabinet under my flat-panel TV. The smaller Synchrony Two C ($1,300) is probably a better match, size-wise, for the bookshelf models – although I was so pleased with the One C’s performance, I might just get a different TV stand.
At $7,499, this PSB Synchrony ensemble is still a pricey option, but its performance defies expectation. yy
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