the standard-issue, black-grilled, plain-Jane, rectangular coffins for which significant others might grudgingly give up floor space in return for other concessions. After all, pocket-protector-wearing, slide-rule-swinging, techno-geek research types aren’t known for their sense of fashion.The Imagine series speakers’ looks are far from that, however, because PSB turned to David Farrage and his New York design firm, DF-ID, to provide the industrial design.
I’ve never met Farrage, but based on the Imagine series speakers and the work he’s done for other clients (including Sony, Samsonite, NAD, Lamborghini, and Movado), I’m quite certain a pocket protector is not part of his wardrobe. Farrage deserves many kudos for the organic beauty of the gentle curves and the finely executed details of the Imagine speakers. The Imagine T2 tower speakers, for example, don’t unabashedly draw attention to themselves as do, for example, some Sonus faber or Focal speakers. Nor are they a more subtle statement, such as the look of the narrow aluminum cabinets of Definitive Technology’s Mythos speakers. Instead, the visuals of PSB’s Imagine speakers fall somewhere in between—for the most part disappearing into the room but, upon closer inspection, revealing an understated beauty and elegance.
The Imagine T2 ($3,500 per pair) is the latest addition to—and the new flagship speaker of—PSB’s small group of Imagine speakers, which includes the smaller Imagine T tower, two pair of monitor speakers, two center channels, and a unique tri-mode surround speaker. For this review, PSB included the larger Imagine C center ($850) and a pair of the tri-mode Imagine S surround speakers ($1,300 per pair). All the speakers share the inspired design elements, as well as the same family of drivers.
The Imagine T2 is tall (a little more than 40 inches) and slender (a bit more than 8 inches at its widest point) with the sides sloping from the curved, 2-inch-thick, MDF front baffle toward a narrow, rounded back. As far as I could tell, the only flat surface is found on the bottom of the cabinet. Greg Stidsen, PSB’s director of technology and product planning, explained that the cabinets start out as seven layers of thin MDF that are form-fit and pressed into shape. The cabinets are then placed inside the industrial equivalent of the microwave oven on your kitchen counter to cure the glue between each layer. Then a CNC machine drills the holes for the drivers, and the cabinet’s wood veneers are individually hand-sanded and finished. The result is an elegant, well-proportioned tower that, even when toed in, shows a thin outline of wood on either side of the black grille when viewed from the main seating position. The tower rests on four round feet located at the bottom corners of the cabinet with a tap in each that accepts either the included spikes or rubber pads.
baffle, sloping sides, and the same 1-inch titanium-dome tweeter. In this case, though, the tweeter is centered between two 5.25-inch drivers. The Imagine C comes with a port plug, although there’s only one port to potentially seal. Since the cabinet is curved on every side, PSB includes a short, black rubber bar that you can place under the Imagine C to position it at the correct angle. The dense rubber material holds the heavy (26.8-pound) speaker securely in place and helps to reduce vibrations that might transfer to whatever the speaker is sitting on top of.
The Imagine S surround speakers were smaller than I expected based on the dimensions of other high-performance bipole/dipole surround speakers I’ve encountered in the past. The surface-mounted Imagine S speakers take up less than 11 x 13 inches of wall space and extend only a tad more than 7 inches into the room. They’re not quite as elegant as the Imagine T2 and Imagine C, but their curved front and prominent center strip of wood definitely identify them as part of the Imagine family while still allowing them to remain unobtrusive in most rooms. The Imagine S speakers aren’t ported, and they include 1-inch tweeters and 5.25-inch woofers. In this case, one tweeter/woofer combo fires forward, and the other fires rearward—but the Imagine S isn’t your standard bipole or dipole surround speaker.
Even without the aid of the SubSeries 300, the Imagine T2s’ two-channel musical performance was absolutely stellar. They had that wonderful character of having almost no character—sonically, there’s nothing that draws specific attention to the speaker. The placement of the tweeter below the midrange puts it at seated ear level, which is generally the goal. In this case, I found the soundstage’s plane to be lower than is typical. In other words, I find that other speakers tend to place vocals slightly above the level of my ears. With the T2s, Bonnie Raitt’s voice on “Take My Love With You” from the new Slipstream CD seemed to come from a position directly even with, or perhaps just below, my ears in front of me. Especially impressive was the smooth transition from driver to driver, as well as the extremely wide soundstage the T2s produced. On “Until You Remember” from the Tedeschi Trucks Band’s Revelator disc, the horns’ plaintive notes at the beginning of the song were so smooth, it felt like the T2s were slowly pouring pure New Orleanian sadness into the room. That was followed by the tight plucking of guitar strings to the left of center, and, once Tedeschi’s dead-centered voice was joined by the remainder of the band, each instrument was clearly defined and placed across a wide soundstage.
The Imagine T2 system is splendidly seductive. The graceful curves coyly play with your eyes without demanding constant attention. In the same way, the Imagine T2’s sound is beguilingly smooth and natural; and those alluring sonic qualities extend to the Imagine C center and Imagine S surrounds—and the SubSeries 300—when they’re brought together in one room. Even though it’s composed of six individual boxes, the system is absolutely superb at working together as seamlessly as if it were one big speaker—or, perhaps, no speaker at all. Even if the Imagine T2 system were pink and yellow with a purple-fringed grille cloth, I’d still have to recommend it because it sounds so damn good. Fortunately, it’s a beautiful and elegantly designed piece of work. If this is what comes from living in an anechoic chamber for a good part of your life, then so be it.by darryl wilkinson
