PSB Features New ""Alpha Intro"" Speakers At CES

Two New Members Of Famed Alpha Family Offer High-Performing Versatility For Home Theatre, Music And Multimedia

11-Jan-01

PSB Speakers, Canadian maker of high performance speaker systems, showed its recently released and already popular additions to the acclaimed Alpha family of compact speakers at the 2001 International Consumer Electronics Show. The two new ultra-compact monitors bear the new ""Alpha Intro"" designation. Judging by their reception so far, PSB is expecting the new speakers, the Alpha Intro LR and the Alpha Intro CLR, to become an important factor in many consumersí plans for home theatre and music systems.According to PSB Founder and Chief Designer Paul Barton, the Alpha Intros are a perfect fit for many different needs. ""These speakers,"" he says, ""will sound excellent and fit beautifully on a bookshelf, a dedicated speaker stand, the side or back walls of a home theatre or the desktop. They take the Alpha concept a step further by packing what we think is maximal attainable performance into ultra-compact speakers that are outstanding in visual design, and have amenities you associate with much more expensive speakers. They profit in every way from the breakthroughs weíve made in the design of our Image Series speakers, which have received an unprecedented reception in all of our markets."" Both Alpha Intros use a new 3/4-inch anodized aluminum dome tweeter with extended and smooth high-frequency response, plus a new 3 1/2-inch woofer with polypropylene cone and rubber surround, which moves air at low frequencies with unusual effectiveness for its size. The Intro LR uses one of each of these new drivers in a standard array that fits into a cabinet measuring only 4 1/4 by 6 3/4 by 6 1/4 inches (WHD), while the Intro CLR places the tweeter between two of the woofers in a cabinet measuring 4 1/4 by 9 3/4 by 6 1/4 inches. Both models come in textured black or white, have structural, molded front baffles and backs mounted on MDF cabinet sleeves, and sport color-matched, removable, perforated aluminum grilles. Both have video shielding to allow placement right next to a TV set or computer monitor.Barton points out that the Alpha Intro LR is equally impressive close up or at a home theatre distance. ""A pair of Intros are excellent near-field performers,"" he says, ""with the kind of accuracy and balance that makes them a pleasure to have on a desktop with your computer. They never sound gritty or forced close up, and the same qualities that make them so welcome in that use also make them sound excellent in standard use in a room for music or home theatre.""""As for the Intro CLR,"" Barton says, ""we conceived this as a center channel model at first, but it quickly became obvious that it was wonderful all-around. It will give you the ëheftí people want for surround use in DolbyÆ Digital, the detail you need for center channel use and the musicality and balance that front speakers need both for stereo and home theatre use. So what we have in the Intros are speakers that can be combined for home theatre in lots of ways, with the CLR as a center surrounded by LRs in front and back, or CLRs in front and LRs in the rear, or CLRs all around.""To support the speakersí versatility, their back panels include rear keyhole slots to allow direct wall mounting, plus 1/4-20 brass inserts that can easily secure the speakers to OmniMount brackets, to Vogel Sat-5 brackets and to new Alpha Intro stands. Screw bosses for alternative mounting brackets provide still another option. Both Intros have five-way, gold-plated binding posts to accommodate virtually any likely connection. And the new Alpha Intro stands provide an attractive option.""We arenít surprised,"" Barton concludes, ""that the first Alpha Intro buyers have been surprised and delighted by what they deliver. There is no application for which they canít easily be configured both in mounting and placement. And when you combine them with our Alpha SubZero subwoofer or the even more potent Alpha SubSonic 5 subwoofer, the overall home theatre impact is really astonishing and the gaming or music experience is taken to another level.""The two Alpha Intros have suggested retail prices in the U.S. of $199 per pair for the Alpha Intro LR and $169 each for the Alpha Intro CLR.