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Mar 21, 2023

PSB’s Synchrony Series Goes BIG with T800 Premium Tower Speakers

PSB Synchrony T800 Abouta year ago, PSB launched its new flagship Synchrony

PSB Synchrony T800

Abouta year ago, PSB launched its new flagship Synchrony Series with the T600 floor-stander ($8,000/pair) and the B600 bookshelfmodel ($2,500/pair). These speakers definitely have flagship DNA, including allnew drivers, more extensive internal bracing than in any other PSB speaker inthe company's history, and 5mm-thick aluminum baffle plates decoupled from therest of the enclosure by 10 "isolation cups," to suppress baffle talk andpreserve fine detail. The T600's outrigger feet are fitted with IsoAcousticsGaia II isolators — an $800 "tweak" included in the purchase price — while theB600 bookshelves have custom IsoAcoustics isolators built directly into thebottom of their cabinets. All of this comes packaged in classy, if understated,rectangular cabinets finished in satin walnut veneer or high-gloss black paint,with acoustically-transparent, magnetically-attached grilles. These areimpressive-looking speakers with prices that reflect both the high buildquality on offer and PSB's dedication to providing value. But when they cameout last fall, eagle-eyed readers noticed a couple of things that hinted at apotential expansion of the Synchrony Series down the line. First, there was theobvious lack of a dedicated center-channel speaker — and for now, we’re stillwaiting on that. But second, some longtime PSB fans couldn't help but noticethat the T600 was noticeably smaller than the company's previous flagshipmodel. Standing just over 41 inches tall and weighing in at 77 lbs, the T600wasn't what I would call petite, and its trio of 6.5-inch woofers can makesubstantial bass. The previous Synchrony Series (launched in the mid-2000s, andout of production for some time) was headed up by a speaker not much larger —the top-of-the-line Synchrony One was 43 inches tall, and also used three 6.5-inchwoofers. But in the interim, PSB had launcheda larger flagship, 2014's Imagine T3 floorstander, with a cabinet nearly 48inches tall, and 7-inch woofers. It remained the leader of the PSB pack untilthe T600 arrived on the scene in 2021. Compared to the Imagine T3, the T600'sshorter cabinet and smaller woofers left me wondering: did designer Paul Bartondecide to scale things back for his new flagship, or was something bigger on thehorizon? Now we know that he, in fact, had a big ace up his sleeve: the new PSBSynchrony T800 ($12,000/pair).

PSB Passif 50 Retro-Style Speakers

Hotoff the heels of PSB's retro-styled Passif 50Anniversary Edition loudspeakers comes the Synchrony T800, a newflagship model marking the company's 50-year milestone. Like the T600, the T800features a 5-way transitional array (more on that later), employing threelarger 8-inch woofers and a 5.25-inch midrange driver, all featuring castbaskets, woven carbon-fiber cones,mass-loaded rubber surrounds, and advanced motor structures that maintainconstant magnetic force in the voice coil gap. The 1-inch titanium dometweeter is a PSB signature, featuringferrofluid damping and a neodymium magnet. Thanks in part to the largerwoofers, the T800 delivers wider full-frequency bandwidth than the T600, andcan play louder than any other PSB design, while offering greater efficiencyand lower distortion across all volume levels. Power handling capacity is alsogreater than on the T600, making the T800 appropriate for large rooms and thepowerful amplifiers that tend to go with them. The T800 "carries the largestand most accurate performance envelope of any PSB loudspeaker to date anddelivers a caliber of micro-detail and realism that exceeds previous flagshipdesigns," according to the company. Among the most salient improvements is anew driver platform yielding a significant reduction of non-linear distortion.This reportedly keeps THD and intermodulation distortion low while deliveringhigher sound pressure levels without compression, resulting in deep bass impactand a more open midrange. The new driver platform is also said to providedramatically better micro-dynamics(small gradations in sound) compared to PSB's previous designs. Reduced driverdistortion is provided by a number of components working together in anadvanced driver assembly, including Faraday rings, longer voice coils, andsymmetrical magnetic drive.

PSB Synchrony T800 Tower Speakers

PSBis famous for its crossover designs, and the Synchrony T800 uses what thecompany describes as "the most advanced amplitude-perfect Linkwitz-Riley4th-order crossover that PSB Speakers has ever utilized, featuring high-voltagepoly film capacitors and oxygen-free interconnect wire for complete drivercontrol." As in the T600, the woofers in the T800 form a transitional-arraydesign, meaning that the three woofers cover progressively narrower frequencybands as you move down the speaker. The top woofer covers the entire bassregion, from the lowest frequencies all the way up to the crossover point withthe midrange driver. The middle woofer starts at the bottom as well, but rollsoff much lower, well before the midrange crossover point. Finally, the bottomwoofer plays only the lowest frequencies. According to Paul Barton, thisunusual woofer array produces smoother bass response because it "randomizes" thephenomenon of floor bounce, in which the low-frequency sound waves that bounceoff the floor interfere with the sound coming directly from the woofers. TheT800 is specified to deliver bass all the way down to 21 Hz (-3dB), with"well-defined, extended low-frequency performance comparable to a premiumquality subwoofer," according to PSB. But extension is only one aspect of bassperformance; a speaker also needs to deliver high output at those lowfrequencies. The company says that the T800 plays deeper and louder thanany other PSB speaker, with high efficiency (92dB at 1m) and low distortion atany level, delivering wide dynamic range and the kind of volume levels you’dexperience at a live performance, even in large listening rooms. Thoselisteners with common room resonance problems at low frequencies can use theprovided port bungs to fine-tune the T800's bass output.

IsoAcoustics Gaia II Isolation Feet Included with PSB T800 Towers

TheT800's impressive bass performance is helped along, of course, by the speaker'sincreased cabinet volume.It stands nearly 48 inches tall, 15 inches wide, and just over 15.5 inchesdeep. Each of the 8-inch woofers sits in its own individually-tuned chamberwith its own rear-firing port to break up in-speaker standing waves. As in theT600 and B600, the T800's acoustically-inert MDF cabinet is strengthened by adecoupled aluminum front baffle plate, increasing the density of the baffle andthe enclosure's overall rigidity. Each T800 speaker weighs a substantial 100pounds, and sits on outrigger stabilizers fitted with custom-designedIsoAcoustics Gaia II isolationfeet. These are said to "prevent mechanical energy produced by the drivers andcabinet from being reflected back into the enclosure," while at the same time"resisting lateral movement and oscillations to maintain accuracy and alignmentwith the listening position." According to PSB, the IsoAcoustics isolation feetoffer greater sound clarity and openness by reducing internal reflections andprotecting the speaker from external vibrations. (We have tested the larger Gaia I and Gaia Titan isolators from IsoAcoustics, and came away very impressed withtheir performance. See the November, 2021 review by Theo Nicolakis.)

PSBsays that the Synchrony T800:

"furthers the Synchrony Series and represents thefinest application of True to Nature sound – one marked by the highest possiblelevel of tonal accuracy, thrilling dynamics, impactful bass, transparentmidrange, pinpoint imaging, and exquisite detail," giving it the ability to"handle the most complex recordings — be it an orchestral soundtrack, quietnature sounds or live action movie - with a degree of dynamic and powerhandling unlike any other PSB speaker that has ever come before it."

PSB Speakers Synchrony B600 & PWM Home Theater Speakers Review

Unlike thesmaller T600, the T800 leaves us with no inkling that Paul Barton is holdingout on us. It looks like a true flagship-level product, with a relatively highprice to match (for PSB, anyway). The only question is whether PSB fans withaspirations of a Synchrony home theater will be satisfied using one of thebrand's high-end on-wall speakers (the $1,599/each PWM2 or the $2,749/each PWM3) as a center-channel speaker. Thecompany tells us that they "have been voiced and have very similar dispersioncharacteristics as the Synchrony T600 and B600," but I think that many of uswould prefer a dedicated Synchrony Series center-channel speaker — preferably a3-way design with a vertically-oriented tweeter and midrange driver. That said,YouTuber and friend of Audioholics Shane Lee reviewed a combo system using theSynchrony B600 bookshelf speakers and the aforementioned on-walls.

Would you be happy using a skinnyon-wall speaker as the center channel in a home theater system anchored byPSB's beefy new towers? Share your thoughts in the related forum thread below.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.

Jacob is a music-lover and audiophile who enjoys convincing his friends to buy audio gear that they can't afford. He's also a freelance writer and editor based in Los Angeles.

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