TECHNOLOGY REVIEW
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PSI Audio A25-M Active Loudspeaker
MAIN/MID-FIELD REFERENCE MONITOR
The flagship of PSI Audio’s monitor range, Nigel Palmer puts the recently updated A25-Ms through their paces to see if the specs on paper hold up in the studio.
ALTHOUGH ORIGINALLY established in 1975 by Alain Roux, it has been in more recent years that Swiss loudspeaker brand PSI has appeared on many people’s gear radar. The distinctive appearance of the marque combines with an obvious passion for electroacoustics and the company’s products now stand alongside some perhaps better-known industry names. PSI’s flagship A25-M active three-way monitor has recently undergone minor performance tweaks, so I thought this a good time to have a look at it.
OVERVIEW
Although the A25-M has a fairly conventional form factor for a mid- field/main loudspeaker – weighing in at just under 30kg (around 66lbs) and measuring 320mm x 590mm x 380mm (13in x 23in x 15in WHD) – it presents itself in a smart and attractive fashion with the same burgundy sparkle (my description!) finish used across the rest of the company’s range. The drivers consist of a 258mm low- frequency unit, a 142mm midrange and a 25mm tweeter crossing over at 580Hz and 3.1kHz, powered by three built-in amplifiers rated at 170, 80, and 50W RMS respectively. The front baffle edges have been radiused to reduce diffraction, and a wide and slim reflex port is positioned below the bass driver. The two higher frequency transducers are mounted on a plate secured by Torx (star head) bolts and can be rotated by 90˚ to accommodate horizontal or vertical mounting of the A25-M: when the review pair arrived they were set for the former although I soon changed to, and preferred, portrait orientation. Also of note on the front baffle is a red LED normally showing power status, but which doubles as a protection circuit indicator - though with a maximum SPL of 121dB for a pair of A25-Ms it’s possible you may not see it in action very often.
42 November 2013 The rear of the unit has an
uncomplicated look with two rotary adjustments, firstly for gain – I set this to greatest attenuation to match my existing reference level – and bass rolloff, intended to facilitate positioning close to walls or corners, which I left flat. In addition, there’s a female XLR analogue input, a mains inlet and power switch. The rear of the unit is also the back of the pod containing the speaker’s electronics and is mechanically isolated from the rest of the box, a feature intended to avoid resonance at high sound pressure levels. Clearly, linearity of both frequency
and phase are important at PSI, and on paper at least this is an impressive loudspeaker with figures quoting a commendably flat frequency response of plus or minus 1.5dB from 38Hz to
“Although mastering, recording, and mixing require different listening skills, I could see the A25-M working very well in all those disciplines.” Nigel Palmer
20kHz, little evidence of phase shift across the audible spectrum, and one of the better impulse response plots I’ve seen. While indicating good implementation in both the frequency and time domains of PSI’s proprietary AOI and CPR technology, it’s well known that measurements can be one thing and listening quite another – I was therefore keen to test the A25-M’s real-world performance.
IN USE
Once set up on sturdy stands, essential for any non-floorstander, the games began: after a day’s familiarisation period I followed my normal
CONCLUSION I had an enjoyable time working with the PSI A25-M review pair, and it was apparent at the end of my period
procedure with a quality loudspeaker by mastering with it, in this case for just over a week. Although I found the PSI required a little more ‘learning’ than other monitors that have passed through here, after a couple of days I was fully acclimatised and quite comfortable with making mastering decisions. The A25-M has what I would characterise as a big, fresh sound, very easy to listen to while at the same time allowing detailed focus on musical minutiae. One of the first things I picked up
on was the robustness and accuracy of the low-mids and bass frequencies – certainly in my room the low end extension was no problem on the deeper material I listened to, and although I might not benefit greatly from the partner A225-M sub, PSI’s ethos would suggest that such a combination would be helpful in larger spaces and, as they point out, protect the user’s investment with an upgrade path. Listening on, the fidelity of the
A25-M’s midrange and treble impressed itself on me: electric guitar- based music balances can be notably difficult to get right, and here the linearity of the system really came into its own, enabling an ease of EQ decision-making which helped keep a nice work speed and rhythm going – although I was getting similar results to those achieved with my usual monitors, I had the feeling that I was arriving there a little quicker. I also found dynamic elements such as compression very easy to hear: in my room at least the overall voicing of the PSIs appeared slightly forward of the very neutral response suggested by the figures, but I took no issue with this as I felt it enabled me to listen into the music that much better.
THE REVIEWER NIGEL PALMER has been a freelance sound engineer and producer for over 20 years. He runs his CD mastering business Lowland Maters (
www.lowlandmasters.com) from rural Essex where he lives with his family and two dogs.
with them that this is a monitor to be reckoned with on a number of levels, not least in pricing which significantly undercuts some of its immediate rivals. Although mastering, recording, and mixing require different listening skills, I could see the A25-M working very well in all those disciplines, and would unhesitatingly recommend it to anyone looking to purchase at this price point.
INFORMATION Feature set
• Tweeter unit handmade by PSI Audio
•Optimised directivity by phase coherency
• Amplifier unit acoustically uncoupled from speaker cabinet
• Designed for both stereo and multichannel monitoring
(UK) eMerging -
sales@emerginguk.com +44 (0)20 8941 6547
www.psiaudio.com
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