Powerful Pedigree for New PSB Sub

PSB Speakers’ latest subwoofer boasts a customised power amplifier designed by sister company NAD Electronics.

The SubSeries 300 is the first in a new line of subwoofer designs to be powered by NAD’s sophisticated, high efficiency amplifier.

It also has trickle-down technology from PSB’s award-winning SubSeries 500 flagship, including the company’s exclusive “smart bass” limiting circuit, to offer what distributor Audio Products Group claims is “a winning combination of power, high impact bass, and musicality”.

The NAD amplifier produces 850 watts of peak dynamic power, 425 watts of dynamic power, and 300 watts of continuous power (at <0.08% THD).

The high power Class D discrete MOSFET amplifier output stage is 90% efficient, requiring less energy to produce more power.

PSB engineers also redesigned the power supply in order to reduce standby power consumption to a low <0.5 watts.

The SubSeries 300’s small cabinet houses a highly optimised 12-inch woofer with polypropylene cone, butyl rubber surround, high power 50mm voice coil, and enormous 50oz magnet.

The Audio Products Group release says a 75mm diameter internally and externally radiussed down-firing port makes port noise “nearly non-existent”.

PSB engineers employed FEA (finite element analysis) software and Klippel’s sophisticated Distortion Analyzer System to minimise distortion when designing the SubSeries 300’s woofer.

The SubSeries 300 inherits technology from the SubSeries 500 (which won the EISA Award for best European HT Subwoofer 2010-2011) by incorporating the latest implementation of PSB’s proprietary “smart bass” limiting circuitry.

“Smart bass” prevents audible overload even playing the most demanding music and film soundtracks, so the SubSeries 300 can deliver “consistently clean and accurate musicality even when overdriven”.

Concludes the release: “Through many years of experience and analysis in subwoofer design, the SubSeries 300 offers flat frequency response, full bass extension, low distortion, and high output.

“It is clear upon listening to the SubSeries 300 that PSB engineers placed musicality at the top of their priority list.”

Key features of the SubSeries 300, which will go on sale here in a few months for $1,739, are:

•            Powerful NAD Class D discrete MOSFET amplifier.

•            Capable of 850W of peak dynamic power, 300 Wrms continuous power, and 425 Wrms dynamic power at <0.08% THD.

•            90% efficient output stage results in higher power with less energy.

•            Ultra-low, energy saving <0.5W standby power consumption.

•            FEA and Klippel optimised woofer reduces harmonic distortion.

•            High power handling 50mm voice coil to minimise thermal compression.

•            Massive 50oz magnet for greater woofer sensitivity and damping.

•            Easily accessible front-mounted control and convenient bi-colour status indicator.

•            Stereo Low Level and LFE input and outputs for simple connection to source equipment.