Please, does anyone know anything about the PSB - Vision Sound VS400 - Tower Speakers ? I intend to use them in a stereo setup, with or without a sub. I have strong "spousal constraints" and I need to look for some small profile speakers.
These ones are on sale at Audio Advisor and caught my eye.
Do you know of any better alternatives in the below $1500 zone?

Thank you very much

I haven't heard the PSB speakers, Alexandru, but your question about possible better alternatives below $1500 prompts me to ask if you and/or your spouse have looked at or heard Magneplanar speakers. There are two models in your price range, the MMG - which you can try out at home for 60 days free (except for the freight to return it if you don't like it) and the MG12. Both of them got what I call a "walks-on-water" review in the December 07 Absolute Sound. The MMG at $550 would allow you to get a pretty good subwoofer and still stay well under your $$ ceiling.
Possible problems: amp power (Maggies like a lot of current) and placement (at least two feet needed behind them and preferably more). But if I were in your shoes I'd sure take some of my favorite recordings to a Magneplanar dealer, or audition the MMGs at home. That's how they made a believer out of me and I'll bet the same goes for some of you reading this.

One more point, Alexandru: you can only hear the $550 MMGs via home audition. Dealers carry the $1099 MG12. Happy listening, whatever speakers you end up with.

Thank you very much for your advice, psyprof1, I'll give them a spin.
In my setup, the listener will be facing a corner, the two adjacent walls will be the catheti and the maggies will have their radiading planes along the hypothenuse.
Thus each maggie will be placed at a roughly 45 degrees angle against the neigboring wall. This means that the reflected waves will meet bethween the speakers, most probably a bad thing, albeit intersecting at an angle and not frontally...
I have pretty harsh placement conditions but I suspect all I could lose will be the fare for shipping them back.
I agree, for their price they will leave room for a good sub.
But, if my memory serves me well, you are using your maggies without a sub, as I remember me mentioning the Sunfire sub to you on this forum.

Happy listening to you too.

A speaker I was quite impressed with for there size , are the Monitor Audio " Radius " line. The WAF is aided by 5 different finishes for these speakers. There subs are not to my taste though though.

psyprof1, are the MMGs, in your opinion, presenting a tiny sweet spot like some reviewers complain? Some of them say that if you move your head by mere inches the sweet spot is gone. Same if you just listen while standing. Are the MMGs candidates for the "head-in-a-wise" syndrome? I'm not the type to sit pinned in a chair and listen no matter how rewarding the sound and/or soundstage.
Some reviewers, on the other hand, report listening with the family, which is indicative of a wider sweet spot, or a situation when outside the bull's eye the sound is still beautiful, albeit slightly worse.
What's you experience from this standpoint?

I'll order a pair in the second half of the month, when I return from vacation, but I'd like, with your permission, of course, to find out as much as possible, in advance, from a trusty MMG owner.

Thank you,

I have a somewhat different suggestion. How about looking for a pair of used B&W speakers, either the CDM7NTs or the later 704s, which are not really big and produce great sound. The CDM7NTs were about $1800 new and you probably can get them used for 1/2 that. The 704s were a little over $2000 new, also available at about 1/2. Look on Audiogon and eBay for someone not to far from you. If you watch for a few weeks you will find a good deal.

Thanks Bob, looks like a good way to go as well.

Alexandru Mihaita,
Check out a box-shelf/sub combination.
The B&W's 600 series - 685 have a sweet sound - actually have seen it confused for Martin and logans. Meaning - the 2 channel setup was temporally next to small M&L setup. i was listening to the B&W's and several other customers thought i was listening to the M&L. The B&W image really well, sound good, look good and would ease the wife approval side.
BTW, I was listening to jazz, blues and classical music.

They where/are ~$600 USD. The left over $ could be used for a sub.

this is just a thought - there would be other box shelf that would work....
Later