Are the PS Audio FR5 Audiophile Speakers a KNOCK OUT for home audio? #vlog

in this video I unbox and give my first impressions of the NEW PS Audio FR5 Audiophile Loudspeakers in comparison to my reference MonAcoustic Platimons loudspeakers.

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#hifi #audiophile #homeaudio

[Jayiyagi]

*hey guys, really excited for this one. This one was filmed in real time so my thoughts may come across less organized. Remember that this is not the full review, and ALSO I wanted to compare it to the Alta Alyssa loudspeakers which are my reference and "best" at the $4500-6000 price point but I currently do not have it on hand. That comparison will come sooner or later*


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[swd]

I love that you cut the BS and share the list of your favorite speakers in each price category. We hear about so many amazing products, but this list cuts through all of the hype and gives us just one selection per price range. Awesome. Your taste is probably different than mine, so this is not the final word for everyone. Still, this is very refreshing and honest approach.

[bjoernarberg]

Ordered these in white, will be delivered tomorrow. Will be driven by Hegel H390.

[thornwithin]

I'm glad you are looking into more PS Audio products. I've recently bought an amp from them and it is wonderful. Looking forward to this review!

[CashGravel]

They look gorgeous and that deep base output is incredibly impressive for its size. Paul sells high-end gear and the low sensitivity won’t be a problem for his intended buyers I would assume. I’m sure in a small or medium size room. Those things are absolutely killer with the right gear.

[NosEL]

Look forward to your follow up review/video. From personal experience i find it to be different with each speaker but I do believe it burn in with speakers. Especially the woofer/driver..& more so if the driver has a large excursion radius. With the quality of this driver I bet a couple hundred hours will bring more detail & nuance. I'm thinking of ordering these.

[davidrivera]

Thanks Jay for bringing us one of the few reviews on the FR series of speakers. The PS audio house sound that is known to be warm with decent amount of detail delivery, but not necessarily great pinpoint imaging is very appealing to a lot of audiophiles that are into jazz and classical music. I'm 64, but way past the warm, cozy, rolled off sound of many speakers. Great detail delivery with fantastic imaging and holographic soundstage it's my thing. As such metal drivers (aluminum, magnesium, beryllium) are a must for me, specially if they are a concentric (Tweeter/Midrange) design. Those who complain about brightness/harshness of speakers like the Platimons/KEF R meta series/Paradigm Persona line don't understand that curating components that have great synergy with speakers is essential. Speakers that appeal to a mass audience tend to match well to a lot of components, but don't excel in imaging, transparency, and micro detail delivery. Thank again Jay.

[DrNoahBoddy]

Excellent reporting, Jay! Thank you for providing the IMPORTANT DETAILS folks are more interested in finding out.🌹

[johntucker]

Thanks Jay! As a side observation, I think as you get older and more experienced your approach and attention to nuances has only improved. When you do your full review of the PS Audio FR5, I would am interested in similarly priced comparisons ($1000 either way), your thoughts re the FR5's vertical dispersion with that ribbon tweeter vs other speakers in that price range, and just an overall view on which speakers comparatively give you the most fun experience.

[abxaudiophiles]

AWESOME run down Jay!! Keep us posted buddy...

[scottriedesel]

Im excited you like these speakers, in the past you havent been a big fan of PS Audio electronics. Keep up your reviews. 👏.

[richh]

Thanks Jay. I have been looking forward to your listening to the new PS Audio's...

[matytinman]

From what I read in the specifications, I guess the woofer needs many hours of running-in given the low sensitivity of the speaker and because they say the woofer has LOW distortion -> MAYBE the suspension is very rigid and needs many hours of operation to sound better at lower volumes.

Enclosure Type Passive radiator (one 6x9” oval rear-firing)
High Frequency Transducer 2.5” planar magnetic with Teonex diaphragm
Low Frequency Transducer 1 x 6.5” woofers, cast frame, Curv woven polypropylene, advanced magnet structure
Crossover Frequency 1750 Hz - Linkwitz-Riley 6th order acoustic

Sensitivity (2.83V @ 1M) 83.5 dB 👈
Nominal Impedance 6 ohm (5.6 ohm minimum impedance)

Recommended Amplifier Power 50-150W
Frequency Response 35 Hz-20 khz (-6dB) half space, 30 Hz (-6 dB) in-room

- Greetings from Tarragona (Spain/EU) -

[edzak]

The woofer material resembles the SEAS woven polypropylene cone material used in Ascend Acoustics Sierra-2 series.

[peddie]

Super interesting! Not boring at all, the opposite. I really look forward to the full review. Will this speaker be good for a bigger room without sidewalls within 10 feet from the speakers?

[maxpower-]

I also thought the PS Audio room at Axpona was a home run. A demo at a trade show that really sounded great!! I heard the FR 10s and couldnt believe there was no subwoofer.

[Tsxtasy]

any idea when the full review is coming?!?

[liamporter]

FR5 vs PlatiMon, which is better? Looking forward to seeing your detail review.

[johndough]

Jay.. Any speaker that uses a Passive Radiator... is going to react like this. The more power you give them... the more "EXCITED" the passives will become... as they are driven merely by the movement of the woofer itself (via air pressure). Phillips made a special passive radiator speaker + mini system, called the "WOOX". On the Philips mini-stereo, there is an actual Toggle button, to boost (EQ) the Bass frequencies. You would toggle this EQ mode, if you wanted thumpier bass, at lower volume levels...

One thing to note about Passive Radiators / Sealed speaker designs... is that their Bass is far more "Musically Accurate". These types of speaker designs will sound much more NATURAL, compared to ported speakers. Where as Ported speakers... their bass can sound very "Droning" and "Artificial". Ported speaker designs, often have an Opposing problem. They should OK at lower volume levels... but when you push them to higher volume levels... the artificial sounding bass, becomes very apparent. In addition, you also might experience Port Chuffing, and other port related Distortions.

Ported designs can also come in different variations. Smaller circular ports, tend to be "Tuned" to creating a certain bass "Frequency". In a way, it acts similar to a wind instrument (like a flute / tuba). When air passes through it... it makes a certain bass tone / sound. However, that sound is always the same exact frequency... and as such, is why it sounds "Droning" (repeated over and over again), and why the bass altogether, sounds Artificial (As the alteration to the bass frequencies.. is no longer accurate to the Original Recorded sounds).

As far as Power goes... Any decent Sealed speaker will tend to require much more Power to drive them. This is partially because of the increased air pressures, internally. In order to deal with the increased air pressures.. you will need to make woofers that have much stronger magnets, and even potentially stronger voice coils, too. This is actually a GREAT thing... because, the stronger the magnetics... the most CONE CONTROL that you will have. This will result in MUCH faster cone ACCELERATION speeds, as well as much more accurate cone movements. This will result in FAR less potentials for "Micro-Distortions" to occur.

Such "micro-distortions" in most speakers... might not be heard... However... when you are playing some very dynamic / complex music... a speaker that has superior cone control, will be able to maintain each represented instrument, and vocal, as being "Separate", and Detailed. Where as speakers that lack good cone control... the micro-distortions will cause some slight Muddying of the sounds. Instruments and vocals might partially blend into each other... and you will notice that the instruments and vocals will both sound less detailed. They will lose their "Separation".

In one piece of music that I was listening too... there was a spot in the song where I could not really make out the singers lyrics. When I upgraded to an Audiophile grade, Sealed Speaker... I was finally able to understand the singers lyrics, word for word... without any strain at all. The backing music, was also superior in details. Both retained perfect separation. I had never experienced this before, in Any of the speakers, nor headphones, that I had owned in the past. Also, I was very familiar with this track... as I had been listening to it, all of my life. This was the first time, that I had experienced it in a completely different way (On my recently purchased, re-foamed, 1970s era EPI 100v Speakers).

Anyway... A lot of Audiophiles seem to turn their noses up, to the use of an EQ (yet, hypocritically often seek out expensive amps, that "Color" the sound! ). But again.. here is the deal... a small bit of EQ in the bass frequencies, can dramatically bump up these speakers Bass levels, even when played at lower volume levels.

Also, I personally found that I could push my own sealed speakers, to an almost Club-Like level of Thump.. with some of the most Incredible levels of Dynamics.. with a little software EQ tweaking (I still have to set up a hardware EQ in the loop, that I recently acquired). Most of my audio comes directly from my PC... and is fed into my 32 year old, Pioneer 5.1 Surround Sound amp. The thing has been Flawless since when I purchased it, at the age of 17 (Im now 51 yrs old). Back then... I bought it, along with a Laserdisc player.. and was experiencing DVD quality movies (my first laserdisc was Terminator 2) at a time when DVDs were not even close to existing... and surround sound systems, were still quite a rarity. Over the decades, the quality of companies like Pioneer, drastically dropped... so I probably would never recommend a newer model amp by them. That said, the older amps tend to be superior anyway... due to the new models using non-leaded solider. The solider replacement, doesnt flow as well... and tends to cause poor soldier joints, as well as metal micro-hairs... that eventually cause Shorts on the circuit-boards / electronics. This is why many brand new electronics, can be non-functional, right out of the boxes. And why many modern electronics, often fail within less than a 3 years period of time.

[jaybowen]

Thanks for early first impressions. Since you compared it to the level up (Platimons) will you compare to level below (Buchardt MKII)? I am always interested in the low volume sound levels that many do not comment on. Can't await for deeper review.