PSB Speakers VS300, VS400

VII. SETUP

Response Adjustment Switches

We at PSB have spent great effort to make the frequency response of your in-wall

system as flat and neutral as possible. This will yield accurate and pleasurable re-

creation of all manor of input materials: music, voice or movie soundtrack. Still,

variations in the listening position, room acoustics and listener preferences can be

accommodated using a few well chosen controls.

One of the most unique features of the VS300 is its correction for on-wall mounting.

The walls of your room and the proximity of the system to these walls will have an

effect on overall bass level as described above. With a bracket mounted on wall

VS300 there is also a very specific phenomenon stemming from wall mounting that

all on-wall speakers would share. Only the VS300 has a control to give a precise

correction of this effect.

An on-wall speaker radiates sound in all directions. The sound traveling forward is

the first to arrive at your ears. This “direct arrival” sound is similar to the anechoic

chamber response and getting it flat was one of the criteria of designing the VS300.

Sound travels backwards as well. That component of the sound will bounce off the

wall behind and then carry forward to arrive at your ears about 1 millisecond behind

the direct sound. The main impact of this delayed arrival is to put a significant

response “hole” in the sound of your system at 500Hz, or dead center in the human

voice range. This would disembody or thin out the sound of voices. A very

significant amount of extra crossover network is added to the VS300, along with a

switch, to compensate for this phenomenon. When the VS300 is wall mounted the

switch should be set to the “on wall” position per the graphic on the rear label. DO

NOT set the switch to “on wall” for any other mounting conditions such as stand

mounting or table top mounting with the optional bases. Even if such mounting puts

the system somewhat near to a wall it will degrade the response for any mounting

conditions other than the on-wall case.

The VS400 has its own unique response adjustment control. As it is a stand mounted

system and will never be mounted in contact with a wall like the VS300, there is no

need for on-wall compensation. But we feel that varying room acoustics and

personal preference, as well as other system factors, will give rise to a need for

subtle response adjustments that balance the bass end vs. the treble end of the

audible range.

To deal with this we have given the VS400 a control for “Spectral Tilt”. This is a subtle

but effective 3 position control that gives the full audio spectrum a gradual uphill

slope toward the treble (Spectral Tilt +) or a gradual downhill slope (Spectral Tilt-) as

well as a flat or 0 position. Using the bass end as a hinge point the control tilts the

response about 2dB in total (+ or-) to give a subtle yet effective means of

“brightening” or “darkening” the overall balance. Although the anechoic chamber

response would be flat in the Spectral Tilt 0 position, don’t be afraid to try the

alternate positions on a variety of program material and leave it on the setting that

sounds best to you.

Our goal is to provide listeners with completely convincing, "being there"

performance. Final judgments on the quality of the sound output are of course

personal. We encourage listening to the speakers with clear and familiar recordings