PSB G-Design GB1

By Matthew Masters

April 2008

PSB G-Design GB1 loudspeakers $1499


PSB GB1

With and without grilles

Llama antibodies. To be quite honest, they’re not words I ever expected to use in a review for AudioEnz (well, not in combination, anyway). Yet use them I must.

Llamas, it seems, have a very unusual immune system, with a unique type of antibody that can actually be used to treat cancer. Just ask the people at Canada’s National Research Council, who have been researching llama antibodies for years.

That, of course, is the main purpose behind national research institutes. High-minded stuff like cancer research, obscure scientific enquiry seeking answers to big questions. And usually, weapons too. But not Canada, oh no. You see, the Canadians like to research things far more useful for the betterment of mankind. Things like the PSB G-Design loudspeaker range, the product of a 30-year working relationship between Canada’s National Research Council and Canadian manufacturer PSB.

Discovering PSB’s GB1

On first sight, the GB1s seem obviously to be the product of some secret government research. Very black and very shiny, with a laboratory white, glass-fibre bass driver and aluminium dome tweeter. There even appears to be a nuclear-grade blast cover on the front, though I realised later that it was just the sturdiest grille I’d ever seen.

Miniaturisation, it seems, is not an NRC strongpoint. The GB-1s are substantial for stand-mount speakers, measuring 410mm high by 218mm wide and 291mm deep. They’re heavy too, at about 9kg each. Not that this is necessarily bad. The size bodes well for bass response and the weight suggests decent build quality, however fragile that shiny black finish seems.

First experiments

Rated at between 86 and 88 dB, the PSBs aren’t exactly sensitive, and with an impedance of 6 ohms, this suggests a moderately tricky load. Connecting them up to my Rega Mira 3 amplifier (rated at 60 rather feeble watts) seemed to be pushing things but worth a try.

Alas the results weren’t encouraging. There was sound, yes, but not so much music. Bass, treble and mid range were all present and correct, but everything seemed a bit restrained. Dynamics were dulled and everything lacked drive.

Spinning up the 30th anniversary vinyl re-release of Never Mind the Bollocks and Steve Jones’ iconic guitar intro to Pretty Vacant lived up to its name, at least where excitement was concerned.

It was much the same story with everything I tried. Bach became background music, the Police were less than arresting and Black Sabbath a bit grey. Even removing the blast-door strength grilles didn’t help much (a bit, but not enough).

Further research

By one of those fortunate accidents of scientific endeavour (the kind that led to the discovery of penicillin, for example, though possibly less momentous), I had put the PSBs away for a week or so before continuing my listening. Not expecting much, I didn’t want to move my own speakers again, so placed the PSBs 40cm or so closer together and a similar distance further forward than before.

The difference was, frankly, astonishing. A bit of free space and the not so little Canadians’ performance became as glossy as their finish.

Almost all of the excitement and music that had been missing began to come back.

Getting back to the Pistols and their unapologetically un-remastered re-release, things started to fall into place again. Johnny Rotten’s biting vocals cut cleanly through the mass of guitar overdubs on Anarchy in the UK and the PSBs resolved every last part of what can be a thick, midrange mess. Where the sound had been imprecise and indifferent it was now driving and detailed. This is not to say that the PSBs are harsh or top-biased. Bass response is impressive for a (relatively) small speaker, in extension and particularly articulacy.

Detail analysis

Shifting gear quite considerably, I turned to Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black (appropriately enough for the GB1’s finish) and the standout Tears Dry on Their Own. Once again, the PSBs showed their deft handling of busy arrangements, with the subtly replicated Motown sound providing solid underpinnings for Amy Winehouse’s gruff but decidedly hard-edged vocals. Even though the feeling was of a complete track rather than a collection of parts, there was still room for the brass section to shine through convincingly.

In fact, the more I listened, the more I realised that horns are very much where it’s at with the PSBs. AL Wilson’s 1968 hit The Snake has a multi-layered brass section and typically late 60s stereo mix with drums and brass leaping from channel to channel. With the PSBs the sax and trumpet sections are simply gorgeous, biting yet gutsy, with tight definition of the harmonics at both ends of the frequency spectrum. Even the dodgy stereo mix isn’t enough to throw the GB1s off the rhythmic track.

Research proves speakers better than llamas

If the idea of government research sends a shiver down your privatised spine, fear not the PSB GB1s are worthy of serious attention. They’re curious, for sure; I’ve never come across a speaker quite so sensitive to positioning. Give them plenty of free space though and they’ll produce the sort of music you won’t want to keep secret. You can’t say that about a llama.

For your nearest PSB dealer

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