PSB Imagine C Center Speaker

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"Alluring Sonic Qualities"

The PSB Imagine C center channel speaker is a definitive music reproducer, both in multi-channel hi-fi and movie soundtrack playback. It uses the same superior drivers as the Imagine T tower loudspeaker in a dual-woofer, horizontal layout. The Imagine C will astound you with how it handles itself in a multi-channel environment, reproducing every last nuance of sound out of your movies or music.

"The Imagine T2's sound is beguilingly smooth and natural; and those alluring sonic qualities extend to the Imagine C center and Imagine S surrounds – and the SubSeries 300 – when they're brought together in one room," reports Darryl Wilkinson in his November 2012 review for Home Theater magazine. "Even though it's composed of six individual boxes, the system is absolutely superb at working together as seamlessly as if it were one big speaker – or, perhaps, no speaker at all."

"Every time I played a DVD or a Blu-ray disc, I got the feeling that this was how the disc was supposed to sound," marvels Butterworth in the December 2008 issue of Sound & Vision magazine. "The Imagine speakers' superb tonal accuracy and nearly perfect speaker-to-speaker match made hyperactive surround-sound mixes seem especially realistic."

The Imagine C boasts dual 5-1/4" clay/ceramic filled polypropylene cone with rubber surround and a 1" titanium dome tweeter with ferrofluid for outstanding full-frequency performance.

The dual-ported Imagine C is supplied with one port-cover per speaker, enabling a modest degree of system tuning to accommodate individual room acoustics, speaker setup or listener preference.

The PSB Imagine Series

The PSB Imagine is destined to become the standard of value among audio and home-theater fans who value real-world sonic performance. At the same time, the Imagine models challenge expectations of just how an affordable high-end loudspeaker can look, and of the quality standards to which they can be crafted.

With the Imagine series, PSB has taken the hard-won knowledge and technical accomplishments it achieved in the rigorous and costly three-year development process of flagship PSB Synchrony line to create four models of refreshingly affordable speakers that reach remarkable heights of performance.

All New, Purpose-Driven Drivers

An all-new family of purpose-designed drivers results in clear midrange presence, uncluttered bass, extended smooth highs, and high power handling. All four Imagine models share a common driver family, with an all-new, very high-output 5.25-inch woofer, and an impressively wide-band and ultra-accurate, titanium-dome 1-inch tweeter inspired by the amazing performance of the Synchrony high-frequency unit.

Ceramic-filled Polypropylene Woofers

The PSB Imagine woofers incorporate injection-molded diaphragms of a proprietary, ceramic-filled polypropylene that delivers a unique union of stiffness, inherent internal damping, and amazingly low mass. A highly efficient motor system’s unique compound magnet structure in essence 'forces' the driver into delivering higher sensitivity at declining frequencies, effectively extending response at no penalty in size or system efficiency.

The woofer’s molded-polycarbonate basket contributes ideal stiffness and aerodynamics as well as complete magnetic indifference, while its bullet-shaped aluminum phase-plug (a frank borrowing from the Synchrony design portfolio) enhances linearity at higher frequencies and measurably lowers distortion.

Highly Linear, Remarkably Efficient Tweeter

The Imagine tweeter, also common to all models, exploits an advanced, highly linear, and remarkably efficient neodymium-magnet design (again, Synchrony-derived). It helps to extend output at both frequency extremes for effortless, airy top octaves and smooth, uncolored response through the critical crossover region coupled with high power handling.

Compound-Curved Cabinets

'Cathedral' matched wood veneers and timbre-matched designs ensure the best in looks and sonics. Imagine includes a new method of cabinet construction combining the precision of computer-controlled machining with the irreplaceable touch of hand craftsmanship.

Compound-curved on every vertical face and heavily braced internally, each Imagine enclosure is impressively solid and acoustically inert. Their precisely radiused, unbroken baffles - a full 1.5-inches thick - and flush, fastener-less driver mounts promote singularly smooth, ripple-free high-frequency response and carefully calculated horizontal dispersion.

Advanced Crossover

Like nearly every PSB Speaker design, the Imagine networks employ fourth-order acoustic Linkwitz-Reilly crossover topology. It combines discrete drivers into cohesive acoustic entities with minimal impact in either amplitude domain (frequency-response) or that of time (phase-response).

Select Components and Careful Layout

Select components and careful layout maximize signal transfer and keep static and dynamic distortions well below meaningful limits. Heavy, all-metal multiway binding posts on all Imagine models accept bare wire (up to 10-gauge), lugs, banana plugs, open and closed spades, and enable bi-wiring or bi-amplifying.

The Imagine C has a recommended power of 20-150 watts, frequency response of 45–20,000 Hz, 90 dB sensitivity, and measures 20-1⁄2" wide, 7-1/2" high, and 13-5⁄8" deep.

• Dual port bass reflex design
• Tweeter: 1" Titanium Dome with Ferrofluid
• Woofers: Dual 5-1/4" clay/ceramic filled polypropylene cone with rubber surround
• Compound-curved cabinet design
• 1-1/2"-thick precisely radiused baffles
• Fourth-order acoustic Linkwitz-Reilly crossover
• Select components and careful layout
• Two sets of heavy, all-metal multi-way binding posts
• Speakers accept bi-wiring or bi-amplifying
• 'Cathedral' matched wood veneers

• Frequency Range: On Axis @ 0-degrees +/-1.5 dB, 45–20,000 Hz; On Axis @ 0-degrees +/-3 dB, 47–23,000 Hz; Off Axis @ 30-degrees +/-3 dB, 45–10,000 Hz
• Lf Cutoff: -10dB, 40 Hz
• Sensitivity, 1w (2.83V) @ 1m, IEC-filtered Pink Noise, C-weighted: Anechoic Chamber: 87 dB; Typical Listening Room: 90 dB
• Impedance: Nominal, 8 Ohms; Minimum, 4 Ohms
• Input Power: (RMS, Clipping < 10% of the Time): Recommended, 20–150 Watts; Program, 150 Watts
• Crossover 1,800 Hz, LR4
• Internal Volume Design Type: .54 cu ft (15.4 litres) Bass Reflex
• Dimensions: 20-1⁄2" wide, 7-1/2" high, 13-5⁄8" deep
• Weight: 28.6 lbs. each

"The Imagine T2 system is splendidly seductive. The graceful curves coyly play with your eyes without demanding constant attention. In the same way, the Imagine T2's sound is beguilingly smooth and natural; and those alluring sonic qualities extend to the Imagine C center and Imagine S surrounds – and the SubSeries 300 – when they're brought together in one room. Even though it's composed of six individual boxes, the system is absolutely superb at working together as seamlessly as if it were one big speaker – or, perhaps, no speaker at all."

- Darryl Wilkinson, Home Theater magazine, November 2012

"The Imagine speakers' slick design and studio-quality sound are sure to please..." reports Brent Butterworth in his December 2008 review of the Imagine series for Sound & Vision magazine. "I can't recall another speaker system of this size and configuration that I like so much."

"Every time I played a DVD or a Blu-ray disc, I got the feeling that this was how the disc was supposed to sound," marvels Butterworth in Sound & Vision magazine. "The Imagine speakers' superb tonal accuracy and nearly perfect speaker-to-speaker match made hyperactive surround-sound mixes seem especially realistic."

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