PSB Speakers Imagine Mini Bookshelf speakers

It is difficult being a Mini. You have to fight for your small position in life, because it's not so difficult for other bigger items to overshadow you.

Sometimes less is more, so when you are discussing hifi loudspeakers diminutive measurements can be an advantage. While little loudspeakers cannot transfer vast amounts of atmosphere, the air that they do move is less affected by cabinet resonances, because it is simpler to make a more rigid small carton. Then there's the proximity between mid/bass driver and the tweeter ; the closer the two are, the better the 'point source'. This makes for focus and exceptional stereo imaging, as you will be told by any double concentric loudspeaker fan.

Anticipate it to throw music into the room the likes of which you'd generally only hear in a concert, and to sound fast, tight and fun.

The Mini asks its 25 millimeter titanium dome tweeter to do a little more work than normal, as it crosses over at 2.2kHz. That is rather routine to get a larger two-way speaker layout, but for something of this size.

PSB has not scrimped on the cabinet, either. Coming in a choice - Dark Cherry, Walnut, High Gloss Black, Black Ash or High Gloss White - it finished to a high standard, and is extremely solidly built for a speaker of this size. A thunk that is satisfyingly dead is delivered by the usual knuckle rap test. The moulded back panel houses an individual set of a back bass reflex port and loudspeaker binding posts. Positioning is easy - two to three metres between one another, just a couple of centimetres in the rear wall, and slightly toed-in according to taste. The key trick is locating stands high enough to get their tweeters at ear-height; Atacama SE24s is used by us.

Sound quality

Starting off with some smooth ambient electronica courtesy of the Dusk, You and Me of Groove Armada, it rapidly becomes clear that this is a classy little loudspeaker. The music endeavors confidently out to the area, the boxes seeming to dissolve into thin air - really, it is remarkable just how big sounding a nicely-performed speaker that is small can be.

Tonally, there's no awareness of the bass as the Mini sounds astonishingly fulsome in the upper bass. In total terms, naturally, the bottom octave is missing, but the fullness of the equilibrium flatters to deceive. In another end, treble is crisp and surprisingly refined for a speaker of this price. For instance, the trumpet sound has a rasp that is realistic, and hi hats have satisfying shimmer.

Cue something more compact and much more frenetic up like Felt's Textile Ranch, as well as the PSBs keep themselves together. This track is packed jangling guitars, and can descend into a muddle on lesser loudspeakers, but the Mini dives into it with aplomb. The upper midband is smooth, without any horrible shrillness, along with the snare drums bite through the mixture cleanly. Things flow attractively, the PSBs proving well able to capture the music's beat as well as the subtle dynamic accenting that breathes life into the song.

Conclusion

For the price it is ideal for what many people need from a tiny speaker, although in absolute terms it is not the most clear or dynamic loudspeaker.

The Imagine Mini is a wonderful little box having a real charm if your is space-limited you will do nicely to give it an audition.