Sold out

Pair of PSB Alpha A/V bookshelf speakers in black ash with grilles on, front view, PSB badge at the bottom of each grille

PSB Alpha A/V bookshelf speakers angled to show the black ash vinyl cabinets and grille fronts

PSB Alpha A/V speaker pair from the side, showing cabinet depth and the black ash finish

Rear of the PSB Alpha A/V speakers showing the rear port and the binding-post terminals that accept banana plugs

PSB

PSB Alpha A/V Shielded Bookshelf Speakers — 6.5″ Woofer, Canada

$175.00

The final 6.5-inch version of the speaker that made PSB’s name — the 1998 Alpha A/V, with the upgraded tweeter, crossover and banana-plug terminals, and magnetic shielding so it can sit right beside a screen. Ninety decibels sensitive, so a modest receiver drives them well. Black ash, graded Very Good, bench-tested here. Pair.

Out of stock

Other bookshelf speakers in stock now

PSB Century 300i speakers with grilles off — 6.5-inch woofer and dome tweeter on each

$145.00

$110.00

PSB Image B15 Bookshelf Speakers — Black Ash | Made in Canada

$245.00

This one has sold. Want first dibs on the next one?

We take these in regularly. Leave your name and email, and we’ll email you the moment one is listed, so you hear first. No cost, no obligation.

How First Dibs works →

Whatever you end up with, it needs cable. Build a set to length →

Compare

Add to wishlist

Read the full listing and see all 4 photos ↓

Other bookshelf speakers we have in stock now

3 in stock · $110.00–$245.00 · all ship

PSB Century 300i Bookshelf Speakers – 6.5″ Woofer, Canada$145.00Ships

PSB Compact Bookshelf Speakers Intro LR$110.00Ships

PSB Image B15 Bookshelf Speakers — Black Ash | Made in Canada$245.00Ships

Custom-built Radique Audio speaker cables with gold-plated banana plug, spade, and pin connector terminations

Whatever you end up with, it needs cable.

We hand-build speaker cable to your exact length and terminate it however you like: banana, spade, pin or bare wire. Tell us the run and the ends, and it ships ready to plug in.

Build a set to length →

Description

PSB Alpha A/V — The Last 6.5-Inch Alpha, the Best Version of the Speaker That Made PSB’s Name

The last and most developed of the 6.5-inch PSB Alphas — the speaker that made a Canadian company’s reputation by embarrassing everything else at the price.

The Alpha Story

The story starts in 1992, when Paul Barton put a 6.5-inch woofer and a half-inch dome into a small reflex box and sold it for $199 a pair. Stereophile’s reviewer called it one of the best buys in audio and the industry took notice. In 1998 Barton went back and revised it properly: a more refined tweeter, an upgraded crossover, better terminals, and magnetic shielding on both drivers so the speaker could live next to a television. That revision is the Alpha A/V, and this is a pair of them.

The Last 6.5-Inch Alpha

What makes it the one to have is what came next. The Alpha B that replaced it dropped to a 5.25-inch woofer, and every Alpha since — the B1, the P5 — has stayed there. The A/V is the final version with the big cone, which means more air moved and a bottom end that reaches to 68 Hz from a cabinet of eleven litres. For a speaker this size that is not a rounding error, it is the difference between needing a subwoofer and not.

The 1998 Upgrades

The upgraded terminals from that 1998 revision are on the back of this pair, so they take banana plugs rather than the spring clips the original shipped with. Small thing, but it is the difference between connecting a decent cable properly and jamming bare wire into a plastic clip.

Easy to Drive

They are also easy to drive, which matters more than people expect at this end of the market. Ninety decibels of sensitivity into a six-ohm load that never drops below five means a modest receiver or a small integrated amplifier will do these justice — anything from ten watts up. Pair them with the vintage amplifier you already own rather than buying something to cope with them.

Shielded for Screens

And because both drivers are magnetically shielded, they will sit hard against a screen without complaint. The A/V suffix stands for exactly that: this was the version built for people running a stereo pair as the front channels of a home theatre, which is also why they turn up so often as a surround pair for someone building a system out of good used parts.

Condition

Cosmetically this pair is graded Very Good, in the black ash vinyl, showing the light marks a well-kept speaker of its age carries. Every speaker that comes through here is bench-tested in-house before it is listed.

The Alpha is the speaker that proved a budget loudspeaker did not have to sound like one, and the A/V is the best version of it.

Available for pickup in Kanata, or shipped across Canada and internationally — we have sent equipment to fifteen countries in the past year, each piece packed in-house in 275 lb test double-wall boxes. Live shipping rates for your address are calculated at checkout. Backed by Radique Audio’s Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty and our Perpetual Trade-Back Program. Available for audition by appointment in Kanata.

PSB Alpha A/V Specifications

Design: Two-way stand-mounted, reflex-loaded loudspeaker, magnetically shielded
Tweeter: 0.5 inch shielded plastic dome
Woofer: 6.5 inch magnetically shielded coated-fibre cone
Crossover frequency: 3 kHz
Frequency response: 68 Hz to 21 kHz, plus or minus 3 dB on axis; 68 Hz to 10 kHz at 30 degrees off axis
Sensitivity: 90 dB / 2.83V / 1m
Impedance: 6 ohms nominal, 5 ohms minimum
Recommended amplifier power: 10 to 80 watts
Cabinet volume: 0.39 cubic feet (11 litres)
Terminals: Binding posts, banana plug compatible
Finish: Black ash vinyl
Original retail: $249 USD per pair
Dimensions: (Height x Width x Depth) 12.75 x 7.75 x 9.75 inches (324 x 197 x 248 mm)
Weight: 11 lbs (5 kg) each

🔌 Speaker Cable, Built on Our Own Bench

The speaker terminals here take banana plugs — the quickest and tidiest connection there is, and the one you want if anything ever gets moved. We hand-build speaker cable here in any length you need on our Custom Speaker Cable Builder, terminated with our own gold-plated banana plugs. If you already have cable you are happy with, we sell the plugs on their own. 👉

✅ Buy With Confidence — The Radique Promise

Backed by Radique Audio’s Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty and our Perpetual Trade-Back Program. When you’re ready to move on, we’ll take it back. That’s the Radique difference.

📦 Watch how we protect your gear — our unboxing video.

📺 Curious about our business? Check out our YouTube channel for behind-the-scenes videos and more!

📞 Questions? Use the Ask a Question button above, or call us at 613-416-9995.

⭐ Don’t Just Take Our Word For It

Radique Audio holds over 600 customer ratings averaging 4.97 stars across six public platforms — Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji, Canuck Audio Mart, Google and others. Every rating lives somewhere we don’t control, so you can read the originals yourself, including the less flattering ones. See what our customers say. 👉

Additional information

Weight	24 lbs
Dimensions	13.75 × 21.5 × 16.75 in

About brand

PSB at Radique

We service PSB, too. Bring us your own PSB speakers and subwoofers, including Image tweeter replacements for repair, servicing or restoration (speakers up to 80 lbs each), with a 90-day warranty on the work. See our Audio Service page

PSB began in the summer of 1972 in St. Jacobs, Ontario, where Paul Barton and two high-school friends started building speakers. The name stands for Paul and Sue Barton. PSB says every speaker it makes is voiced in the National Research Council's anechoic chambers here in Ottawa. We carry PSB towers, bookshelf speakers, centre channels and subwoofers. We've had more than 440 PSB listings so far, covering nearly 90 different models, second only to our other big Canadian brand, Paradigm. Every used PSB here is inspected, tested and serviced as required, then photographed in-house and covered by our Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty and Perpetual Trade-Back Program. Don't see the model you want? Tell us on First Dibs and we'll email you when one arrives.

Our five best-selling PSB models so far: the Alpha Intro LR bookshelf speakers, the Image 8C centre, the Image 4T towers, the Alpha SubZero i subwoofer and the Alpha B bookshelf speakers.

The PSB story, 1972 to today

Paul Barton founded PSB in St. Jacobs, Ontario, in the summer of 1972 with two high-school friends, and named it for himself and Sue Barton, his high-school sweetheart and now his wife. PSB stayed in St. Jacobs for about its first eight years.

The Ottawa connection. In 1973 or 1974 (sources differ) PSB's Beta II caught the attention of Dr. Floyd Toole at the National Research Council in Ottawa, and Barton has used the NRC's Ottawa facilities since 1974. PSB says every speaker it makes is still voiced in the NRC's anechoic chambers.

Lenbrook and Stratus. The Lenbrook Group of Pickering, Ontario bought PSB in the mid-1980s (PSB's own timeline says 1985), and PSB is now based in Pickering. The Stratus series began in the late 1980s, and Stereophile first reviewed the Stratus Gold in 1991.

Alpha, Image and beyond. The budget Alpha launched in 1991, and more than 50,000 pairs had sold by 2000. The Image series replaced the Century series in 1999, the Platinum flagship followed in 2002, then Synchrony in 2007 and Imagine in 2008. PSB marked its 50th anniversary in 2022 with the Passif 50.

Which PSB is which?

Early models (1970s and 1980s): the Beta II, Avanté II, Passif II and Project B2, then the R series after the Lenbrook purchase.

Stratus (late 1980s to the 2000s): the upper line, including the Mini, Silver, Gold and Gold i. The Gold is a three-way with a 10" woofer.

Alpha (1991 to today): the entry line, including the Alpha A/V, Alpha B, Alpha B1 and later the Alpha P5. Our best-selling Alpha Intro LR and Alpha B come from this family.

Image (1999 to the 2010s): one step above Alpha. Our best-selling Image 8C centre and Image 4T towers come from this family.

Platinum (2002), Synchrony (2007) and Imagine (2008): the higher lines of the 2000s.

SubSeries and SubZero: PSB's powered subwoofers, such as the Alpha SubZero i we sell often.

Buying used PSB: what to check

Where it was made. Lines launched from about 2008 onward, such as Imagine and later Image and Alpha models, were made in China. Check the label before calling an older PSB "made in Canada"; spec sheets from the 1990s list only the Pickering address.

Amplifier load. The Stratus Gold and Gold i have a 4-ohm nominal impedance, and owners say Stratus models want an amplifier with plenty of current.

Image tweeters. On Image series speakers, check that every tweeter works and sounds as bright as its partner. A dim or dead tweeter is a frequent point of failure on that line. We sell a new Peerless 1" replacement tweeter that drops straight in (Image 1B, 2B, 4T, 5T, 8C, 10S and more) and is more robust than the original, and we can install it while you wait.

Drivers. Owners report occasional woofer failures on older towers. Listen to each driver on its own.

Surrounds. Many PSB woofers, such as the Platinum T8's, use rubber surrounds rather than foam, but press gently on any woofer surround to check it.

Everything we list is inspected, tested and serviced as required here, and comes with our warranty.