PSB 50 MkII Bookshelf Speakers, Black Ash, Made in Canada
$345.00
Out of stock
Email when stock available
PSB 50 MkII Bookshelf Speakers, Black Ash, Made in Canada
The PSB 50 MkII is a classic Canadian-made large-format bookshelf loudspeaker from Paul Barton’s PSB Speakers, engineered in collaboration with Canada’s National Research Council and delivering full-range, neutral sound that still stands up impressively against modern designs.
Developed during PSB’s golden era of NRC-informed acoustic research, the 50 MkII benefits from the same measurement and listening methodology that earned PSB an international reputation for honest, uncolored sound. The rear-ported two-way design uses an 8-inch polypropylene cone woofer in a cast basket with rubber surrounds for tight, well-controlled bass extension down to 35 Hz, paired with a 1-inch Vifa textile dome tweeter for smooth, detailed highs with minimal listening fatigue. A sophisticated third-order acoustic Butterworth crossover at 2,000 Hz with high-voltage capacitors ensures clean driver integration and coherent presentation across the full frequency range. With 90 dB sensitivity and robust 125W RMS power handling, these speakers work well with a wide variety of amplifiers from modest vintage receivers to more powerful modern integrated amplifiers.
The cabinets are finished in black ash vinyl and present in very good cosmetic condition, reflecting careful ownership over the years. Internally, extensive bracing minimizes cabinet resonance, keeping the sound honest and free of the cabinet colorations that plague less carefully designed enclosures. Gold-plated binding posts accept a variety of cable terminations and ensure reliable long-term connection quality. These are substantial, full-range speakers that fill a room with authority while remaining genuinely musical and detailed at moderate listening levels — a combination that made the PSB 50 series a perennial favourite among Canadian audiophiles and music lovers.
2-way bass-reflex large bookshelf loudspeaker pair (rear-ported)
Made in Canada, engineered with Canada’s National Research Council
8-inch (200mm) polypropylene cone woofer, cast basket, rubber surrounds
1-inch (25mm) Vifa textile dome tweeter (D26TF-06)
Frequency response: 35 Hz – 21 kHz
Sensitivity: 90 dB (2.83V/1m)
Power handling: 125W RMS, 150W peak
Impedance: 8 ohms nominal
Crossover: 2,000 Hz, third-order acoustic Butterworth (18 dB/octave) with high-voltage capacitors
Black ash vinyl finish
Heavily braced MDF cabinet construction
Gold-plated binding posts
Very good cosmetic condition, fully tested
Dimensions (Width x Height x Depth): 11 x 25 x 13 inches (279 x 635 x 330 mm) per speaker
Weight: 30 lbs (13.6 kg) per speaker
This Canadian-made pair of PSB 50 MkII speakers offers serious full-range performance, genuine NRC-informed acoustic engineering, and the kind of honest, musical presentation that Paul Barton’s designs have always been known for, all wrapped in a classic black ash finish that suits any room and system. For listeners seeking a large, capable Canadian bookshelf speaker with real bass authority and smooth, detailed highs, the 50 MkII remains a compelling and enduring choice.
Backed by Radique Audio’s 90-day Bumper to Bumper Warranty and our Perpetual Trade-Back Policy, you can purchase with confidence; asking $345.
| Weight | 65 lbs |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 17 × 28 × 29 in |
Related Products
Polk Audio RTi6 Bookshelf Speakers – Real Wood, Bi-Wireable
JBL 62T Bookshelf Speakers – Rosewood Finish, Titanium Dome
Discounted for the aftermarket screw holes a previous owner left in the back panels, and very good everywhere else — original drivers, clean rosewood finish, both tested here. A mid-1980s two-way with a pure titanium tweeter that runs out to 23 kHz, and an easy 89 dB load that a thirty-watt vintage receiver drives properly.
Mission 731 Bookshelf — Made in England, Inverted Driver Design
Two things to tell you: a ding on the top side edge of one cabinet, and third-party binding posts a previous owner fitted to one speaker. Otherwise good — and the design is the interesting part, since Mission's inverted geometry puts the tweeter below the woofer to bring the two into step at seated ear height. Made in England.
Bowers & Wilkins WM2 Outdoor Speakers, Pearl White, w/ Brackets
On an outdoor speaker the condition is the whole story — these are almost never retired for how they sound, but for sun turning a white cabinet chalky and yellow, freeze-thaw working at the seams, and grilles blooming with rust. Pearl White shows all of it more plainly than black would, and this pair grades Very Good, factory wall brackets included. B&W did not design a weatherproof box and then find a driver to fit it either: a 130 mm woven fibreglass cone crossed at 3.5 kHz to a 25 mm dome, the same material philosophy as their indoor speakers.
Castle Knight 1 Bookshelf Speakers — Real Wood Cherry, Pair
From a Yorkshire company that spent forty years being known for its cabinets above all else. The cherry veneer is deep-figured real timber, book-matched across the two cabinets so the grain mirrors when they are set up together, then sealed and waxed by hand over more than five days. Underneath is an honest two-way bass-reflex with a 130 mm woven natural-fibre bass/mid driver and five-way binding posts. Very Good condition.
PSB Alpha A/V Shielded Bookshelf Speakers — 6.5″ Woofer, Canada
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.
Paradigm Monitor 3 v3 Bookshelf Speakers – 8″ Woofer, Canada
An 8-inch woofer in a cabinet small enough to sit on a stand — a 210 mm ICP cone on a die-cast chassis, with a third-generation titanium dome on the Studio-series waveguide faceplate, crossed at 2.0 kHz. Low frequency extension to 38 Hz and 91 dB room sensitivity, so 15 watts drives them and 150 is just headroom. Built in Canada, in Black Ash. Very good condition.
PSB Century 300i Bookshelf Speakers – 6.5″ Woofer, Canada
MartinLogan Motion 15 Bookshelf Speakers – Folded Motion, Boxed
The reason to want these is the tweeter — MartinLogan's Folded Motion driver is a pleated ribbon rather than a dome, so it squeezes air out from between its pleats and barely has to move. A 5.25-inch aluminium cone below it, 92 dB sensitivity, and the high-gloss black clean of the swirls these show so readily. Original boxes included.
