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

Name: PSB Alpha A/V Shielded Bookshelf Speakers — 6.5" Woofer, Canada
Brand: PSB
SKU: 17543
Price: 175.00 CAD
Availability: InStock

$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.

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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.

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📞 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. 👉

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