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PSB Avante speaker pair with grilles off, wood veneer cabinets, square-plated tweeters, black woofers and a round port under each, on a tiled floor

PSB Avante speakers angled with grilles removed, showing the wood veneer side panels, tweeter and woofer layout and the PSB badge on each baffle

PSB Avante speakers seen from above with grilles on, showing the wood-grain cabinet tops and full-height black cloth grilles

Rear panels of the PSB Avante speakers, black backs with spring-clip speaker terminals in round cups above the PSB Speakers Inc model labels

PSB

PSB Avante Bookshelf Speakers, Pair – Vintage, Made in Canada

Name: PSB Avante Bookshelf Speakers, Pair – Vintage, Made in Canada
Brand: PSB
SKU: 19847
Price: 195.00 CAD
Availability: OutOfStock

$195.00

A vintage pair of PSB Avante two-way speakers in walnut, from the early years of one of Canada's best-known speaker makers, with 8-inch woofers, fully tested on our bench and still sounding great.

✔️ Fair cosmetics, great sound — the details are below
✔️ 8-inch woofer and 1-inch dome tweeter in a front-ported cabinet
✔️ Early PSB, made in Canada
✔️ Covered by Radique Warranty
✔️ Includes Perpetual Trade-Back Program eligibility
✔️ Expertly packed for safe shipping

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

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

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$110.00

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

PSB Compact Bookshelf Speakers Intro LR$110.00Ships

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.

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Description

A vintage pair of PSB Avante two-way speakers in walnut, from the early years of one of Canada’s best-known speaker makers, with 8-inch woofers, fully tested on our bench and still sounding great.

What it is

Paul Barton founded PSB in 1972, and the Avante goes back almost to the beginning. PSB’s own timeline dates the Avanté II to 1974 and names it the first PSB speaker to incorporate the early findings of Barton’s listening experiments at Canada’s National Research Council. PSB’s literature called the Avante the most popular model in its line, and listed the CBC, Ottawa’s National Arts Centre, broadcasters, recording studios and the National Research Council itself among its professional users.

It is a two-way design in a tuned, front-ported cabinet. An 8-inch long-throw woofer, with a laminated compressed-fibre cone and a 1-inch aluminum voice coil for power handling, hands over at 1,500 Hz to a 1-inch textile dome tweeter chosen for wide dispersion. The crossover is a second-order Butterworth design built with air-core inductors. PSB rated the Avante at 87.5 dB and 8 ohms, for amplifiers from 15 to 150 watts, with in-room response down to 38 Hz: real bass from a bookshelf cabinet, thanks to that 8-inch woofer.

Around the back, spring-clip terminals in a recessed cup take bare wire or pin connectors. Our own Radique Audio pin connectors are the natural match for a neat, secure fit, and our Custom Speaker Cable Builder will make you a pair to the exact length, terminated and ready to connect.

The service it has had

Fully tested on our bench before listing.

Condition

Fair overall. The front baffles and drivers are in good condition. The cabinets are fair, with some rough surfaces on the finish, but no large chips or cracks. They still sound great, and they are priced for their cosmetics rather than their sound.

Canadian hi-fi history with an 8-inch woofer, and a sound that has aged far better than the finish.

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 Avante Specifications

Type: two-way bookshelf speakers, tuned front-ported cabinet, sold as a pair
Service: fully tested on our bench
Woofer: 8″ (200 mm) long-throw laminated compressed-fibre cone, 1″ aluminum voice coil
Tweeter: 1″ (25 mm) wide-dispersion treated textile dome
Crossover: 1,500 Hz, second-order Butterworth (12 dB/octave), air-core inductors
Frequency response: 38 Hz to 21 kHz in room; 70 Hz to 20 kHz ±2 dB anechoic
Sensitivity: 87.5 dB (1 W / 1 m)
Nominal impedance: 8 ohms
Recommended amplifier power: 15 to 150 watts RMS; power handling 100 watts program
Terminals: spring clips, for bare wire or pin connectors
Finish: walnut, with black cloth grilles
Made in Canada
Dimensions: (Width x Height x Depth) 11.5 x 22.25 x 10.5 inches (292 x 565 x 267 mm), each
Weight: approx. 28 lbs (12.75 kg) each

🔌 Speaker Cable and the Right Connector

The speaker terminals here are spring clips rather than binding posts, so banana plugs and spades will not fit — our own gold-plated pin connectors are the right answer, and they make connecting and disconnecting far easier than stripping bare wire every time. We also hand-build speaker cable here in any length you need, terminated to suit, on our Custom Speaker Cable Builder. 👉

✅ 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.

Additional information

Weight	58 lbs
Dimensions	27 × 15.5 × 26.25 in
Impedance	8 Ω
Power Handling	101–200 W
Sensitivity	86–89 dB
Woofer Size	8″

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.