Design Acoustics PS-3, Micro-Monitor System

[Charivari]

In response to the request made by Paul (thedelihaus) here, I'll attempt to find the time to take pictures and post brief reviews of some of my speakers.

First off is the Design Acoustics PS-3 Micro-Monitor System. This is your basic subwoofer satellite combination that was a less costly descendant of the DA-30 system that helped launch the sub/sat system concept in the early 1980s. The build quality is typical of the post Audio-Technica buyout Design Acoustics with cabinets constructed of ~1/2" fine particle board (not quite MDF, but close) and wrapped in vinyl veneer, fake black ash in this case. The seams are sealed inside with copious quantities of a hot glue type substance. The crossovers are electrolytic caps and regular inductors (typically iron core) mounted on PCBs with what I suspect are 12dB/oct slopes, but I'll have to pull one out to be certain -- while screwed into place, the PCBs are also firmly glued in place blocking easy vision of the traces. Overall, the quality is a bit better than your typical '80s mass market speakers, but about what one would expect for a $600 MSRP system in 1989.

At first listen, the sound is typical AT DA with an above average hot top end and a noticeable lack of midbass and deep bass. This presents a duality of telephonic quality with the allure of a heightened sense of detail. The raised output of the little 1/2" dome draws attention to details ordinarily not noticed in even the most listened to recordings, but also makes for eventual fatigue after about 40 minutes of close listening. The upper midrange (1.5kHz-3.5kHz) is also accentuated a fair bit, which makes for that telephonic quality I mentioned, vocals sound a bit like they're coming through a telephone. Surprisingly, I wouldn't call this 'forward' more than just relatively poor quality due for the most part to the big depression in the lower midrange (sub-700Hz) and nearly absent midbass (200Hz-400Hz). The bass module is fairly typical of the "Point Source' series with its down-firing woofers (one per channel in the same enclosure, but separate chambers) in a slot loaded configuration. This configuration tends to smooth out the peaks and dips a bit allowing for better sound quality than one would normally get with the fairly inexpensive woofers used. However, the drawbacks to this design make it a bit one note with very poor output in the upper end of the spectrum and no deep bass. There is a bit of a hump in the 60Hz-80Hz region that makes for the illusion of bass and impresses in the short term, but the weaknesses become apparent later on.

It may sound like I'm completely dismissing this system, but I'm not. Despite the combined bass module setup, the imaging is surprisingly good thanks to the micro-monitors and is nearly on par with my ribbons for the fineness of this quality (though not nearly as 3D). The compactness of the system is quite nice and it would be possible to tuck the bass module out of the way some and mount the monitors on the wall making for a decent background noise system for small or confined spaces. With some modifications to pad down the tweeter output and with a better subwoofer (preferably a stereo pair) replacing the bass module, the PS-3 could be a good performer in the inexpensive monitor class of speakers.

The PS-3 system may be typically found on eBay for $20-35 regularly in good condition and are a decent buy at that price.

Units were reviewed on 15" stands with the bass module placed dead center on the same level as the monitors to maximize quality. The amplifier used was a Pioneer SX-838 with a Sony CDP-X111ES providing source material.

- JP

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[Charivari]

Front with micro-monitors resting on bass module.

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Rear view.

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Hookup instructions, note that the bass module is completely passive, so the satellites may be used separately with no issues.

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Grill (cloth glued to a perforated, formed plastic sheet) removed from satellite to show drivers, the 1/2" dome of the tweeter is hidden behind the plastic device to improve dispersion.

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Tweeter rear. The data sheet for this driver may be viewed here.

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Surprise, a quality Vifa midrange. I wasn't expecting this when I pulled it from the enclosure. The plastic basket was intended to reduce resonances in the crucial midrange region. During some brief research, I noticed that these drivers are still selling for ~$45 each, new.

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Bottom of bass module with base plate removed. Note, the PS-3 is a sufficiently new unit that foam rot is not yet an issue.

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And finally, the backside of one of the cheap woofers used in the bass module.

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