Year The Highlights The Products 1972 Registered PSB Speakers; Paul Barton, founder; First commercial product: Avanté  (2-way 8") 1973 Designed 1st Canadian servo-feedback, full-range speaker Beta II  (Servo, 1st Flagship) 1974 First speaker company to use National Research Council facilities in Ottawa for research and product development Avantini/Avette/Passif 1 Passif II/Targa 1975 First PSB speaker designed from start to finish at NRC Avanté II 1978 Entry into USA market; first CES Design & Engineering Award Beta IIa 1979 New Flagship series Summit 9/Summit 11 1980 First PSB passive sub PSB Subwoofer 1982 10th Anniversary Flagship product: Canadian CES Innovations in Design Award Project B2   1983 Introduction of maximum value product (leading to Alpha) Atom 1985 PSB and Lenbrook join forces; New R series introduced R Series: 70R/50R/40R/30R 1987 New Flagship product, the Stratus, evolved from Project B2, Stereophile - Recommended Component Stratus  (2-way tower)   1988 Began participation in NRC's "Smart speaker" Athena Project: (through 1995) 1989 MKII Series and CS Series MKII Series: 50MKII/40MKII/30MKII 20MKII/CS 180/CS 160 1990 New Flagship product Redesign of Stratus to New Stratus - Stereophile Recommended Component First Architectural speaker Stratus Gold New Stratus HW-1 1991 Audio cover; Stratus Gold review ("the 10,000-watt speaker") Gold becomes Stereophile Recommended Component Introduction of Stratus Mini Introduction of Alpha (media acclaim!) Stratus Mini Alpha 1992 Alpha called "Best Buy at CES" by Stereophile's Jack English Alpha becomes Stereophile Recommended Component  PSB Series supersedes MK II and CS Series Stratus Silver supersedes New Stratus PSB Series: 800/500/400/300 Stratus Silver 1993 First PSB powered subwoofer and center channel Stratus Mini and PSB 500 become Stereophile Recommended Components Stratus Gold, Alpha win Audio Video International's Hi-Fi Grand Prix Award Alpha Home Theater system and PSB 500 win Sound & Vision's Critic's Choice Award Subsonic II selected by CD Review as Best Audio Buy PSB 100C Subsonic II 1994 Stratus Silver becomes Stereophile Recommended Component Stratus Mini/PSB 100C/Alpha Subsonic win Sound & Vision's Critic's Choice Award First PSB shielded bookshelf, and new subwoofer Two new center-channel speakers Second powered sub; second tower in PSB Series Alpha SE/Alpha Subsonic Stratus C5/PSB 200C PSB 600 Subsonic III 1995 Dolby uses PSB system to demonstrate AC-3 at CES First PSB quasi-dipole surrounds Expansions and updates Audio Video International "Speaker of the Year" (Stratus Silver) Two more Stereophile Recommended Components (100C, Subsonic II) Alpha Home Theater System wins CD Review Best Buy Award. Strong SGHT reviews of Alpha and New Stratus Mini Home Theater systems Strong reviews and recommendations of various speakers (Alpha, PSB 300, Stratus Gold, Stratus Silver, Stratus Mini, Stratus C5, 100C, Subsonic III by New York Times (4 recommendations), Opera News, Sound & Image, Stereo Review, Audio Video Buyers Guide, Classic CD, Inside Track Ambient I/Ambient II Stratus C6/New Stratus Mini PSB 1000 1996 C5 added to Stereophile's Recommended Components Stereo Review cites PSB 1000 for "flattest response we have measured from a speaker" BANNER YEAR FOR NEW STRATUS MINI: Stereophile Recommended Component, Stereophile Award as Budget Component of The Year Century Series supersedes PSB Series Alpha awarded Audio-Video International Hi-Fi Grand Prix Award New Alpha Family introduced (with first of new powered subwoofers) PSB 300 and 500 strongly recommended by New York Times Stereophile round-up of "Best Sounds at the Stereophile Show" says "perhaps the most remarkable in view of its price was the new Alpha Mini." Absolute Sound says Alpha Minis "have to be heard to be believed." $ensible Sound highly recommends New Stratus Mini SGHT article cites "Stellar System" with Stratus Silvers, New Stratus Minis Century Series: Century 1000i/800i/600i/500i 400i/300i/200Ci/100Ci Alpha Family: AlphaA/V/Mini/Mite/Midi Alpha SubSonic 1 1997 CES Innovations Award for the Alpha Family Stereophile review by Tom Norton reaffirms performance of Stratus Gold: "This was one of my favorite loudspeakers when I first reviewed it. A lot of other loudspeakers have come and gone since then, but the Stratus Gold is still here, and my high opinion of it is unchanged." Complete redesign and rebuild of anechoic chamber at NRC. 25th Anniversary celebrated at Hi-Fi '97 with introduction of Stratus Gold. New powered subwoofer for Century Series. Dolby uses PSB system to demonstrate AC-3 at Hi-Fi '97. Review of Alpha Mini Home Theater system in Stereophile Guide to Home Theater summarizes, "The bottom line is this: The PSB setup costs $374 less than the other two systems under consideration [JBL SCS 120, Bose Acoustimass10 systems] and sounds better than either one." Review of Century 400i by Julian Hirsch in Stereo Review says: "All in all, the PSB Century 400i provides first rate sound at a bargain-basement price. An excellent value!" Re-reviewing Stratus Mini in the October-November issue of $ensible Sound, Tom Lyle says: "Here are speakers that give you an accurate portrayal of the actual event that was recorded onto the tape, and encoded or pressed onto CD, LP, Mini-Disk, DAT, DVD, Elcasette, 8-track cartridge, or whatever medium du jour one is using." New Stratus subwoofer with "BASH" circuitry. Review of Stratus Gold in Stereophile says "This is one fine design. At slightly under $2400[$2699]/pair , the Gold is going to put a serious crimp in the sales of its more expensive competitors. Enthusiastically recommended." Enthusiastic review of Century 600i in Fi. Stratus Silver and Alpha SubSat combination (SubSonic 1 and Mites) receive Audio-Video International's Hi-Fi Grand Prix Award. Review in Audiophile Voice praises Century 1000i, and says: "Paul Barton's speakers render a full and sweeping palette of glowing, vibrant music." Stratus Goldi Century SubSonic 2i Stratus SubSonic 3i 1998 CES Innovations Award to Stratus Gold and Stratus SubSonic subwoofers Review in Audio calls Stratus Golds "Standout performers" with "deep and powerful bass coupled with an extended and smooth high end." First review of Stratus SubSonic 3i, in Stereo Review, cites its "Olympic-level performance" and places it in the "killer, high-tech, high-output subwoofers" category. Review of Century Home Theater System (Century 600i, 300i, 200Ci, SubSonic 2i) by Lawrence B. Johnson in Audio Video Interiors says "As a home theater suite, the PSB array was sweet indeed." And "The Century 300i may be the most attractive speaker value today." Audio review by Corey Greenberg of Alpha Home Theater System calls new Alpha-A/V "a cut above the originals"..."with a cleaner and more sophisticated high end," praises Alpha Mini's "livelier and more detailed midrange," and says the Alpha SubSonic 1 "is an excellent, budget priced sub. It has much more slam and finesse than I would normally expect from an under $500 subwoofer." Stratus Bronze introduced. First review in Stereophile says: "With good to excellent performance in just about every specific area you can think of, the Stratus Bronze is a bona fide bargain." Stratus Bronze added to Stereophile Recommended Components. Stratus SubSonic 3i named 1998 "Reviewer's Choice" by Stereo Review. AudioVideo International Hi-Fi Grand Prix Awards go to Stratus Bronze, Stratus C5, Stratus SubSonic 3i and Alpha A/V. Stratus Bronze 1999 Stratus Silver introduced. CustomSound Series introduced. Stratus Mini and Alpha A/V chosen as $ensible Choices by The $ensible Sound. $ensible Sound reviewer cites Stratus Gold for "The best recreation of a concert hall listening experience that I have heard from a single pair of box speakers." Image Series introduced. Image 3LR gets top rating in comparative review in Sound & Vision. Alpha Center, Alpha Subzero, and Alpha SubSonic 5 added to Alpha Series Nine PSB speakers on Stereophile list of Recommended Components. Audio/Video International Hi-Fi Grand Prix awards to Stratus Bronze, Stratus SubSonic 3i Alpha Mini/SubSonic 1 combination, Century 300i. Stratus Silveri CustomSound Series: M6x6.1, M6x1, M6.1R, M6.1S. Image Series: 1B, 2B, 3LR, 4T, 5T, 8C, 9C, SubSonic 6. Alpha Center Alpha SubZero/SubSonic 5 2000 Image Series becomes a runaway success, achieving highest sales ever for a new PSB series. EIGHT Recommended Components from Stereophile and Stereophile Guide to Home Theater. Image 1B joins Alpha A/V, Alpha Mini, Alpha SubSonic 5, Stratus Mini, and Stratus Gold as "Staff Picks" from The $ensible Sound. The Perfect Vision bestows a rave review on an Image Home Theater System centered on the Image 6T, which "made music and film soundtracks sound alive and vibrant." The review adds that "the Image SubSonic 6 subwoofer was amazing for the price. I had to remind myself that this was a $650 subwoofer, not a $1,500 model." New Stratus subwoofer and center-channel speakers. Stratus Subsonic 7 Stratus Center Channels Alpha Intros arrive. New bipolar surround design offers "best of both worlds" performance. Image 10S Image 6T, 7PT, 10S Stratus SubSonic 7 Stratus C5i and C6i Alpha Intros: LR and CLR 2001 Image 7PT earns Innovations Award at Consumer Electronics Show. Audio Ideas Guide greets Alpha Intro Home Theater system (Intro CLRs, LRs, and ALpha SubZero) with glowing review, saying that it "pretty much kills the competition in its price range and above." The Perfect Vision awards "Editors' Choice" honors to Image Home Theater System (Image 3LRs, 9C, SubSonic 6). Image 4T joins Stereophile Recommended Components list, offering "a lot of technology for the price." New Alpha Family (Alpha B, Alpha C, Alpha T) makes debut, offering still more performance, versatility, and value.