PS Audio Aspen FR5 Speakers
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Introduction
The PS Audio Aspen FR5 are infinite baffle speakers, no port. They have a front baffle that is somewhat larger than an LS3/5a and significantly deeper, a form factor I have come to associate with active speakers.
The PS Audio Aspens come in black or white vinyl wrap. There are no exterior edges; all the corners are rounded. The speakers themselves have three drivers, two active at the front with a large passive on the rear. The tweeter is a planar magnetic design, and will be mentioned a number of times in this review. The FR5 have two sets of terminals allowing bi-amping and bi-wiring. I used the jumpers throughout.
Everything about the speakers speaks of quality, from the weight to the rear terminal jumpers.
The speakers have separately purchased stands. These have a somewhat larger platform to accommodate the speaker’s bass. The units themselves come flat-packed, and show the same attention to detail, allowing them to be adjusted easily following construction. The main stem is compartmentalised, adding to rigidity, but also allowing the owner to add ballast to the central compartment. The smaller compartment at the rear allows the speaker wires to be tastefully hidden.
The manual recommends an ideal distance from the wall to be three feet. I was unable to achieve this and so had my doubts about the speaker's suitability for my rooms, as you will read, there were no issues.
Technical Detail
The technical specs for the PS Audio FR5 can be found
HERE.
Color Options Satin White, Satin Black
Enclosure Type Passive radiator (one 6x9” oval rear-firing)
High Frequency Transducer 2.5” planar magnetic with Teonex diaphragm
Low Frequency Transducer 1 x 6.5” woofers, cast frame, Curv woven
polypropylene, advanced magnet structure
Crossover Frequency 1750 Hz - Linkwitz-Riley 6th order acoustic
Sensitivity (2.83V @ 1M) 83.5 dB
Nominal Impedance 6 ohm (5.6 ohm minimum impedance)
Recommended Amplifier Power 50-150 W
Frequency Response 35 Hz-20 kHz (-6dB) half space, 30 Hz (-6 dB)
in-room
Dimensions (HxWxD) 14.5” x 8” x 13” speaker only (with binding posts)
28.25”x11.75”x14” stand only
Net Weight Speaker 26.6 lbs (12.1 kg) each
Stand 13.7 lb (6.2 kg) each
Test Tracks: The Good, The Bad and the Bright
The tracks were selected to allow:
- Comparison of local and Qobuz sourced versions of the same tracks;
- Comparison of standard and remastered versions of the same track;
- Comparison of older and modern tracks, with their different mastering priorities;
- How problem tracks were presented.
Nearfield System
The source was Roon, primarily Qobuz, with:
- Headroom enabled;
- Sample rate NOT enabled;
- Parametric EQ NOT enabled.
Roon was hosted on my Vortexbox Audiostore Ultra Server.
Writing a review is part recipe to identify what a piece of kit needs to perform well. In the case of the PS Audio FR5 Aspen I found they performed well with valves and solid state, but I did have a preference.
The PS Audio Aspen FR5 were sat upon my desk approximately eighteen inches from my ears, and more tellingly within twelve inches of my office walls. I sat and waited for bloated bass, as the rear passive driver overloaded my room. No, not at all. My immediate attention was drawn by the transparency of the treble; I was in love. Added to this was the quality of the bass, which reminded me of my main system, controlled resonances.
With my usual Grahams LS3/5a I had been using an EAR834L preamp into the SMSL VMV A1 class A amplifier. I initially started with these amplifiers.
Please note that the SMSL VMV A1 only outputs about 12W into a 6 ohm load. Within the context of my nearfield listening, this was MORE than enough. The output volume on the A1 was generally at about 22 on a scale of 0-60.
The sound had excellent qualities, but I felt that the sound-field was less expansive than usual and a bit too warm. I found that removing the valve preamp resolved this. Yes, it also removed a subtle degree of texture, but the Aspens really didn’t need this.
I revolved through my usual set of amps, but returned to the SMSL VMV A1 being fed by my Chord 2go / 2yu and Chord Hugo TT.
The PS Audio Aspen FR5 were up and firing on all cylinders, and I found myself using my nearfield system far more than normal. They were giving me facets of musical performance that I associated with my main system, but without that slight edge that I find in a range of pop & rock vocals.
Big Love by Fleetwood Mac had lost that fricative frustration. Sand by Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood was gritless. Neal Diamond’s Seongah and Jimmy didn’t linger on those hot Ss.
However, the planar tweeter retained all the good I was used to, indeed I could hear more of the performer’s musicianship, whether something was brushed, struck, plucked or bowed. One advantage of the nearfield system is that detail is more evident than on the main system, and it was being delivered in a very well balanced package.
‘Feeling Good’ by Michael Buble is a great rendition of this American standard. An excellent voice supported by able musicians. At 47 seconds, when the band joins Buble in full force, that extra degree of bass power brings the music to life. The rest of the album, It’s Time, is not on a par with this one track, but this song has become a regular on my song lists.
‘Mercy Street (Live)’ from Peter Gabriel’s ‘In the Big Room’ has all the production values we have come to expect. Mercy Street is fraught with hot S traps, but not for the Aspens. Returning to my Graham’s LS3/5a had me quickly reaching for the EAR834.
Piano is always a great test for any system. I do enjoy ‘The Piano Sessions’ by Parmalee. ‘Drops of Jupiter’ has simple piano backing the vocals, the FR5 Aspens showed the frequency range of the instrument to good effect, with resonances present and correct.
The LS3/5a speakers have many endearing qualities, leading to long enjoyable listening sessions. The Aspens were showing me why I prefer my main system, but in a bite-sized package, even in these less than ideal circumstances.
Main System
The source was Roon / dCS Mosaic / Qobuz Connect, primarily Qobuz, with:
- Headroom enabled;
- Sample rate NOT enabled;
- Parametric EQ Enabled.
Roon is hosted on a Vortexbox Audiostore Ultra Server.
In my main system, I use the venerable Naim SBLs. The drive units have been refreshed and the standard cross-overs replaced with the Avondale upgrades. These work excellently in my room, and can remind me of grown-up LS3/5a.
So, how did the PS Audio FR5 fare?
I placed the Aspens on their bespoke stands eighteen inches from the rear wall, which can accommodate their non-standard form. Speaking as a cat owner, I wish they were bolted to the stands, but I accept that this is a VERY specific use-case.
I placed the speakers so they formed the base of a triangle with me just inside the apex. The faces were aligned so that the drivers were firing just past my ears. Each speaker was approximately twenty inches from the rear wall. The speaker spikes were placed in pucks that sat on my carpet.
The PS Audio FR5 Aspens were up and singing in a matter of minutes.
Further, they were equalling anything I have had through my listening room in terms of sound field.
Working my way through the music list, the FR5 repeated all the positive music they had made in my near-field system. Their imaging added a nice degree of verisimilitude. The word that kept coming to me, when I could keep my attention on reviewing rather than just listening, was balance.
The Aspens have a wonderful ability to render detail in a musically intelligent way. Anne Akiko’s ‘Lullaby for Natalie’ enthralled me.
No small speaker can overcome physics. The Aspens make the most of their small form-factor, in terms of resolution and speed. But, the smaller drivers simply can’t move the volumes of air of larger boxes, not loading the listening room as effectively as a larger speaker.
What you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabout. The PS Audio FR5 Aspens give a wonderful clarity of vision into the recordings. At no time is the clarity rendered at the expense of musicality.
Conclusion
The PS Audio Aspen FR5 are an excellent small speaker thoroughly worth the asking price. The top end is detailed and silky smooth. I don’t mean that it alters the sound, but that the high frequencies are accurate and issues that can be problematic with other speakers are absent here.
The bass is clear, communicative and beyond my expectations of a small speaker. I wrote above that, as with any small speaker, it cannot kinetically move larger volumes of air. However, while that loading is absent, the lower resonances are not. Things I hear in larger speakers, that add a sensation of reality to large drums and double basses, ARE produced.
I used the Aspen FR5 in circumstances that were less than ideal, and they coped very well. The Aspens are easy to set up, undemanding of the supporting amplifier, and produce a sweet upper end with a notably fast and informative bass.
When I visited the Ascot show, I met a friend and led him through the Signature Audio Systems room. At the end of the day, I asked him whether anything had particularly appealed to him. I was unsurprised when he praised the PS Audio speakers.
The PS Audio Aspen FR5 releases the music.
