…any warning. My sister and I got them into the musicroom thru the use of a knife to remove the outer packing and a good Cosco handtruck to get the cartons, which were large but NOT very heavy, into the musicroom. More later; time for lunch…
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Exciting - would like to hear your thoughts about them.
30 minutes in the corner for posting clickbait.
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Do let us know what you think and if I can help in any way. It seems like you’ve had a number of other great speakers in your room. Are these replacing your quads?
I have found that they get noticeably smoother and open up in the bottom end after 100+ hours of playback, so try to get some time on them as well.
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Geez … I would be happy as all get out if a pair of Black FR-20 showed up unannounced at my house!
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…any warning
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A review of the FR20 arrived this morning without any warning in HiFI News.
The measurements are a bit worrying, with a -7dB drop at the mid/treble crossover (around 2.5khz and quite wide) and then a raised presence level around 5-7Khz. Strange, because they noted the FR30 was flat.
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What a fantastic first post. I am a bit jealous.
Welcome to the forum!!!
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So when can I come over to check them out Jeff ?
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Thank you, I’ve been lurking on this forum for years, I own mostly PSA gear, including the DSD mk2, what an amazing DAC, I will aim to contribute a bit more.
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I am looking forward to it!
Hey awayward welcome to the fun…lot’s of chat around here has to be the most
active forum…compared to others
Best wishes
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Maybe the measurements aren’t a worry at all, seeing as though the review is glowing and the score high? I’ve never been convinced by the idea that response needs to be flat. I do wonder if that idea is an intellectual conceit rather than a result of deeply questioning what people enjoy listening to.
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I like the idea of the FR20, it checks a lot of boxes for me. They are a great size, the fit and finish looks great, the price seems appropriate, the specs are good, and reviews are excellent. But I am unwilling to have my purchase devalued by yet another PSA sale, so no bueno for me.
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I don’t think it’s an intellectual deceit, many speakers are designed with a sloping bass and some (unfortunately) with a rising top end. Of course many speakers that essentially measure flat can sound very different. But the HFN&RR measurement is odd, to say the least.
At the risk of being conspiratorial, I smell a rat at HFN&RR with regards to PSA. They review everything and everything Octave does, even those bass test tracks, and give everything gushing and glowing reviews. It is 50% a decent music music magazine and, let’s be honest, a fair bit of Octave output to date is pretty mediocre music in the overall scheme of things. I appreciate most audio rags are advertising driven informercials, but it seems to have gone a bit too far in this case.
I’m not suggesting the FR20 is anything but excellent, I was looking for speakers in 2020 and it would have been on my very shortlist. Timing, as they say, is everything.
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Wow, good score. Agreed the dip is a bit concerning. It’s right in the critical upper midrange treble region.
Interesting that we assume the measurements are correct, not the subjective review…maybe the measurements are wrong for one reason or another?
Btw, congrats on your new speakers! Some photos of the in the wild would be nice 
Finally, 12 hours later, a little time. The FR20s are in their 1st rough listening position… My system:
‘All’ digital: new/old Oppo UDP-205 feeding a Marantz ‘8805 pre/pro via AudioQuest Coffee HDMI; main poweramps are newish Atma-Sphere Class Ds driving, now, PS Audio FR20s; Rythmik 18" subwoofers set to 25Hz low-pass driven by main-front L & R channels (not ‘.1’ channels); Emotiva XPA Gen. 3 Eleven|1.5S driving, ‘new’ just this week my 3rd copy of the Vandersteen VCC-1 centerchannel speaker (movies and TV only) plus a pair of HHR Exotics Walsh-type-driver HHR-5s in Surround positions plus 2 pairs of ELAC B-6 ceiling speakers (I don’t use rear-surround speakers)… Lots of AudioQuest Dragon IC and powercords and Neotec/Furutech powercords; custom solid-conductor (Mundorf Silver/Gold) speakercables… PS Audio P20 power regenerator… AV Room Services’ EVP equipment feet under Oppo, Marantz, and A-S Class Ds… Have a new Marantz AV10 pre/pro to replace the ‘8805… Room is 21’ wide and 19’ deep, with a ceiling that rises from 6-1/2 feet at front to 12’ high over the listening couch and then down to 8’ at the rear wall.
After about 15 minutes of listening to this system sounding quite different than with the large HHR Exotics TLS-2s–which load the room with so much bass I used a 60Hz hi-pass filter on the main speakers–the overall character of the FR20s emerged, and I’m thrilled… After a bit of tweaking (interchannel balances, speaker-size definitions, subwoofer levels, etc.) and then simply playing music, I LOVE 'em… They’re clean, spacious, and do no harm that this tin-eared audiofool can hear… But they’re not as transparent as the HHRs and my former Serenity Super-7s…but they’re new, too, so I expect that will be coming in a few-hundred hours; they’ll be running 24/7 for at least 3 weeks.
Surprise on me–they’re GREY and not black, but I like that! The lowboy equipment rack will be removed tomorrow to provide more freedom in placing speakers; amps will be placed on 3cm-thick granite slabs visible in the middle of the third pic… Emotiva poweramp and V-steen CC speaker will live in and on an inexpensive Pangea Vulcan amp rack that I’m borrowing.
I’m REALLY looking forward to these cables and speakers burning it.
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