PMC speakers?


Hey Y'all,

These speakers have recently been brought to my attention and I would like to hear from anyone that owns them or has auditioned them and what you think of them. Thanks.........John
jrwr7
I have PMC IB2 mains and center and LB1 rears all driven with Bryston amps. PMC's may not look like much but I have yet to hear better sound! They are incredible speakers especially when partnered with Bryston amps!
I have had the PMC GB1's for about 4 weeks.The difference now they have broken in is amazing. The bass has improved greatly and there seems to be much more cohesiveness to the sound.

I would highly recommend these speakers. They have great accuracy and the speakers appear to disappear with a dynamic, fluid sound that extends past the speaker cabinets.

I am looking forward to upgrading my amp to take full advantage of these.

Highly recommended

Alex

Melbourne Australia
PMC speakers are a natural match for Bryston amps. They are generally very dynamic across their line with a good price/low-end extension ratio.

I heard the IB1s and MB2s quite a few times with both McIntosh and Bryston amplification. The IB1s were too punchy for my tastes. The MB2 gave a much more relaxed sound. I felt the MB2 was pretty musical rather than a strict studio monitor type sound. But if you're buying the monitors, factor in the cost of the stands. They're very pricey and IMO not a good value.
Hi Alex, good as the Rotels may be, the Cyrus and/or Moon amps will be better. The PMC, although efficient, fancy amps with muscle, so things like Bryston or other big amps will give a great improvement. I think you will hear a big difference (improvement IMHO), and an extended low-end.
I have the PMC GB1's and have been using them for about 10 days.

They sound great to me, especially female vocals, and seem to be very effortless with little directness in the sound.

The bass is very tight and controlled but I do feel it lacks the ability to play the full range of music.

I am currently using a Rotel RSP1076/RMX 1075 Pre Power combo. This doesn't sound anywhere near as good as the Cyrus and Moon stereo amplifiers that I auditioned the speakers with. I am probably going to buy one of these for CD playback and use them as a power amp in 5 channel operation.

Does anyone have any thoughts on whether this will make a significant difference to the sound quality of my stereo.

Thanks

Alex
Melbourne, Australia
Hi Jrwr7,

I have listened to the DB1 with Bryston B60 and TB2 with Bryston BP25/4B-SST at the local dealer. They sound great! I find PMC speakers very revealing and yet not fatiguing to the ears. I feel they have a smidgen more detail in the top-end than the Sonus Faber Grand Pianos that I own.

I didn't get to listen to the huge MB2 hooked to the 7B-SST's since the system was not powered up at that time.

All I can say is that you won't be disappointed with the PMC's. I just wished I could afford the IB1.
I have a pair of MB1 speakers, with Bryston 7 B SST amps, and they sound incredibly real! They go the whole way from very deep via very clean midrange to excellent highs. The absolute best sound that I have ever heard in a home setup, I am thrilled. The music is right there, with a soundstage to die for. I will never sell them!
The only thing is, they may be too big for a home theatre setup, as they need room to blossom.
Hey Y'all,

Eric, that sounds like a nice idea except I put great emphasis on the 2 channel music performance of my system. Thus, I think I would be better served by having a larger, full range, as the main speakers. As I mentioned above, I would keep my subs but I may not have to use them for music if I have, say, the OB1s as the mains. But that I will have to listen to first before I can make that decision. Thanks for the suggestion though. Is there anyone else that has experience with the speakers I've mentioned? I would also like someone to describe the sound character of these speakers. Are they forward, laid back, neutral? Thanks.......John
I use 5 TB2's for the front left / right / left surround / right surround / centre

I use 2 TB1's (the almost identical predecessor to the TB2) for the rear surrounds.

Like a previous poster, I prefer the TB-2 over the FB1. I found the FB1's on the costly side compared to the TB2's. I went with the TB2s because of this and that the TB-2c (centre) is pretty much identical to the TB2

What I like about the PMC's is that they use the exact driver complement for their centres. With the exception of the CC6 / OB1 combo, the matching centre channels even use the same size cabinets in addition to the same drivers and number of them.

Having listened to the IB1's what struck me was the midrange, it was so open and detailed and does not get compressed at high volumes.

Lastly, if you want to save some $, get the studio finish. This would fit perfectly in a HT because it is flat black. The studio finish is only available on the Pro models and not on the home specific models (FB1, OB6, CC6, GB1)
It's great. Also, I would like to hear from anyone that owns them or has auditioned them and what you think of them
I auditoned the FB1, TB2 and CC6.
I actually thought the TB2 sounded better than the FB1. Odd.
I would just save the $ and the TB2 rather than the FB1. I wouldnt even consider the DB1 or FB1 because of the price since DB1 just slightly cheaper than the TB2 and the FB1 was double the pice of the TB2.

I am sure the OB1, CC6 & TB2 combo would be great.
Hey Y'all,

Thank you for the input folks. I was considering a Home theater set up consisting of a set of OB1s as the mains, TB2s for the rears and the CB6 for the center. I would keep my current subs, two Rel Strata IIIs, until I see if I would need to move up the Rel line to get a sub that goes lower. I understand that the PMC speakers put out some very good and deep bass but I will not have an H/T set up without a sub. I may not need a sub for music with the PMCs but for movies, I will definitly use them. Thanks again for your input and please keep'em comming.......John
Ooops,

In my previous post:

(my SVS Ultra sub will go a bit lower, but nearly as cleanly)

should have been:

(my SVS Ultra sub will go a bit lower, but NOT nearly as cleanly)
I own PMC IB1's and they are the best speakers that I have ever heard. This comparison includes other big brands that cost twice as much as the IB1's. They are extraordinarily accurate, and just shy of being full-range (my SVS Ultra sub will go a bit lower, but nearly as cleanly). They also work well in a small room I think it would be worthwhile to audition one or more PMC speakers.
if you like a studio monitor type sound(nothing embellished or hidden)you can't go wrong
I once auditioned them at a pro-audio show, and although the acoustics sucked, and I wasn't familiar with the music or source and amp, I was very, very impressed. A bit beyond my financial horizon though....