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PMC speakers vs B&W... has anyone compared?

I'm coming to realize the next step up the sonic food chain might be more capable speakers then my CDM 9NT's. The Natilus range (804/802) might be the ticket... I've always used B&W's, but have an itch for something different too. Looking at the numbers of the PMC FB1+, seems to tell me their range is amazing - much broader then the 9nt's. I know specs don't tell the whole story so I thought I'd see if anyone with any first hand comparision of these brands might shed some light. What would be considered a better speaker in PMC's line the the smaller Natilus floorstanders?
Jazz and rock on vinyl is what I listen to mostly.
Thanks
sailfishben
brizonbiovizier
124 posts
 
Abbey road and lucas films are buying into pmc instead now ;-)

I find the bryston sst and krell a bit harsh but the older bryston st is much more palatable.

I spend a lot of time at rock and acoustic gigs as well as classical performances. Getting kit that is equally at home with all genres is very difficult and expensive. None of it sounds like B&W.
henryked7b
5 posts
 
Krellm7, it's a different story to use speakers as monitors in "high end recording studios" (what the heck is this? recording studios and... high end?) and listen to them at home for many hours. In studios, they must be revealig first of all, shaw te work of a sound engineer. They really don't care about speakers' musicality, listenability. It's not their priotity. Oh, you must see the difference.
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
I know what music sounds like and B&W is not musical. However, it's a great company to deal with. I know someone who cooked a driver from a pair of old B&W speakers. He had no difficulty obtaining a new one; not an aftermarket unit, an original factory driver. There are very few companies that can replace the exact driver manufactured 20 years ago.
Regarding their use in high end studios, one would have to be naive not to believe there is a significant amount of money involved in these matters.
Do you think Tiger Woods really drives a Buick Rendezvous?
brizonbiovizier
124 posts
 
Exactly - they are voiced for pulling forward the treble for mix analysis at high volume, not for domestic use. PMC are mastering suite speakers for assessing the finsihed product therefore they have an acceptable domestic balance by definition.
fife
50 posts
 
I own both the PMC LB1 and B&W Matrix 805.

Comparing M805 and LB1's back to back and hours on end, the Matrix 805 is very musically satisfying. The LB1 on the otherhand is much more detailed/revealing speaker that provides gobs of bass.

Different strokes for different folks but I change speakers depending on the day of the week.

The LB1's also require much more quality power due to the little Dynaudio driver (at least 4B power).

Bi-amping the M805 did not make as noticable difference as compared to bi-amping the LB1.

However, the M805 is much more tolerable of bad 80's recorded cds.

Your mileage may vary.
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