[Review] pmc

Ive just acquired a pair of FB1 speakers and must say Im impressed. They really do sound good. They are perhaps a little too small for my room, and Im going to look to audition a pair of their bigger brothers the Ob1 ... How uch of a step up are they from the FB1? The FB1 is very musical and is very good in areas of speed, dynamics, bass and most importantly , to me, a realistic sound. The bass is very clean and articulate, but mids are very good. They were quite bright with the brass jumpers in ( i only have single runs) so I swapped these for silver jumpers and they sounded great. just listened to Macca - all the best - and it sounded great! live and let die was spectacular...All in all a very good buy and significantly better than some of the more pricey dross Ive tried previously. If youre thinking of a pair 2nd hand - go for it! very good mid - priced speakers.

 

I bought some PMC FB1+ speakers 18 months or so and like you am very happy with their sound. I gather a new updated model is now available, would like to hear more about it.

 

yes, its the "i" series...i know that they now make some of the drive units themselves, was curious to know if they did this on the first version and the plus like yours robn

 

The three way pmc monitors are much better - from the ib1 upwards. You might get a pair second hand with stands for just under 2 grand.

 

when you say monitors, why are these different to the fb1 ob1 etc...arent they just standmounted versions?

 

Given the cost it would be no surprise if they are better. Not having had a chance to hear them it would be interesting if you could offer an account of what the improvements are.

Robin

 

No I think they were bought in with the bass/midrange driver being made to their design, more information (no idea if it's validated) at
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue25/pmc_fb1.htm

 

Ive read this review, thanks...the part about speaker placement and side walls is most true.....I spent literally hours with these last night and when they are in the right position, my goodness they sound good.. I agree completely, that they need a small amount of toe in, but too much and the treble overpowers the mids......I really am impressed, but be prepared to fiddle with placement for best results...

 

I recently replaced my meter high floorstanders with a pair of pmc tb2+ and these little stand mounts sound as big and go down as deep and sound better than my floorstanding ipl a2s.How many other speaker this size can do freq responce 40hz 25khz and sensitivity 90db 1w 1m.

 

As said previous, bypass the OB1 and look for a good deal on second hand IB1's.

What's the EB1i like? They look expensive..

http://www.pmc-speakers.com/product.php?mode=view&pid=176

 

they look great...didnt realise pmc did that many speakers, they do look the part.

 

a pair of ib1 just sold for 2,400....expensive, but they must be good.

 

Where were those sold? That's still under half RRP I think (and less than a pair of new OB1's).

 

ebay completed listings......ugly buggers though, when on stands.....Id like to know more about the eb1 the statement pmc offer is that they are exceptional for home use.....must be good. what are the ab1 s like??

 

AFAIK there is very little difference except in the cabinet shape between the IB1 and EB1. I suspect the EB1 is going to be a lot more expensive since it is a new model though, so I''d look for IB1 from pro audio shops that sell second-hand and ex-demo kit. www.proaudioeurope.com and the likes.

Where PMCs become particularly good is from the IB2 upwards, where they use a better midrange. But the IB1 is still no doubt better than the OB1 for having a dedicated mid and bass unit.

 

Got it, they were a good buy I think.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PMC-IB1-Speak...ryZ14993QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

simon, dont the ob1 have a dedicated mid and bass unit also? Ive looked up the eb1 5999 and its meant to be a slimmer version of the standmounted ib1, but in a sleek floorstanding design....are the drivers after the ob1 different then?

 

Ob1 are 3 way http://www.pmc-speakers.com/imgResize.php?img=images/products/147a84abe4bf9e_ob1.jpg

 

Ahh okay, I thought the OB1 was just a bigger FB1.

It looks to me like the only difference between the OB1, EB1 and IB1, is the bass driver and cabinet shape. The mid is the same Vifa unit on all of them. In which case I'd think they all sound pretty much the same, bar a slight difference in the bass. The flat-piston woofer is likely to be the better, so I'd go for the IB1 - you get the better woofer without paying EB1 prices.

 

The studio range ib1 ib2 mb2 bb5 are voiced differently - much more accurate sound with no concessions to make recordings more acceptable. The domestic range sound a little warmer and gloss over imperfections more.

The dedicated mid range in these models are superb - female voice in particular is stunning and the domestic models fall far short in this area - as they also fall far short in terms of bass and dynamics.

You should be able to get a studio pairs of ib1s with stands for about 2 grand.