PMC Speakers Owners & Discussion Thread

[RCADees]

I agree with Kasman. I did a bit of research and spoke to a number of people and they all seemed to agree that there was barely any noticeable difference (if anything) between the two. It seemed to me that this was more about splitting hair and give a face lift to an already amazing speaker, but this is my opinion only.

 

The listening session I had with the Twenty 5.21i, was first with a Rega Elicit-R, and then the comparison with the Rega Aethos (and the same speakers) and it just blew me away. So the big difference here was the amplifier, not the speaker.

 

As I already own the Twenty 5.22 and have been super satisfied, I really didn't feel the need to audition the " i" version and as the end of the line price for the Twenty 5.21 was so good last year I felt confident enough and just got a pair.

 

Good luck with making a decision and let us know how you go.

[noisuf]

Hi everyone, I have a pair of 20.26s and I love them.... I can't find many comparisons with the 25.26 or 25.26i..... Has anyone compared, pros cons? Is it worth the change?

[wayne2point1]

 

So having picked up a pair of twenty.23s from the classifieds yesterday i'm one of the newest members of the PMC family. SNA member who i bought them from is an absolute legend (a story for another day) and the price was right. 

 

Being on a modest budget my gear purchases need to be on point so i fastidiously read all the reviews i could find and trawled this thread basically end to end before deciding to take the plunge. Listening to a lot of electronic and trip-hop i was worried if they would be able to deliver the lower end (i thought) i needed.  All i can say now is... who f-ing cares! 

 

Not only does their size and styling suit my 1 bedroom apartment beautifully, I can NOW say i know what soundstage is. I feel like my other speakers have played music at me, while the PMCs fill my space with it - if i get up (which i barely can) it's like i'm swimming through air thick with sound. 

 

Driven by a Primare I30 through a pair of Audioquest Gibraltars, these PMCs are giving me a listening experience i've never had at home before. The bass line in Air's Sexy Boy struck me from the first second, knocking me deeper into the couch, the weight of it never letting go for the entire track. Dido's Honestly OK is a 360 degree listening experience, with the harmonica(?) floating around me and her voice coming as if from a dream, resonating in my cerebral cortex. 

 

They are such an engaging speaker that only stoping the music allows me enough focus to write this post. Needless to say i'm very happy and while these are just first impressions, I'm getting regular goosebumps - i think these PMCs have been my best audio purchase to date. 

 

(sorry if this sounds a bit over the top i'm a little drunk) 

 

[RCADees]

9 hours ago, wayne2point1 said:

They are such an engaging speaker that only stoping the music allows me enough focus to write this post. Needless to say i'm very happy and while these are just first impressions, I'm getting regular goosebumps - i think these PMCs have been my best audio purchase to date. 

I am so happy for you. Welcome. I agree with you wholeheartedly . This is pretty much what I felt when I got my first PMC pair a couple of years ago. To me these are my end game speakers.

[Kasman]

13 hours ago, wayne2point1 said:

 

So having picked up a pair of twenty.23s from the classifieds yesterday i'm one of the newest members of the PMC family. SNA member who i bought them from is an absolute legend (a story for another day) and the price was right. 

 

Being on a modest budget my gear purchases need to be on point so i fastidiously read all the reviews i could find and trawled this thread basically end to end before deciding to take the plunge. Listening to a lot of electronic and trip-hop i was worried if they would be able to deliver the lower end (i thought) i needed.  All i can say now is... who f-ing cares! 

 

Not only does their size and styling suit my 1 bedroom apartment beautifully, I can NOW say i know what soundstage is. I feel like my other speakers have played music at me, while the PMCs fill my space with it - if i get up (which i barely can) it's like i'm swimming through air thick with sound. 

 

Driven by a Primare I30 through a pair of Audioquest Gibraltars, these PMCs are giving me a listening experience i've never had at home before. The bass line in Air's Sexy Boy struck me from the first second, knocking me deeper into the couch, the weight of it never letting go for the entire track. Dido's Honestly OK is a 360 degree listening experience, with the harmonica(?) floating around me and her voice coming as if from a dream, resonating in my cerebral cortex. 

 

They are such an engaging speaker that only stoping the music allows me enough focus to write this post. Needless to say i'm very happy and while these are just first impressions, I'm getting regular goosebumps - i think these PMCs have been my best audio purchase to date. 

 

(sorry if this sounds a bit over the top i'm a little drunk) 

 

Well done Wayne. I saw those in the classifieds and thought they were a bit of a bargain. Glad they’re even more than you’d hope for. My PMC’s do the same for me. I have the baby brother of yours (25.21) and someday may look at upsizing to the 25.23 but the sound/look/build quality is probably end game for me too. Before I upsize I’ll prob go for a sub instead. The mids and highs of the 25.21 are just sublime (as are the 25.23)

[wayne2point1]

Yeah i was thinking the same, my next move will probably be to either get them some fancy new shoes (GAIAs) or add dsp & sub. 

[noisuf]

On 22/06/2022 at 11:44 PM, noisuf said:

Hi everyone, I have a pair of 20.26s and I love them.... I can't find many comparisons with the 25.26 or 25.26i..... Has anyone compared, pros cons? Is it worth the change?

Anyone tried the different versions?

[maximus]

I had a pair of he twenty5.26's in a mid to large room, I found they required some real heft to get them going. They didn't work very well on the low end with amps I matched with, ie Denon PMA-2500NE/Rogue audio Sphynx 100 watt version and my much loved Densen pre/power B- 320/200, again 100watts.

The Densen was by far the best match mids to highs, but on some material,  all amps failed in the lower frequencies, much, much booming, so I sold off the speakers to a fellow SNA'er who seems to be enjoying them(I've listened to) with a suitable amplifier.

 The 20.26's have a warmer more balanced presentation, they're not as power hungry or as revealing as the 25.26's, so more suitable to a broader range of amps and possibly musical genres, it's a matter of preference here, both very good speakers even though I'd lean towards the 20.26's if push came to shove.

 

** During the week I popped down to Class A Audio and auditioned the latest PMC Twenty5.24i's. I took my Lumin T2 and plugged it straight into the Plinius P10 power amp via its XLR inputs.  

Kevin controlled the remote from his phone using Tidal/Roon.  I was familiar with all the tracks auditioned, even though I use Qobuz  with a liking for DSD512. It didn't take very long for me to realize the 25.24i was  pretty special, bass was tight and huge filling entire room, imaging, one of the best I've seen, absolute pin point, speakers totally dissapeared, vocals and strings just flowed so naturally, I've heard more expensive speakers that aren't near as good.

These speakers to my hearing were closer to the Fact series than the  older Twenty5. They're magical, so I bought them in Walnut finish.

Happy camper here 

*** I know I've drifted, but after all we're in the PMC thread.

 

cheers,

Frank.

[noisuf]

Thx for the comparisons Frank!

 

Have you recieved the 25.24i tonuse in your setuo? Looking forward to your review. 

 

Looks like I'll stick with mine until later.

[maximus]

Haven't received them yet, next week or 2 I'd say. The Class A room would've been 7x8 mts max, and was fitted out with room treatments front and sides, almost looked like overkill, had a cave like presence with no windows, just the entrance door.

There's no way I'm going to achieve the same sound quality at home, I've a bright room with large windows, timber floors and openings, but I know what I'm looking for.

 

[blakey72]

On 13/08/2022 at 3:24 PM, maximus said:

I had a pair of he twenty5.26's in a mid to large room, I found they required some real heft to get them going. They didn't work very well on the low end with amps I matched with, ie Denon PMA-2500NE/Rogue audio Sphynx 100 watt version and my much loved Densen pre/power B- 320/200, again 100watts.

The Densen was by far the best match mids to highs, but on some material,  all amps failed in the lower frequencies, much, much booming, so I sold off the speakers to a fellow SNA'er who seems to be enjoying them(I've listened to) with a suitable amplifier.

 The 20.26's have a warmer more balanced presentation, they're not as power hungry or as revealing as the 25.26's, so more suitable to a broader range of amps and possibly musical genres, it's a matter of preference here, both very good speakers even though I'd lean towards the 20.26's if push came to shove.

 

** During the week I popped down to Class A Audio and auditioned the latest PMC Twenty5.24i's. I took my Lumin T2 and plugged it straight into the Plinius P10 power amp via its XLR inputs.  

Kevin controlled the remote from his phone using Tidal/Roon.  I was familiar with all the tracks auditioned, even though I use Qobuz  with a liking for DSD512. It didn't take very long for me to realize the 25.24i was  pretty special, bass was tight and huge filling entire room, imaging, one of the best I've seen, absolute pin point, speakers totally dissapeared, vocals and strings just flowed so naturally, I've heard more expensive speakers that aren't near as good.

These speakers to my hearing were closer to the Fact series than the  older Twenty5. They're magical, so I bought them in Walnut finish.

Happy camper here 

*** I know I've drifted, but after all we're in the PMC thread.

 

cheers,

Frank.

Which amp are you going to use with the new 24i's Frank? Class D? 

[maximus]

Hi blakey, 

Ended up buying the Plinius P10, wanted the Bryston 4B3 or a Naim Pre/Power, I find these amps slighter more focused and tighter than the Plinius, but couldn't stretch that far. The Plinius has a big and bold presentation but still sounds very impressive, I've only 15-20hrs on the PMC's, they're really starting to open up, so, so wonderful,  no preamp used, just the T2 straight into the P10 via its XLR inputs, seems to work very well although I'd like to try a dedicated pre one of these days.

 

cheers,

Frank

[blakey72]

3 hours ago, maximus said:

Hi blakey, 

Ended up buying the Plinius P10, wanted the Bryston 4B3 or a Naim Pre/Power, I find these amps slighter more focused and tighter than the Plinius, but couldn't stretch that far. The Plinius has a big and bold presentation but still sounds very impressive, I've only 15-20hrs on the PMC's, they're really starting to open up, so, so wonderful,  no preamp used, just the T2 straight into the P10 via its XLR inputs, seems to work very well although I'd like to try a dedicated pre one of these days.

 

cheers,

Frank

Hi Frank. Yes the PMC's will really open up at about 50-100 hours. I have also found that a dedicated pre-amp does improve things generally. I was using my Rose Hifi RS250 as a pre with my Exposure Classic XXVIII power amp but invested in a ME25 dedicated pre. It was a noticeable improvement.

 

Blanket statement though, the Lumin pre may be very good. Only speaking from personal experience.

[maximus]

Thanks for your experience blakey, for the past 18 months I've been using the system without a preamp because it sounded sufficient enough with their LeedH processing algorithm.  I will some where down the line audition some renowned Pre's just to see if I was missing something.

 

 

[Jeroen de Jong]

Hello guys,

 

I'm a happy owner of a pair PMC FB1i. Paired them with an Arcam, Musical Fidelity A5 and now a Bryston 4B sst2 amp. 

With the Bryston the pmc's really woke up. It's like having completely different speakers. There is so much bass pressure/impact. The soundstage opened up. It's remarkable. It feels like live music, even at moderate volume levels. 

Now i wonder what I missed with my PMC DB1+s....

 

Given my strategy; I stay a few years behind the bandwagon to save cash -Yes, I am Dutch- wich pmc speakers would you guys advise if I wanted  to trade up?

 

My room is 3,5m by 5m. 

 

 

[s7e6e]

Hello inmates,

 

Just purchased my first pair of PMC (25.23) from a fellow member (@mpearce38).

They will be powered by a Naim 272 + Naim 250DR so plenty of current to go around. Needless to say, I'm stoked! Will report back my findings once I get a chance to unpack everything (all stored away in boxes atm).

 

Had the same system driving a pair of Dynaudio Special 40 so really interested in how these will compare. Any thoughts?

 

Cheers.

 

Edited December 3, 2022 by s7e6e

[maximus]

On 25/10/2022 at 12:54 AM, Jeroen de Jong said:

Hello guys,

 

I'm a happy owner of a pair PMC FB1i. Paired them with an Arcam, Musical Fidelity A5 and now a Bryston 4B sst2 amp. 

With the Bryston the pmc's really woke up. It's like having completely different speakers. There is so much bass pressure/impact. The soundstage opened up. It's remarkable. It feels like live music, even at moderate volume levels. 

Now i wonder what I missed with my PMC DB1+s....

 

Given my strategy; I stay a few years behind the bandwagon to save cash -Yes, I am Dutch- wich pmc speakers would you guys advise if I wanted  to trade up?

 

My room is 3,5m by 5m. 

 

 

Hi Jeroen,

it doesn’t surprise me you’re enjoying the Bryston. It’s a quality high current amp, just what the PMC’s enjoy, 

Too many people seem to use so, so amps with these, once you give them quality, Ayre, Audio Research, Bryston etc, you realize how capable they are. 
As far as upgrading speakers, the new  25i series are amazing. I’ve the Twenty5.24i floorstanders, outstanding speakers, but best for you to audition.

[maximus]

@s7e6eI had he 25.23 before purchasing the 25.24i’s. I had them running off an Nuprime IDA-16 200 watts in class D, it paired well but didn’t sound as musical as my Plinius P 10, also 200 watts/8 ohms.

The Naim pair should be ideal, many users in Britain use this combo with great success. 

[audio_file]

4 hours ago, s7e6e said:

Hello inmates,

 

Just purchased my first pair of PMC (25.23) from a fellow member (@mpearce38).

They will be powered by a Naim 272 + Naim 250DR so plenty of current to go around. Needless to say, I'm stoked! Will report back my findings once I get a chance to unpack everything (all stored away in boxes atm).

 

Had the same system driving a pair of Dynaudio Special 40 so really interested in how these will compare. Any thoughts?

 

Cheers.

 

I haven't heard the PMC 25.23, but I have heard the PMC 20.23 and the Dynaudio Special 40.

In my opinion the Dynaudio 40 is better than the 20.23 in just about everything.

I owned the 20.23 and the Dynaudio Contour S1.4 LE in the past, and I preferred the 40 over the 1.4LE too.

Your electronics are great, but you need to look out for room placement if you go for the 40s.

They need plenty space behind them to sound good in my opinion. (like most other Dynaudio stand mounts)

[s7e6e]

I purchased these as an interim until I can save enough for the Dynaudio Heritage or until I get divorced as a consequence, whichever comes first.

 

In the meantime, have decided to place my main system in my tiny home office (12mp) so reckoned the Special 40 would have been way too much for this room.

 

Not sure the Heritages would be any better in this situation either but I’ll cross that bridge when I’ll get there.

 

Cheers

[mpearce38]

On 04/12/2022 at 10:03 AM, s7e6e said:

 

On 03/12/2022 at 10:30 PM, audio_file said:

I haven't heard the PMC 25.23, but I have heard the PMC 20.23 and the Dynaudio Special 40.

In my opinion the Dynaudio 40 is better than the 20.23 in just about everything.

I owned the 20.23 and the Dynaudio Contour S1.4 LE in the past, and I preferred the 40 over the 1.4LE too.

Your electronics are great, but you need to look out for room placement if you go for the 40s.

They need plenty space behind them to sound good in my opinion. (like most other Dynaudio stand mounts)

The 25.23 was a significant step up on the 20series with an additional layer of detail and improved bass response from the dual ATL ports. I too have a soft spot for Dynaudio being my first HiFi speaker I owned (X32) and moved through a few in the focus / audience range. To be fair at this price point there are no bad products and it all comes down to personal taste and the supporting equipment in your chain.

 

Once I moved to PMC I never went back to Dynaudio mainly because I found the Dyns hard to drive (Bryston 4B really made it sing) and the rear ports with Dyns signature bump in the mid base never worked well in my room. Moving to PMC I found the ATL  does not excite the room as much and has a more even handed tone across mid to low bass. If you want the pressure loaded room effect you need to pair PMC with a sub for the low lows which I did with a MJ Acoustic Ref150 only kicking it at 60hz.

 

What I loved about the PMC is the transparency I swapped out heaps of amps and dacs over the years I owned them and it was easy to hear the different qualities of each one. Matching PMCs with the appropriate components for your tastes is paramount. I had a supernait 2 and the PMCs really sung but the Naim sound was not for me. I settled on an Hegel as I like the clean, dry, analytical sound with deep imaging. Currently I'm running PMC twotwo 5 with a Benchmark front end and I'm close to end game with this combo. If  The next step up will lead me to change speakers I'd go Dutch&Dutch, ATC or PMC6-2 as the next step up  at a considerable increase in $$ to get maybe a smigen more detail and bass response, I've not been motivated enough to scratch that itch  as the twotwo's are very very good. I'd say a DAC 3 and TwoTwo 6s would be a bargain system for under 10K

 

cant wait to hear your thoughts @s7e6e

 

Edited December 5, 2022 by mpearce38

[maximus]

@mpearce38I was very close to buying the PMC 6-2's  after owning the Result6's. All the reviews were incredibly positive, just couldn't quite get the funding so settled with the 25.24i's.

I reckon the 6-2's would be more revealing and better all round than the other speakers you mentioned, Speaking to the OZ distributor confirmed this, when you hear them, 'it'll be a jaw dropping experience' were his words, a totally different league than the two.two range, which are still a damn good monitor in their own right.

The main issue would be trying to audition a pair, not sold through retail stores that stock PMC.

[mpearce38]

On 06/12/2022 at 8:46 PM, maximus said:

@mpearce38I was very close to buying the PMC 6-2's  after owning the Result6's. All the reviews were incredibly positive, just couldn't quite get the funding so settled with the 25.24i's.

I reckon the 6-2's would be more revealing and better all round than the other speakers you mentioned, Speaking to the OZ distributor confirmed this, when you hear them, 'it'll be a jaw dropping experience' were his words, a totally different league than the two.two range, which are still a damn good monitor in their own right.

The main issue would be trying to audition a pair, not sold through retail stores that stock PMC.

yes its a big call to spend that amount of coin. My short list atm is

 

Dutch & Dutch 8c

ATC SCM25A Pro

PMC6-2

 

Ideally I'd love to have in home demo of all 3 to see how they work in my room I'm sure either would be phenomenal and it will just come down to the difference in tastes

[needlerunner]

On 07/12/2022 at 8:28 PM, mpearce38 said:

yes its a big call to spend that amount of coin. My short list atm is

 

Dutch & Dutch 8c

ATC SCM25A Pro

PMC6-2

 

Ideally I'd love to have in home demo of all 3 to see how they work in my room I'm sure either would be phenomenal and it will just come down to the difference in tastes

All lovely brands mp38. Great speakers.

Me. Considering going down that road...but with passives.

Love my PMC twenty 23s. But been researching an upgrade for next year. After several months of visual research. The ATC SCM40s seems to have struck a chord with me. They seem to be on the PMC spectrum, sound wise. 

But PMC have become too costly now (for me anyway). 

Will have to find a pair of the 40s to listen too. I believe they would match well with my Plinius Hautonga. Itching to try a 3 way. As my foray into hi-fi has strictly been 2 way speakers only (which l like). My only concern is that they might be too big for the room. But it is an open space area, and l do mainly listen from the dining room. But my main listening area is only 2.5 metres away. As l stated, the 23s sound great at that distance. But I'm also thinking that stand mounts might be a better fit???

I'm in no rush... but gotta get it right. This is endgame for me now l am retired. 

 

[audio_file]

15 minutes ago, needlerunner said:

All lovely brands mp38. Great speakers.

Me. Considering going down that road...but with passives.

Love my PMC twenty 23s. But been researching an upgrade for next year. After several months of visual research. The ATC SCM40s seems to have struck a chord with me. They seem to be on the PMC spectrum, sound wise. 

But PMC have become too costly now (for me anyway). 

Will have to find a pair of the 40s to listen too. I believe they would match well with my Plinius Hautonga. Itching to try a 3 way. As my foray into hi-fi has strictly been 2 way speakers only (which l like). My only concern is that they might be too big for the room. But it is an open space area, and l do mainly listen from the dining room. But my main listening area is only 2.5 metres away. As l stated, the 23s sound great at that distance. But I'm also thinking that stand mounts might be a better fit???

I'm in no rush... but gotta get it right. This is endgame for me now l am retired. 

 

I haven't heard the Plinius, but the ATCs are excellent speakers, the latest version far better than the PMC 23 in my opinion.

I don't think the tonal balance or transparency (and other strengths/weaknesses) are the same between the ATCs and PMCs.

They sound quite different to each other in my perception.

How large is your room?

2.5m between the speakers and listener is fine for both the PMC and ATC you mentioned, but the rest of the room is more important.

I.e. what are the dimensions (hxwxd), how far are you able to put the speaker from side walls, and how far from rear walls, and finally where is the listening position.