PMC Speakers Owners & Discussion Thread

[kanakiani]

I have the BP 173 and 4B3 and they play very nice with the PMC.

Personal experience I did not have with  older bryston
but I did not read the best words.

It was a grate update to the sound the big distance between the speakers !!

[jg@speedofsound]

Hi All, I have a pair of PB1’s that are nothing short of sensational.
I went from a pair or B&W 804s and have never looked back.

[magical]

  On 19/04/2019 at 1:16 AM, jg@speedofsound said:

Hi All, I have a pair of PB1’s that are nothing short of sensational.
I went from a pair or B&W 804s and have never looked back.

Expand  

Lucky you! I used to sell them & was offended when they were in short supply, someone bought them & took tge demo pair - heresy! 

I'd have a pair in a minute. 

I once tri amped them with Cyrus 300,s on bass, 200,s on mid & the stereo power on high. Heaven. I love Cyrus with PMC.

 

[AussieMick]

Hi all,
Can people please tell me the distance between the back of your PMC and the wall? I’m experimenting at the moment and trying to find the best balance between sound stage and tonal balance. I’m running Twenty5.22’s.
Also, what degree of toe-in? I’m keeping records, measuring the distance of each rear corner to the wall, and ensuring it’s identical for each speaker.
Cheers,
Mick.

[audio_file]

  On 19/04/2019 at 11:14 PM, AussieMick said:

Can people please tell me the distance between the back of your PMC and the wall? I’m experimenting at the moment and trying to find the best balance between sound stage and tonal balance. I’m running Twenty5.22’s.
Also, what degree of toe-in? I’m keeping records, measuring the distance of each rear corner to the wall, and ensuring it’s identical for each speaker.

Expand  

I had my Twenty.23 55-70cm from the rear (measured from the front to the back wall), and 85-110cm from side walls.

I had them in this range the whole time, but at different points at different times, with both speakers always the same from each side and back.

My toe in was between 5 and 10 degrees.

[Peter Sherriff]

  On 19/04/2019 at 2:12 AM, magical said:

Heaven. I love Cyrus with PMC.
 

I'm running my GB1i speakers with a pair of older Cyrus Mono X - I'm a very happy bunny with that setup but would love to get approval from the Home-CEO to step up to a pair of Mono X 300 Signatures!!

PMC with Cyrus gets a big thumbs up from me.

[birdhouse]

  On 20/04/2019 at 9:02 AM, PSherriff said:

I'm running my GB1i speakers with a pair of older Cyrus Mono X - I'm a very happy bunny with that setup but would love to get approval from the Home-CEO to step up to a pair of Mono X 300 Signatures!!

PMC with Cyrus gets a big thumbs up from me.

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Great to see another GB1i owner.

 

I always felt like they can handle more than the Primare i22 80watt I'm giving them. Maybe bigger amp first and if not enough I may need to go for one of the speakers bigger/newer brothers.

 

Do you feel like the speakers are enough? Given the small size they pack a punch.

[mtf]

I think there are some PMCs hiding behind those Raidhos somewhere 

 

Edited April 20, 2019 by mtf

[mtf]

Double

Edited April 20, 2019 by mtf

[Peter Sherriff]

  On 20/04/2019 at 9:49 AM, birdhouse said:

 
Great to see another GB1i owner.
 
I always felt like they can handle more than the Primare i22 80watt I'm giving them. Maybe bigger amp first and if not enough I may need to go for one of the speakers bigger/newer brothers.
 
Do you feel like the speakers are enough? Given the small size they pack a punch.

Likewise! Seems a lot of people have moved on to newer models but my aesthetic co-ordinator prefers the look of the older range and I like to keep her happy with the contents of the hi-fi space.

Switching up from an 8 Power to the current Mono X's certainly gave me more of everything I was enjoying with the GB1i and generally speaking I don't find try lack in grunt. That said, I've always got half an eye out on the classifieds in case a pair of bigger brothers comes up for sale in the right colour!

[birdhouse]

  On 20/04/2019 at 12:14 PM, PSherriff said:

Likewise! Seems a lot of people have moved on to newer models but my aesthetic co-ordinator prefers the look of the older range and I like to keep her happy with the contents of the hi-fi space.

Switching up from an 8 Power to the current Mono X's certainly gave me more of everything I was enjoying with the GB1i and generally speaking I don't find try lack in grunt. That said, I've always got half an eye out on the classifieds in case a pair of bigger brothers comes up for sale in the right colour! 

Expand  

Like your partner I much prefer the older models as well. Love the black wood.

 

I will upgrade my amp one day and see how much of a difference it makes but make sure I have enough grunt for that perfect pair of FB1i's that comes up for sale one day. 

 

[Peter Sherriff]

  On 20/04/2019 at 1:27 PM, birdhouse said:

Like your partner I much prefer the older models as well. Love the black wood.
 
I will upgrade my amp one day and see how much of a difference it makes but make sure I have enough grunt for that perfect pair of FB1i's that comes up for sale one day. [emoji16]
 

I'd like to give a set of the EB1i's a whirl but suspect they might be a bit much [emoji1787] but OB1i's would be perfect in my space I think... Maybe with a TLE1 to help them out a little. [emoji16]

[needlerunner]

  On 16/04/2019 at 11:08 AM, 1224 said:

Running my 25.26's off a sp331mk power and a sa98 pre. Sounds pretty good to me. 

Hi members,
Just after some clarity here. As I previously alluded to. I have ordered a pair of PMC twenty.23 speakers. There appears to be a common theme that PMC speakers sound better with higher watt amps, i.e. 100w+.
So my question is: in a 14'×12' room', wouldn't 70w be ample? Doesn't more watts mainly equate to loudness?
I appreciate a 3k integrated amp would sound better than a 15 hundred $ amp (to which l am currently using).

Secondly, have amps over the years progressed as much as speakers?
My amp is 20+ years old and still running strong. People like their tubes, and l like class AB. Now the classes are like an alphabet soup, D,G etc. Also, are not a lot of today's amps set up for HT, and also digital. Me, I'm old school, purely 2 channel analogue listening (vinyl and CDs). So, yup, just a good old analogue amp.

Contrary to all of this l am already researching other amp options,and I havn't even got the speakers yet (still trying to sell my other speakers). But l will hear them with my Arcam, before I once again go over to the dark side, and spend more of my retirement money lol. The consensus is, on this thread anyway, that these speakers perform better with a bit more juice. I have yet to be fully convinced of that. Convince me.

But having saying that, I'm now going to make an hipercrite of myself. Or at least preparing myself for the inevitable. The seed is firmly entrenced now, that, l do indeed need a new amp (damn you dark side). So started looking.

I know a lot of my colleagues in this great
club have some great amps, tubes, separates and mono's, costing over 5k+.
However, my budget will only stretch to 3k.
I know a lot of people will advocate 2nd hand. Nope can't do it OCD kicks my arse every time. So as to be new.

So with that in mind, and for my budget, I'm purely looking at integrated. But I was looking at the Vincent SV237mk, because it was in the price range. Unfortunately, the things a bloody monster and won't fit in my rack.

I was also looking at the Arcam A39, but some reviews are fairly luke warm and not sure about G Class.

The amp that really impresses me, review wise, is the Musical Fidelity M5si. A bit more than l wanted to pay, but maybe l can knock the dealer down to 3k. The problem is that the dealer is hours away and they don't sell PMCs. So I can't audition them. (Damn the vagaries of living in regional WA).

Well that's it homework done. What do my esteemed PMC buddies think? Can't wait to hear all the valuable and intelligent and forthright replies.

So that's why I'm throwing it open to all the people that are a lot more knowledgeable on the subject than me. Do it once, do it right l say. So I can get on with, what is the essence, listening to the music.

Hoping that someone out there as the 20 23s and the MF 5si. What are the chances?
Sorry about the length, just laying back listening to Marrillion. Is that the time. Time for a bourbon. Cheers.

[audio_file]

  On 21/04/2019 at 7:03 AM, needlerunner said:

Hi members,
Just after some clarity here. As I previously alluded to. I have ordered a pair of PMC twenty.23 speakers. There appears to be a common theme that PMC speakers sound better with higher watt amps, i.e. 100w+.
So my question is: in a 14'×12' room', wouldn't 70w be ample? Doesn't more watts mainly equate to loudness?
I appreciate a 3k integrated amp would sound better than a 15 hundred $ amp (to which l am currently using).

Secondly, have amps over the years progressed as much as speakers?
My amp is 20+ years old and still running strong. People like their tubes, and l like class AB. Now the classes are like an alphabet soup, D,G etc. Also, are not a lot of today's amps set up for HT, and also digital. Me, I'm old school, purely 2 channel analogue listening (vinyl and CDs). So, yup, just a good old analogue amp.

Contrary to all of this l am already researching other amp options,and I havn't even got the speakers yet (still trying to sell my other speakers). But l will hear them with my Arcam, before I once again go over to the dark side, and spend more of my retirement money lol. The consensus is, on this thread anyway, that these speakers perform better with a bit more juice. I have yet to be fully convinced of that. Convince me.

But having saying that, I'm now going to make an hipercrite of myself. Or at least preparing myself for the inevitable. The seed is firmly entrenced now, that, l do indeed need a new amp (damn you dark side). So started looking.

I know a lot of my colleagues in this great
club have some great amps, tubes, separates and mono's, costing over 5k+.
However, my budget will only stretch to 3k.
I know a lot of people will advocate 2nd hand. Nope can't do it OCD kicks my arse every time. So as to be new.

So with that in mind, and for my budget, I'm purely looking at integrated. But I was looking at the Vincent SV237mk, because it was in the price range. Unfortunately, the things a bloody monster and won't fit in my rack.

I was also looking at the Arcam A39, but some reviews are fairly luke warm and not sure about G Class.

The amp that really impresses me, review wise, is the Musical Fidelity M5si. A bit more than l wanted to pay, but maybe l can knock the dealer down to 3k. The problem is that the dealer is hours away and they don't sell PMCs. So I can't audition them. (Damn the vagaries of living in regional WA).

Well that's it homework done. What do my esteemed PMC buddies think? Can't wait to hear all the valuable and intelligent and forthright replies.

So that's why I'm throwing it open to all the people that are a lot more knowledgeable on the subject than me. Do it once, do it right l say. So I can get on with, what is the essence, listening to the music.

Hoping that someone out there as the 20 23s and the MF 5si. What are the chances?
Sorry about the length, just laying back listening to Marrillion. Is that the time. Time for a bourbon. Cheers.







 

Expand  

I have not found much improvement on higher powered amplifiers on my Twenty.23.

The only advantage seems to be a tiny amount of tighter bass, but it's hard to tell the difference.

Unlike my ATC SCM 19, these don't seem to need much to get going.

[Hazzzy]

  On 21/04/2019 at 7:03 AM, needlerunner said:

Vincent SV237mk

Expand  

Get a new rack and the vincent. 

End of story

[AussieMick]

Yep, I’m in the “good watts, not lots of watts” club with my Twenty5.22. Yes, more good watts gives you more focus in the imaging and a better swings of big dynamic changes. However, in a smaller room you’re better off spending in quality, not quantity.

[needlerunner]

HI Aussie,
That's the conundrum isn't it.
What determines good watts/bad watts, or how many you need. I guess the proof is in the listening and comparing different amps with these PMC speakers. I'm not in the position to be able to do that. However, I believe my Arcam Delta 90.2 is a reasonable amp, certainly not budget. So that will be my first impression/test. Probably when the speakers are run in. I will take my amp to Perth and do some comparisons. Maybe/hopefully, a dealer might let me take an amp home and run my system. But then what amp...difficult. I guess find an amp I like the sound of, and go from there.
Heck I might like the sound of my own amp. But then I'll be left wondering of what's better out there.

[needlerunner]

  On 21/04/2019 at 10:23 AM, Hazzzy said:

Get a new rack and the vincent. 
End of story

Hey Hazzy,
Didnt l say convince me.
Why should I buy this amp?
Give me some insight and evidence why that should be the case.
Incidentally, I've just purchased this rack.
As I said this amp is huge...size of a small car [emoji3]. Read some good reviews on it though.

[needlerunner]

  On 21/04/2019 at 10:19 AM, audio_file said:

I have not found much improvement on higher powered amplifiers on my Twenty.23.
The only advantage seems to be a tiny amount of tighter bass, but it's hard to tell the difference.
Unlike my ATC SCM 19, these don't seem to need much to get going.

Thanks Aidio_file.
That's what I'm after, constructive opinion.
What amp are you currently running.

I concur with Aussie Mick. It's quality not quantity. I'm yet to find out if my current amp is quality enough.

Would still like to hear from anyone that has the Musical Fidelity M5si. For some reason, it's struck accord with me for some reason. This amp at 150w would certainly do the job, and cover all future upgrades. Must be others out there that like Musical Fidelity. Reviews seem to suggest it's one of the better quality integrated amps out there. Call it intuitive or stupidity why I'm set on this amp.
I don't know. That's why I'm asking for opinions.

[Hazzzy]

  On 21/04/2019 at 12:20 PM, needlerunner said:

Why should I buy this amp?

Expand  

Sorry no evidence, just ears. Plenty ov class A is what does it for me. Convince yourself with your ears. To be honest I have never heard a pair ov PMC speakers. Looks like a predicament if the rack is new!! So many amps out there with plenty to offer. Great situation to be in. I am no expert but most vintage amps lack current for modern speakers.

I found that my vintage marantz 1180dc which was a powerhouse in it's day was sadly lacking trying to drive dali speakers rated at 6ohm.

Trust your ears.

Rob

Edited April 21, 2019 by Hazzzy

[AussieMick]

  On 21/04/2019 at 12:14 PM, needlerunner said:

HI Aussie,
That's the conundrum isn't it.
What determines good watts/bad watts, or how many you need. I guess the proof is in the listening and comparing different amps with these PMC speakers. I'm not in the position to be able to do that. However, I believe my Arcam Delta 90.2 is a reasonable amp, certainly not budget. So that will be my first impression/test. Probably when the speakers are run in. I will take my amp to Perth and do some comparisons. Maybe/hopefully, a dealer might let me take an amp home and run my system. But then what amp...difficult. I guess find an amp I like the sound of, and go from there.
Heck I might like the sound of my own amp. But then I'll be left wondering of what's better out there.

I’ve had a Melbourne dealer let me take an amp home to try with a credit card swipe. Nothing charged unless I decided to keep it, or I never returned! It helped enormously.
In this context, “good watts” is the sound I really like. I’m currently using a pair of Graham Slee Proprious power Amps to drive them. 25W. Sounds awesome.

[1224]

  On 21/04/2019 at 7:03 AM, needlerunner said:

Hi members,
Just after some clarity here. As I previously alluded to. I have ordered a pair of PMC twenty.23 speakers. There appears to be a common theme that PMC speakers sound better with higher watt amps, i.e. 100w+.
So my question is: in a 14'×12' room', wouldn't 70w be ample? Doesn't more watts mainly equate to loudness?
I appreciate a 3k integrated amp would sound better than a 15 hundred $ amp (to which l am currently using).

Secondly, have amps over the years progressed as much as speakers?
My amp is 20+ years old and still running strong. People like their tubes, and l like class AB. Now the classes are like an alphabet soup, D,G etc. Also, are not a lot of today's amps set up for HT, and also digital. Me, I'm old school, purely 2 channel analogue listening (vinyl and CDs). So, yup, just a good old analogue amp.

Contrary to all of this l am already researching other amp options,and I havn't even got the speakers yet (still trying to sell my other speakers). But l will hear them with my Arcam, before I once again go over to the dark side, and spend more of my retirement money lol. The consensus is, on this thread anyway, that these speakers perform better with a bit more juice. I have yet to be fully convinced of that. Convince me.

But having saying that, I'm now going to make an hipercrite of myself. Or at least preparing myself for the inevitable. The seed is firmly entrenced now, that, l do indeed need a new amp (damn you dark side). So started looking.

I know a lot of my colleagues in this great
club have some great amps, tubes, separates and mono's, costing over 5k+.
However, my budget will only stretch to 3k.
I know a lot of people will advocate 2nd hand. Nope can't do it OCD kicks my arse every time. So as to be new.

So with that in mind, and for my budget, I'm purely looking at integrated. But I was looking at the Vincent SV237mk, because it was in the price range. Unfortunately, the things a bloody monster and won't fit in my rack.

I was also looking at the Arcam A39, but some reviews are fairly luke warm and not sure about G Class.

The amp that really impresses me, review wise, is the Musical Fidelity M5si. A bit more than l wanted to pay, but maybe l can knock the dealer down to 3k. The problem is that the dealer is hours away and they don't sell PMCs. So I can't audition them. (Damn the vagaries of living in regional WA).

Well that's it homework done. What do my esteemed PMC buddies think? Can't wait to hear all the valuable and intelligent and forthright replies.

So that's why I'm throwing it open to all the people that are a lot more knowledgeable on the subject than me. Do it once, do it right l say. So I can get on with, what is the essence, listening to the music.

Hoping that someone out there as the 20 23s and the MF 5si. What are the chances?
Sorry about the length, just laying back listening to Marrillion. Is that the time. Time for a bourbon. Cheers.

I have heard McIntosh, Psaudio, Audio research gsi75, and my rega brio r and Vincent’s on the 25.26’s.

The brio is a great amp but these speakers are transparent and good enough to easily show that it is out classed.

The ps audio amps one of which was a BHK didn’t do it for me... probably because I back to backed it against the Audio research gsi75.... which was really nice and sound probably the best at only 75 amps... but $25k[emoji47].

The MAC was nice also, but was listening to speakers more at the time. Didn’t really excite me too much at the time.

The Vincent system I have which consist of a 150odd watt class
A/B (10watt pure class A) Vincent SP331mk paired to a SA94 preamp, strike a good middle ground. Not crazy expensive like the AR, Mac, PS audios etc, but still great sound .

Still have yet to try a Prima Luna, which is said to be pretty good. Also the aforementioned Pilinus and Bryston stuff.

[Irek]

  On 21/04/2019 at 12:37 PM, needlerunner said:

Thanks Aidio_file.
That's what I'm after, constructive opinion.
What amp are you currently running.

I concur with Aussie Mick. It's quality not quantity. I'm yet to find out if my current amp is quality enough.

Would still like to hear from anyone that has the Musical Fidelity M5si. For some reason, it's struck accord with me for some reason. This amp at 150w would certainly do the job, and cover all future upgrades. Must be others out there that like Musical Fidelity. Reviews seem to suggest it's one of the better quality integrated amps out there. Call it intuitive or stupidity why I'm set on this amp.
I don't know. That's why I'm asking for opinions.

Expand  

Hi, I have the MF M5si, last year I used it with Focal electra 1008be which are very similar to PMC 25.22. It's a very nice sounding amp and it's mellow, relaxed. I think it would be a good match for 25.22 or 25.21 but no idea about the bass respond in 25.23. or 25.24. When audition pay attention to timing and bass, just to be sure you are happy with it. The mids and highs are pretty good. Also the amp needs a good ventilation, I would say at least 100mm on sides and 150mm on top. 

[needlerunner]

  On 21/04/2019 at 12:38 PM, Hazzzy said:

Sorry no evidence, just ears. Plenty ov class A is what does it for me. Convince yourself with your ears. To be honest I have never heard a pair ov PMC speakers. Looks like a predicament if the rack is new!! So many amps out there with plenty to offer. Great situation to be in. I am no expert but most vintage amps lack current for modern speakers.
I found that my vintage marantz 1180dc which was a powerhouse in it's day was sadly lacking trying to drive dali speakers rated at 6ohm.
Trust your ears.
Rob

Thanks Rob, good comment.
Slowly coming to that conclusion also.
Fortunately, these speakers are 8 ohm, and reviews say that they are easily driven.
I guess I'll find out. But l suspect that before the years out, l will have upgraded to a bigger amp. As evidenced by what a lot of people are saying. Maybe, just maybe, l should sell this amp with my Whatmoughs. A good startup up for somebody starting out. Has real good synergy. Maybe chuck in the new rack to go with it, ha ha.
Out of curiosity, I'm assuming you snuck on this thread, because someone enquired about amps. West Coast HiFi have your amp. I should check it out. Good price.
Just thought of it...could fit the amp on top of the rack, then wall mount a shelf above it for me tt. Problem solved.

[needlerunner]

  On 22/04/2019 at 12:51 AM, Irek said:

Hi, I have the MF M5si, last year I used it with Focal electra 1008be which are very similar to PMC 25.22. It's a very nice sounding amp and it's mellow, relaxed. I think it would be a good match for 25.22 or 25.21 but no idea about the bass respond in 25.23. or 25.24. When audition pay attention to timing and bass, just to be sure you are happy with it. The mids and highs are pretty good. Also the amp needs a good ventilation, I would say at least 100mm on sides and 150mm on top. 

Thanks lrek.
That's my problem, unless l take my speakers for a 5 hour round trip, and then it has to match my source material also. So it all becomes a bit too hard. That's why l had to buy these speakers blind from Melbourne, because they are no longer obtainable in WA. Plus I don't know anybody close by that has a pair.

The reviews that l have read indicate that they are similar to Arcam amps, but better in every regard. But will audition them with something similar sounding to the PMC twenty.23. If dealer knows that sound.
Reviews also say that these amps are quite neutral an forgiving, and will match most new speakers out there .

Some people say that amps are not crucial in the wider scheme of things? I for one can pick differences, but they are subtle.