PMC and home decor...

With my recent Squeezebox purchase, me (and the wife) are getting into the idea of REALLY slimming down the ATC system.

Has anyone seen or heard these PMC speakers in the flesh? To be honest, I would not expect great imaging, soundstage, etc. but I am only going to be playing rock, pop, ambient stuff through them.

I expect I would need to run them with the TLE1 sub to get decent bass but that can be easily hidden behind the sofa with our room layout.

 

Not heard those. Dynaudio also make the wall mounted solutions, which are ok from experience. Most lifestyle speakers, like my mates Gallos and kef's, are shocking.

 

Hi Paul, how are you getting along these days? Still enjoying your system?

 

hi there,

i heard those pmc speakers at the last hifi show in heathrow.
i was pleasantly surprised, even though i wasn't shopping for speakers at all.
they made enough of an impression to make me stop for a few minutes and listen, and given that i had already been in lots of other rooms and wanting to move on quickly through them (to have time for the ones i really wanted to visit) it can't be a bad thing.

i thought aesthetically they were/are a pretty good solution for a living room. iirc they sounded pretty clear and had more bass than i was expecting for their size. as a home theatre system they are probably excelent but i think you will need a bass. sorry for the vagueness, it was a little while ago and i didn't spend a long time there but i was happy to have heard them.

hth,
Jack

 

sorry i meant they will probably make a good av speaker system but as you mentioned a sub will help a lot if you like full bodied explosions (if you can have such a thing... )

jack

 

Bristol

The wafer speakers will be at the Bristol show next month.

I'm sure the usual whining about the pointlessness of shows will start up fairly soon, but 'till then there's these if they interest you and the Heeds which I would like to hear - and two new Tannoy Prestige models...!

 

"Getting their debut at the show last year, Resolution loudspeakers will be back with their unmistakable sound at this years show."

:lol: :lol:

 

Will they have a dedicated room? or maybe a clapped out old Nova in the carpark...

 

Markus, I don't really think about the system anymore. Just building up my collection of tunes and rather enjoying them too!

 

So what pre did you end up with?

 

It went...

BAT vk3ix pre: Tight control, the most accurate valve I've heard. However extended listening revealed it's too noisey on sections that are meant to be silent. If this design is too noisey, then I think valves are no good for me. The volume I listen to just highlights this even more.

DAC1 acting as pre: Total control, silent, pretty decent. Lack of remote but it is tiny and economical!

Bryston 25 pre: As accurate and silent as I've heard so far.

The 25 was meant to be a temporary solution until I could be bothered hunting down other options. It's the same as the new 26, but without the larger optional external power supply. I got it new for half price bargain.

Before I started all this I had a pre conceived idea of what I thought I wanted - valve warmth on the vocals. After half a year I realise I just want it accurate. Now I'm happy and don't think about the kit anymore. I'm just into my tunes and enjoy them massively now

 

Some valve pre amps can have an annoying background hiss. I had a Quicksilver linestage pre amp for a few weeks, I just couldn't stand the hiss it was giving out all the time. I felt like I was listening to the hiss more than the music!

The Croft Vitale and EAR 834L are both very quiet with plenty of gain, but their build quality is not a patch like the Quicksilver.

Another valve preamp I rate highly is the Audio Research LS7. I had one a few years ago and it is so quiet that it even matched well with a pair of vintage Leak TL12.1 with ultra high sensitivity of 100mV.

Hon

 

Paul,

interesting, not least in light of some rather heated discussion on pfm. I need to listen to some PMCs some time.

Oh, and there are valve amps with better than 105 dB S/N, which I believe is better than the Bryston spec.

 

As I understand it, the problem with the PMCs is that the bass is fake.

 

No its just so much better people cant beleive its for real You should seek them out bub. Like the sme - wait until you have heard it before deciding how it sounds.

Did you try the avi pre yet Paul? You can try out my WNA unit if you like!

Which thread was that markus?

 

The numerous threads in which Bub argued for accuracy and Paul argued for a bit of euphony, ca. mid-2005.

FWIW I mostly kept out of those threads because one tends to come across as a dogmatist when arguing for accuracy, but I certainly agree with the principle of it, if not always with the specific items being touted as accurate.

 

You are right, I should really have a listen, in an ideal world. I'm only going on what people seem to say about them.

And, to be fair, PMC do have the "Dido-factor".

 

I've already gone off the idea of the PMC Wafers so have come to my senses now.

If the missus is going to subject me to another bloody season of "Desperate Housewives", then the least she can do is put up with my ATC's.

 

I think Paul is a convert to accuracy now

What "some" people seem to say about them bub ... a small but vocal minority.

Go for the ib1s if DW is the tradeoff you can dig in for a better bargaining position!

 

It is well known that ATC's are not full range monitors, which is precisely why most of their owners use them in conjunction with subwoofers. Those that don't are either saving up for one, are deaf to the lower octave, or only listen to flute recitals.

Bubby, how will you manage to set up the ATC's properly without last seasons scaffolding?

Nothing changes I see