It's not really a secret that I'm a fan of PMC speakers. I've used them for years professionally, got very used to their 'sound' and so have them at home in my living room doing AV duties for films and the like. Last Friday I was lucky enough to pay a visit to the PMC factory in order to have a listen to some of their bigger active models, having recently bought a surround array of their latest twotwo series active nearfields. The twotwo's are a cracking little speaker that punches well above its weight. It's not cheap but there's not much out there that comes close.
Anyhoo the visit. The bad bit was having to pack these up and sadly return the demo units I've been using for the last couple of weeks waiting for.
So with those in the boot, starting out at an ungodly hour the pilgrimage began. Luckily traffic was kind and a couple of hours down the M1 later we arrived!
We started out with a tour of the main areas - lots of gloss black Twenty series being made, a few IB2SE and MB2's. But, you couldn't help but see these bad boys, BB5 XBD-A... Not a bad way to blow £65,000 or there abouts!
I think the bow in the desk says it all haha! We carried on wandering around and got introduced to a few of the assembly team, saw the component grading area, crossover soldering and midrange doping space, the foam insert section and the testing area. Every set of speakers are listened to and compared to 'The Reference' to ensure it's up to scratch. The Reference section is an amazing cross section of the PMC line up, there's one of every model tucked in that rack.
We then wandered over to the other building where the R&D dept and demo area is. We had a treat lined up in the demo section.
twotwo.6 (sat on the amp racks), IB2S XBD-A (Big Blues) and MB2 XBD-A. Source was a Mark Levinson No.390S. We started with the twotwo.6's. These were fresh off the line and still being loosened up, but impressive none the less, and familiar to me given the last few weeks with my own at work. After accustoming our ears we moved on to the Big Blues. Wow - but surprisingly (and controversially?) not that much better than the twotwo.6. Obviously there's a lot more presence and 'oomph' given the larger enclosure and driver, but the tonality and detail wasn't the huge step up you might expect. If you like the Big Blues, the 'Little Blues' with a sub might make a slightly more wallet (and wife) friendly alternative given that IB2 are in the region of £33k.
Next up - MB Actives. Despite sharing the same mid/top drivers there was a distinct difference in presentation which I can only put down to the Bryston electronics. The MB's were smoother and generally slightly more laid back in their presentation. Power was effortless as you'd expect and on my test CD it's only the second system I've heard that's played the 'low note' in 'A Kid/Dog/Woman' without strain. Very impressive - but you'd hope so given you're looking north of £40k for the pair including the subs.
After listening for a good hour or so I made my mind up. Big Blue won my heart over the MB2. The combination of digital amps and DSP that is built into them was that little bit more clinical which was to my preference. Both were amazing, but the IB2 just edged it. Quite a few EDM producers and mastering houses are looking at the IB2S and I'm not surprised. Overall a top day out.
Anyhoo the visit. The bad bit was having to pack these up and sadly return the demo units I've been using for the last couple of weeks waiting for.
So with those in the boot, starting out at an ungodly hour the pilgrimage began. Luckily traffic was kind and a couple of hours down the M1 later we arrived!
We started out with a tour of the main areas - lots of gloss black Twenty series being made, a few IB2SE and MB2's. But, you couldn't help but see these bad boys, BB5 XBD-A... Not a bad way to blow £65,000 or there abouts!
I think the bow in the desk says it all haha! We carried on wandering around and got introduced to a few of the assembly team, saw the component grading area, crossover soldering and midrange doping space, the foam insert section and the testing area. Every set of speakers are listened to and compared to 'The Reference' to ensure it's up to scratch. The Reference section is an amazing cross section of the PMC line up, there's one of every model tucked in that rack.
We then wandered over to the other building where the R&D dept and demo area is. We had a treat lined up in the demo section.
twotwo.6 (sat on the amp racks), IB2S XBD-A (Big Blues) and MB2 XBD-A. Source was a Mark Levinson No.390S. We started with the twotwo.6's. These were fresh off the line and still being loosened up, but impressive none the less, and familiar to me given the last few weeks with my own at work. After accustoming our ears we moved on to the Big Blues. Wow - but surprisingly (and controversially?) not that much better than the twotwo.6. Obviously there's a lot more presence and 'oomph' given the larger enclosure and driver, but the tonality and detail wasn't the huge step up you might expect. If you like the Big Blues, the 'Little Blues' with a sub might make a slightly more wallet (and wife) friendly alternative given that IB2 are in the region of £33k.
Next up - MB Actives. Despite sharing the same mid/top drivers there was a distinct difference in presentation which I can only put down to the Bryston electronics. The MB's were smoother and generally slightly more laid back in their presentation. Power was effortless as you'd expect and on my test CD it's only the second system I've heard that's played the 'low note' in 'A Kid/Dog/Woman' without strain. Very impressive - but you'd hope so given you're looking north of £40k for the pair including the subs.
After listening for a good hour or so I made my mind up. Big Blue won my heart over the MB2. The combination of digital amps and DSP that is built into them was that little bit more clinical which was to my preference. Both were amazing, but the IB2 just edged it. Quite a few EDM producers and mastering houses are looking at the IB2S and I'm not surprised. Overall a top day out.
...... They were very welcoming and gave myself and G/F a personal tour of the factory and left us with a coffee and the top end system to play with.
