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  #21  
Old 11-30-2009, 09:03 PM
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When I made up my mind to consider PMC EB1i speakers, I could not find any dealers with a pair to be auditioned. A friend in North Carolina has a pair of PMC OB1's and he invited me up to spend a couple of days, so I took some familiar CD's and went for a visit. I was surprised how narrow the OB1's are, but was floored at the sound of them. They had very good bass, with a midrange and top end that was very open and natural. What's more, they sounded good whether playing softly or cranking. I was impressed enough with the OB1's that once back in Florida I contacted the local PMC rep and ordered a pair of PMC EB1i speakers without ever hearing them.

My PMC EB1i's were ordered directly from the factory in Great Britain. and I had to wait five weeks for them to be manufactured, and shipped. There were days before they finally arrived when I would say to myself that I hoped I hadn't made a big mistake. Once they arrived, and I got them into my living room wired up to my system, at that time a C2200 and one MC275 amp, I was amazed to discover everything I liked about the OB1 was there, and a whole lot more. The EB1i's were completely broken-in at about 200 hours, and were proving themselves to be the best sounding speaker I have ever owned.

I have to say that my leap of faith when ordering the PMC EB1i's unheard has paid huge dividends. They have given me great listening pleasure, so much so that I have sort of became the unofficial PMC spokesman whenever anyone asked about PMC. I feel fortunate that the results of my blind faith purchase turned out so well. It could have gone the other way just as easily. Thankfully, I could not be happier with my PMC speakers.
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STUDIO - McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MR88, Aurender N10, Esoteric K-01X, Shunyata Sigma spdif digital cable, Sonos Connect, PurePower 2000, Stillpoints, Furutech Flux 50, Michell Gyro SE, Michell HR Power Supply, SME 309, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Wireworld, Sonus faber Amati Anniversario
LIVING ROOM - McIntosh C2300, MC75 (2), MR85, Magnum Dynalab 205, Simaudio MOON Neo 260D-T, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, Aurender N100H, Shunyata Sigma USB cable, Micro Seiki DD40, Ortofon Cadenza Blue, Nakamichi BX-300, Sony 60ES DAT, PS Audio P10, Furutech Flux 50, Sonos Connect, Stillpoints, Wireworld, Kimber, PMC EB1i, JL Audio f113
VINTAGE - McIntosh MA230, Tandberg 3011A tuner, Olive 04HD, Sony DTC-59ES DAT, McIntosh 4300V, JBL 4312A

Last edited by jdandy; 11-30-2009 at 09:07 PM.
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  #22  
Old 11-30-2009, 09:23 PM
Still-One Still-One is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jdandy View Post
When I made up my mind to consider PMC EB1i speakers, I could not find any dealers with a pair to be auditioned. A friend in North Carolina has a pair of PMC OB1's and he invited me up to spend a couple of days, so I took some familiar CD's and went for a visit. .
Dan
If you did not hear them at a dealer what made you consider them before you visited your friend? Did you hear them at a show, or based on a review?
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  #23  
Old 11-30-2009, 09:52 PM
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Jim.......Actually, I was about to buy a pair of McIntosh XRT28 speakers. I had auditioned them a number of times in the past when they were in the current McIntosh line up, but just never pulled the trigger. While talking with a couple guys at Audio Classics about a used pair of XRT28's they had, it was suggested that I give the PMC EB1i an audition. In the course of the discussions, two different people told me the PMC EB1i's blew the XRT28's away, were more efficient, and were less money. That is what set me on the path to audition PMC. I haven't regreted the results of my decision, not even a little bit.
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STUDIO - McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MR88, Aurender N10, Esoteric K-01X, Shunyata Sigma spdif digital cable, Sonos Connect, PurePower 2000, Stillpoints, Furutech Flux 50, Michell Gyro SE, Michell HR Power Supply, SME 309, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Wireworld, Sonus faber Amati Anniversario
LIVING ROOM - McIntosh C2300, MC75 (2), MR85, Magnum Dynalab 205, Simaudio MOON Neo 260D-T, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, Aurender N100H, Shunyata Sigma USB cable, Micro Seiki DD40, Ortofon Cadenza Blue, Nakamichi BX-300, Sony 60ES DAT, PS Audio P10, Furutech Flux 50, Sonos Connect, Stillpoints, Wireworld, Kimber, PMC EB1i, JL Audio f113
VINTAGE - McIntosh MA230, Tandberg 3011A tuner, Olive 04HD, Sony DTC-59ES DAT, McIntosh 4300V, JBL 4312A
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  #24  
Old 11-30-2009, 11:48 PM
PHC1 PHC1 is offline
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Besides the obvious qualities we all look for in speakers such as great frequency response that is both extended but more importantly smooooth and balanced top to bottom, nice tonality that is pleasing to the ear and a non fatiguing sonic signature, there are also other things to consider. I've long ago stopped thinking of many higher end speakers as a "single element". It is in fact a "system" that is comprised of your room, acoustics in your room, partnering gear, cables and to a lesser degree for a "great speaker", choice of music you like.

Having heard many of the same higher end speakers in different rooms with different levels of acoustic treatments, partnering gear and cables, one can walk away with quite a different impression every time.

As long as the speaker doesn't have major flaws, there is always a strategy of how to optimize their performance in the room and extract more as well as tilting the system balance closer to your personal preference.

Of course for all of the above to be true, a speaker has to have great dynamic range capabilities, able to convey dynamic contrast and shading in the recorded music effortlessly, have as little coloration as possible from drivers and cabinet, recreate spatial information present on the recording in the form of imaging/soundstage to make your room disappear and create the illusion of the listener being part of the musical event that was recorded in another place at another time... Assuming the manufacturer did his due diligence and designed a speaker that has good to great response that is free from audible coloration, hardness and brittle response from the tweeter, etc.. then tonal balance and tweaking the speaker further to your liking is easy enough to do if one knows what to look for in partnering gear.

Having owned many speakers before and having heard even more, Wilson, among a few others can and does meet all of those parameters effortlessly and that is why I have become such a fan. Doing a little planning and research has finally paid off in my own system. I couldn't be happier with my Wilson/Lamm pairing. Having said that, I am sure I could come up with at least another dozen combos that would make me very happy as well.

Keeping in mind the "system" approach, it is quite possible to take a modern higher end speaker that meets the above criteria and make it sound better than any other speaker that has not been system optimized and visa versa. The rest is personal preference, budget, aesthetics, etc...
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  #25  
Old 12-02-2009, 10:52 AM
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Pyro Pyro is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bradleyc View Post
Another important factor in auditioning speakers is to listen to representative music from your collection. Speakers that perform well with certain types of music may not live up to your expectations in other areas. An example from my experience would be Maggies, they are so strong with vocals, Jazz quartets and smaller venues, but just don't get it done for me with rock and roll...
Good point! I used to only bring by favorite Cd's with good recordings to demo speakers. Now I bring good and bad Cd's to hear how the speakers handle the differences.
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TV&Movies PMC EB1i(2), CB1i, OB1i(2). SVS Ultra16(2). McIntosh MC207. Bryston SP4.
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  #26  
Old 12-02-2009, 12:37 PM
Gordon Gordon is offline
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It is interesting reading what you guys listen for in a speaker. I listen for what it doesn't do! Since I have some hearing damage, I've become very sensitive to most metal dome and some fabric tweeters. I was a bit apprehensive going to Ivan's room in Florida since he has a metal tweeter or two. Surprisingly, it did not affect me as I thought it would. There were some notes that felt like icepicks in the ears (no offense Ivan) but on the whole a very pleasant sound.

Once I find a speaker that doesn't hurt, it has to draw me into the music. The almost contender was a DynAudio Confidence C4. Had just about made my mind up until the some horns changed my mind. I eventually decided to just eliminate tweeters from my search. That kinda limits my choices so Martin Logan became a default choice. Not complaining in any way since these speakers meet all my requirements.

Gordon
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  #27  
Old 12-04-2009, 10:10 PM
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jdandy jdandy is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pyro View Post
Good point! I used to only bring by favorite Cd's with good recordings to demo speakers. Now I bring good and bad Cd's to hear how the speakers handle the differences.
Rob.......Taking a few known bad or marginal recordings to audition, along with the premium recordings, is a great idea. I had never before given this any thought. Thanks.
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STUDIO - McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MR88, Aurender N10, Esoteric K-01X, Shunyata Sigma spdif digital cable, Sonos Connect, PurePower 2000, Stillpoints, Furutech Flux 50, Michell Gyro SE, Michell HR Power Supply, SME 309, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Wireworld, Sonus faber Amati Anniversario
LIVING ROOM - McIntosh C2300, MC75 (2), MR85, Magnum Dynalab 205, Simaudio MOON Neo 260D-T, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, Aurender N100H, Shunyata Sigma USB cable, Micro Seiki DD40, Ortofon Cadenza Blue, Nakamichi BX-300, Sony 60ES DAT, PS Audio P10, Furutech Flux 50, Sonos Connect, Stillpoints, Wireworld, Kimber, PMC EB1i, JL Audio f113
VINTAGE - McIntosh MA230, Tandberg 3011A tuner, Olive 04HD, Sony DTC-59ES DAT, McIntosh 4300V, JBL 4312A
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