New PMC speakers with 2" mid-dome

[test1223]

Hello,

there are some new pmc speaker. The bigger speakers use a new 2" mid-dome. If they are worth the higher price, I don't know.

Best
Thomas

 

[EAXAE]

Don't know about sound quality, but PMC8-2XBD looks sexy.

 

[dfuller]

They look great, but given how much every other PMC that has been measured is a bit of a dog's breakfast... I hold out zero hope.

EDIT: They have some rudimentary directivity measurements in the product pages. frequency response is quoted as 25hz-25khz -3dB for the 8-2. I'm not sure entirely how to interpret this, but there certainly seems to be some directivty error present if I'm reading this correctly.

 

[pierre]

Reading the manual, it looks like they are learning: DSP is included in the speaker someone should have tell them flat freq response is important or maybe they lost too much market share. Independent measurements will be interesting if price is not silly.

 

[EAXAE]

price is not silly

This is the only listing I've found so far. 6" are $5.250 per pair (good luck winning my money over 8350/310), double 8" — $13.500.
UPD: Sweetwater offers preorder already.

 

[test1223]

They look great, but given how much every other PMC that has been measured is a bit of a dog's breakfast... I hold out zero hope.

EDIT: They have some rudimentary directivity measurements in the product pages. frequency response is quoted as 25hz-25khz -3dB for the 8-2. I'm not sure entirely how to interpret this, but there certainly seems to be some directivty error present if I'm reading this correctly.
View attachment 154340

You can see the crossover frequencies from the woofer to the mid-dome about 750Hz. The directivety dips caused by the crossovers might be in good spots (diffuse field vs. direct sound).

 

[dfuller]

Well, I actually got a chance to listen to these today.

They sucked. Flat out. Super bassy, indistinct scoopy mids. Little bit of top end brightness. For the $13,000 a pair they cost, hard pass. I know ATC gets a bit of a shellacking around here, but all I'm going to say is that for this kind of money, I'd way rather a pair of SCM25A Pros and a couple of subs and a DSP crossover. At least I know I'm buying good drivers and a decent design that way...

 

[strummr]

Don't know where PMC went as a studio equipment mfg and definitely do not know much of the new lines, but when I was still the audiophool (having spent over six figures awhile back on plenty of 'stuff'), one of my 'trusted' audio dealers - whom had 30-40 years of experience in the high-end industry - swore by PMCs as the best speakers in the world, and always tried to get me to plan for PMCs as my 'end-game' speakers... but $25k for a pair was still too much to accept without more 'vetting.' such a sucker... but no longer...

 

[dfuller]

Bumping this as I had a chance to hear the 6-2s, which are generally regarded as better than the 8-2s.

They're better, though still not good. Very, very bright (this could likely be tamed via the DSP EQ built in, FWIW). They do the usual transmission line bass loading thing - big thump way down at tuning frequency (and they do go extremely low for their size, FWIW) - but the mid-bass and low midrange is lumpy and weird.

Overall for $10,000 I'd sooner KH420s.

 

[Pearljam5000]

Why is the waveguide so weird ?

 

[dfuller]

View attachment 281379
Why is the waveguide so weird ?

Dunno, but it sure looks like a cat's butt.

Anyway: shelve the top end down 1-3dB and you're more or less in business. These aren't bad. Still fall behind Neumann and ATC personally

 

[YSC]

Well, I actually got a chance to listen to these today.

They sucked. Flat out. Super bassy, indistinct scoopy mids. Little bit of top end brightness. For the $13,000 a pair they cost, hard pass. I know ATC gets a bit of a shellacking around here, but all I'm going to say is that for this kind of money, I'd way rather a pair of SCM25A Pros and a couple of subs and a DSP crossover. At least I know I'm buying good drivers and a decent design that way...

Personally I have zero hope for PMC seeing what their other offers measured… ATC is a lot better and I believe the shellacking for them is basically just due to some fanboy claiming magic over them so they are supreme above any other choice… if not I think most will agree they are good but not great for the price.

IIRC pmc usually have weird FR and let alone directivity

 

[Penelinfi]

There's soooo much marketing spiel it was hard to find what little technical info I could find about drivers etc.
The ease of modularity seems good for those kind of pros who set and forget with their monitors.

 

[tamtam]

I can't comment on the price, as every country has a different market. I've noticed that these speakers receive a lot of disapproval on this forum, mostly due to their sound signature. I don't think this is a problem, as our ears tend to adjust after listening to any speaker for a while. These are studio monitors, designed for making precise technical decisions, not for sounding 'nice.' They do have a particular sound signature due to the technology used in them, and they sound different from both the previous line and other monitors I've heard before. What’s important is whether they have the characteristics necessary for studio work, and they certainly do. Regarding the mid-dome, I've compared the 6 to the 6-2 (and also the Result 6), and it definitely adds presence to the mids. I would prefer having it rather than not. I think their digital, snappy nature suits modern electronic music well, though perhaps less so for live music.

 

[Pearljam5000]

At least the design looks cool

 

[dfuller]

These are studio monitors, designed for making precise technical decisions, not for sounding 'nice.'

The problem is if you assume the high end is aligned right out of the box (which it isn't on all of them except the 6, which is actually fine, oddly enough!) you'll end up with a wacky spectral balance.

 

[Ktacos]

These are studio monitors, designed for making precise technical decisions, not for sounding 'nice.'

2007 called and wants it's misinformation back.

 

[tamtam]

The problem is if you assume the high end is aligned right out of the box (which it isn't on all of them except the 6, which is actually fine, oddly enough!) you'll end up with a wacky spectral balance.

Why would anyone assume this? Tuning Sound Align to your liking is part of this speaker experience.
By the way, some have mentioned the exaggerated bass produced by ATL.
This can also be tamed using the Position setting, which also helps clean up the sound.

 

[Ktacos]

Why would anyone assume this? Tuning Sound Align to your liking is part of this speaker experience.

Not for mixing.

 

[tamtam]

Not for mixing.

Why not? Sound Align perfectly works for any use.