B&W PM1 SPEAKERS - AUDIO MARMITE -?

[Anonymous]

Thanks David, as previous any news on the burgundy finish ?

 

[Frank Harvey]

Nothing we've heard about...

 

[Anonymous]

I've demoed them with a Naim Uniti and Naim XS and I thought they were just beautiful. Compared to the other speakers I demoed (Neat Motive 2s, CM9s) the PM1s were just in a different league. Also tried Wilson Benesch Arcs which, whilst matching the detail of the PM1s, didn't have the warmth. An unbelievable sound coming out of such a small speaker. Reminded me of my 15" Tannoy monitor golds in so far as it's a sound that's hard to tear yourself away from, you just want to go on listening and listening.

Certainly the speaker choice for my new system subject to testing them in my home

 

[Anonymous]

:bounce: WARNING. DO NOT LOOK OR LISTEN TOO THESE WONDERS ! ray:

If you want to stay financilly solvent, those wicked people at mr .f . harvey have put temptation in front of me today ..... i,m DOOMED..... RUN...before your struck :O

 

[Anonymous]

Question for WHF . Been informed that the pm1,s will only be in the the one finish. can any one confirm or deny this?

As a Burgundy finish was mentioned on first press release

 

[Frank Harvey]

 

[Anonymous]

:bounce: Right all b&w stockists you should have had pm1,s long enough to rate the little darlings. Where would you put them on your wall chart league table ?

 

[Frank Harvey]

Please do point me in the direction of this league table and I'll do so!

 

[Anonymous]

Hello David, Price, finish sound ,looks etc Coming your way soon with an order. How long is delivery ?

 

[Frank Harvey]

Price is very reasonable, think of them as a mini 805, like a 686 is to a 685 - only much better, of course

Finish is top notch and luxurious, probably a little better than expected for their price point.

Sound is everything it should be from a 'mini monitor'. Bass isn't the deepest, but it's nicely balanced and pacey. Excellent midrange, and particularly open and precise in the treble. Due to their build quality, there's very little, if no intrusion by the cabinet on the sound.

Lookswise, they're not exactly my cup of tea - the 800 series never has been either - but that doesn't detract from appreciating these at all. Visually, speakers are just as personal a preference as their sound, and I feel they sound much better than they look. They are quite low as far as sensitivity is concerned, and impedance can dip quite low, so a nice beefy amp is needed.

There are no delays in supply as far as I know - B&W usually make sure they have everything in stock ready to go

 

[Anonymous]

:bounce: Before commiting A small fortune will my yamaha as 2000 amp, At a 100 Watt,s per channel be sufficient ?

 

[MUSICRAFT]

:bounce: Before commiting A small fortune will my yamaha as 2000 amp, At a 100 Watt,s per channel be sufficient ?

Hi FATS2828

The A-S2000 will be more than capable of powering the PM1's. After this it depends on how much better quality of power, quantity of power or a combination of both you may want to seek.

Btw, if you haven't already done so then i'll highly recommend that you also listen to the PM1's with your A-S2000/CD-S2000 electronics and preferably in your room too.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Frank Harvey]

:bounce: Before commiting A small fortune will my yamaha as 2000 amp, At a 100 Watt,s per channel be sufficient ?

FATS - only those who have heard the PM1's with your Yamaha amp can comment on how well it will drive them. Who hear has heard the combo? Please stand up and pitch in if you have. Thought so....

I have to be honest FATS, I haven't heard that combo. The PM1's are quite power hungry, so do like plenty of juice, so it will be down to how much headroom your AS2000 can provide. feel free to bring along your amp for an audition.

I find that our demo rooms need about an extra 5-10dB to produce similar levels in a normal home environment (our 500 year old timbre framed building has no solid walls). So if it will drive them in our demo room, it'll drive them no problem at home.

 

[MattSPL]

I think if somebody has extensive experience with the Yamaha amp driving many different speakers, and the PM1's stated impedance and sensitivity are correct, then a fair judgement could be made on the Yamaha's ability to drive the PM1's.
Obviously a shop or home demo with your own amp and music at the volume levels you normally listen to would be important to make sure of the pairing.

Is the PM1's sonic signature typically B&W?
They certainly look the part

Does that little bass driver handle bass heavy material at decent volumes?

Cheers
Matt

 

[Anonymous]

:? So b&w specification . recommended amp. 30-100 watts inti 8 ohms is not a true guide ?

Also yamaha,s specification of 100watts rms into 8ohms is not a true guide ?

Comatibility eh ! :wall:

 

[MUSICRAFT]

:? So b&w specification . recommended amp. 30-100 watts inti 8 ohms is not a true guide ?

Also yamaha,s specification of 100watts rms into 8ohms is not a true guide ?

Comatibility eh ! :wall:

Hi FATS2828

Technically the A-S2000 and the PM1's are compatiable. Have a listen to them together (preferably in your room) to see if you like the presentation.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[MUSICRAFT]

:? So b&w specification . recommended amp. 30-100 watts inti 8 ohms is not a true guide ?

Also yamaha,s specification of 100watts rms into 8ohms is not a true guide ?

Comatibility eh ! :wall:

Hi FATS2828

Technically the A-S2000 and the PM1's are compatabile with each other. Have a listen to them together (preferably in your room) to see if you like the presenatation.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi FATS2828

Technically the A-S2000 and PM1's are compatible with each other. Have a listen to them together (preferably in your room) to see if their presentation suits you.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[MUSICRAFT]

:? So b&w specification . recommended amp. 30-100 watts inti 8 ohms is not a true guide ?

Also yamaha,s specification of 100watts rms into 8ohms is not a true guide ?

Comatibility eh ! :wall:

Hi FATS2828

Technically the A-S2000 is compatilble with the PM1's. Have a listen to this combination (preferably in your room) to see if you lilke the presentation.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[ErwinC]

I listened to the PM1 in combination with a Yamaha AS-700 in a shop. To my (and the shop owner) surprise the Yamaha drove the PM1 very well. In fact, we preferred the Yamaha AS-700 over the Arcam A38 and Denon PMA-2000 amplifiers in combination with the PM1, each with their own CD player.

As an owner of an AS-2000 i am pretty sure that the AS-2000 will drive the PM1 prefectly. It has no problems with my Dynaudio Focus 110 speakers and these are also very difficult speakers.

 

[ErwinC]

FATS - only those who have heard the PM1's with your Yamaha amp can comment on how well it will drive them. Who hear has heard the combo? Please stand up and pitch in if you have. Thought so....

I heard the PM1 with the Yamaha AS-700 and the Yamaha drove the PM1 to very high levels in a store of about 15x15 meter.

Having owned the AS-1000 (and now the AS-2000) and having tested extensively the AS-500 and AS-700 in my setup, i can say with confidence that the AS-2000 will drive the PM1 without a problem.

 

[Anonymous]

Many thanks erwin and rick

 

[Frank Harvey]

:? So b&w specification . recommended amp. 30-100 watts inti 8 ohms is not a true guide ?

Also yamaha,s specification of 100watts rms into 8ohms is not a true guide ?

Comatibility eh ! :wall:

Unfortunately, specs don't tell the full story - it's how things actually work together in practice. The amplifier recommendation is a general one, and not one that should be strictly followed to. No manufacturer can give solid facts about the amplifier specs that can be used with their speakers - notice B&W mentioned 30-100w "on unclipped programme". There will be 30w amplifiers that will drive them, and other 30w amplifiers that won't, not properly anyway. Other factors will be room volume, and the required volume level. Many amplifiers will drive these low sensitivity speakers quite well to the ears of most, but there'll be a lot of amplifiers that will actually be struggling to reproduce the transients in many types of music. When amps start to struggle, things get rough and edgy, and begin to sound compressed. I've been hearing the PM1's gradually running in on the end of the Cyrus X300 monoblocks, which have more than enough in reserve to let these speakers do what they're designed to do. Because of this, I'll know straight away whether an amplifier is doing a good job or not. Anybody can hear the difference between a speaker driven well or not so well by trying an amplifier with a better quality output. I've been making the point for a long time on this and other forums that if a speaker isn't driven properly, it's not going to sound it's worth.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Many thanks erwin and rick

Hi FATS2828

Your welcome.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[ErwinC]

Unfortunately, specs don't tell the full story - it's how things actually work together in practice. The amplifier recommendation is a general one, and not one that should be strictly followed to. No manufacturer can give solid facts about the amplifier specs that can be used with their speakers - notice B&W mentioned 30-100w "on unclipped programme". There will be 30w amplifiers that will drive them, and other 30w amplifiers that won't, not properly anyway. Other factors will be room volume, and the required volume level. Many amplifiers will drive these low sensitivity speakers quite well to the ears of most, but there'll be a lot of amplifiers that will actually be struggling to reproduce the transients in many types of music. When amps start to struggle, things get rough and edgy, and begin to sound compressed. I've been hearing the PM1's gradually running in on the end of the Cyrus X300 monoblocks, which have more than enough in reserve to let these speakers do what they're designed to do. Because of this, I'll know straight away whether an amplifier is doing a good job or not. Anybody can hear the difference between a speaker driven well or not so well by trying an amplifier with a better quality output. I've been making the point for a long time on this and other forums that if a speaker isn't driven properly, it's not going to sound it's worth.

Agreed. I had a Cyrus 8XPdQX before and compared to the Yamaha AS-1000 or AS-2000 it was not able to drive my Dynaudio Focus 110 speakers in a decent way. The difference was very obvious.

According to the specs the Yamaha AS-2000 only has 30 Watts more than the Cyrus in 8 Ohm, but the difference in driving ability between the two is huge according to my experience.