B&W PM1 SPEAKERS - AUDIO MARMITE -?

[Anonymous]

:O So David are companys giving out false information in your opinion , and maybe bordering on the fine lines of trades descrption. OR could there be a better way of informing future customers on how to match products ?

 

[Anonymous]

The stands for the pm1,s are reported as an important part of the speakers sound , how much do they contibute too the overall sound quality ?

 

[manicm]

:O So David are companys giving out false information in your opinion , and maybe bordering on the fine lines of trades descrption. OR could there be a better way of informing future customers on how to match products ?

I don't think companies are necessarily giving out false information, but in the case of the PM1 I would say B&W's stated amplifier requirements are less than realistic. MA's specs for the GX50 are far more honest - the specs require at least a 50w amp.

 

[Frank Harvey]

:O So David are companys giving out false information in your opinion , and maybe bordering on the fine lines of trades descrption. OR could there be a better way of informing future customers on how to match products ?

Not really false, but obviously speaker companies have to put something as a guideline. The problem is that the driving capabilities of one 30w amplifier might be completely different to another, as 'watts per channel' is a rough guide. Plus, there's been many situations when comparing Japanese and British amplifiers where the British amplifier sounds more powerful, but on paper, the British amp might be half the stated power than the Japanese one. Different regions measure power output differently, and some more accurately. My biggest bug-bear is companies that state power ratings into 8ohms, than another rating into 4ohms. This is purely a measurement, not actual capability. Just because a manufacturer gives a 4ohm rating, it doesn't mean that the amplifier can sufficiently drive a 4ohm loudspeaker.

What I do know is, that where we have been running in new speakers, in the same room, with the same system, the PM1's have needed much more power than other speakers so far to reach the same levels. Anybody interested in these speakers should audition with the amplifier they intend to use with them, and take into account room size differences, if applicable.

 

[plastic penguin]

I heard the PM1s with Cyrus 8 set-up in the showroom the other day (the same morning as I heard the MAs GX 100). Can't really give a definite recommendation, apart from they sounded very clean and crisp. They sounded fine but didn't make me turn my head. This was just my initial reaction (a fairly brief one too), so would recommend anyone interested go and have a really good dem.

 

[KevH]

As I’ve been trying to explain in on one of the reviews, Watts tells you nothing, it can be measured in a multitude of different ways each giving a wildly different result.

One way to figure out how powerful your amp is, is to look at what happens to the watts as Ohms drops, as the Ohms halves the power should double (correct me someone if I’m wrong) so:

-> 8 ohms = 150 W

-> 4 ohms = 300 W

-> 2 ohms = 600 W

Most amps will not get anywhere near this, but the closer you get the better. One thing to watch though is that as the power rises so will the distortion, and you may also get other effects such as a compression or a narrowing of bandwidth.

As you can see it's a nightmare, sometimes it's just better to try it and see if the sound goes bright, harsh and edgy. Be careful though as this can damage both the speaker and the amp.

Power does not guarantee quality of course, I had an professional amp that could put 1.6kw into 2 ohms, sounded shocking though.

Determining how hard a speaker is to drive is harder still as the 'ohms' rating is an average, and sometimes a downright guess. It may say 8ohms but may drop way way below that, and that will kill a lower powered amp.

Hope that helps