PMC... are they that good?

[Pulpdiction]

Recently demoed some PMC Twenty5 23i - £4.5k and thought they were awful, listening to them against the new Prodigy 5 at £2k there was less detail, but they were far more listenable.

Both were absolutely blown out of the water by the Neat Mystique Classic at £2.4k - literally half the price of the Twenty5 23i and in a blind test I'd say the price should be the other way round.

 

[Noddy]

Recently demoed some PMC Twenty5 23i - £4.5k and thought they were awful, listening to them against the new Prodigy 5 at £2k there was less detail, but they were far more listenable.

Both were absolutely blown out of the water by the Neat Mystique Classic at £2.4k - literally half the price of the Twenty5 23i and in a blind test I'd say the price should be the other way round.

I do wonder if PMC Prodigy speakers are tuned to suit older listeners whose ears lack sensitivity as frequency increases:

PMC prodigy1 Loudspeaker Lab Report

Lab Report The baby of PMC's prodigy range represents a gentle enough load for the partnering amplifier with a mere 5.0ohm minimum occurring at a high 14kHz and swings in impedance phase of –59°/3.0kHz and +40°/1.47kHz contributing to an 'easy' EPDR of 2.3ohm/6.1kHz. However the big upswing in...

www.hifinews.com

After all, most young people don’t have the readies to splurge on these products.

Most reviewers do really like the Prodigy range:

PMC Prodigy 5 Review: Special one « 7Review

Nick Tate auditions this interesting compact British floorstanding speaker that has nothing to do with fire starters... Read our PMC Prodigy 5 review.

7review.com

 

[plastic penguin]

I bumped into it while searching for something. Absolutely, never buy on the basis of reviews.

Unless you know the presentation of the product.

PMC are like any other component, they are as good or as bad as your room and system.

 

[Noddy]

Unless you know the presentation of the product.

PMC are like any other component, they are as good or as bad as your room and system.

These days a decent system - amp, dac, streamer - should be transparent. Even my old Arcam Movie amp had only a faint warm colouration, which matched the measured slight roll off at higher frequencies. So the most significant factors are the speakers, and the room.

Doubtless room acoustics can be a. factor, but I don’t see why one would buy very expensive speakers with a Himalayan frequency response in the hope that they will magically correct very poor room acoustics. You forgot to mention ears. I have a suspicion PMC are tuned to suit older listeners.

And then some people just like voiced speakers. Reviews in WhatHiFi prove that.

 

[Pulpdiction]

Been demoing quite a few speakers recently and took time out to listen to the Spendor a7, so highly rated by what hifi, using a Naim Unity Nova and a Hagel H400 as the source - swapped the kit around a bit - and found the top end on the Spendor to be out of control on some tracks, for example She cries your name - Beth Orton was almost unlistenable, the screech of the violins was ear piercing and this just did not happen with either source on the Neat speakers, far more control from a ribbon tweater. Not sure where some of these reviews or awards come from on What Hifi.

 

[Al ears]

Been demoing quite a few speakers recently and took time out to listen to the Spendor a7, so highly rated by what hifi, using a Naim Unity Nova and a Hagel H400 as the source - swapped the kit around a bit - and found the top end on the Spendor to be out of control on some tracks, for example She cries your name - Beth Orton was almost unlistenable, the screech of the violins was ear piercing and this just did not happen with either source on the Neat speakers, far more control from a ribbon tweater. Not sure where some of these reviews or awards come from on What Hifi.

It's all personal opinion. The reviewers ears and listening room are completely different to yours that's why your opinion differs.
Oddly ribbon tweeters are normally the culprits.

 

[nopiano]

I do wonder if PMC Prodigy speakers are tuned to suit older listeners whose ears lack sensitivity as frequency increases:

I heard the Prodigy floorstanders at a show soon after they were released. I think it was at Cranage in June 2023. They just sounded ‘right’ in a way that is rare at any show. I also thought they looked really smart in the unflashy black. But definitely not plain or disappointing in the finish.

I was immediately taken with them, and unfortunately I fit your aging profile with depressed HF! That said, I don’t find treble lacking at live orchestral concerts, but I’m increasingly aware of voices sounding a bit muffled.

I have said for some time I think the TwentyFive series is overpriced, probably by about 50%, but for a long time the earlier Twenty range was a big seller, and indeed they usually sounded ok at shows, if a bit bright as is PMC’s way.

 

[plastic penguin]

These days a decent system - amp, dac, streamer - should be transparent. Even my old Arcam Movie amp had only a faint warm colouration, which matched the measured slight roll off at higher frequencies. So the most significant factors are the speakers, and the room.

Doubtless room acoustics can be a. factor, but I don’t see why one would buy very expensive speakers with a Himalayan frequency response in the hope that they will magically correct very poor room acoustics. You forgot to mention ears. I have a suspicion PMC are tuned to suit older listeners.

And then some people just like voiced speakers. Reviews in WhatHiFi prove that.

No, PMC are tuned to suit those who like that presentation. When I had the TB2i, they were cracking... and easy to drive.

I would say Q Acoustics are tuned for the older person. They are inoffensive and veer to the smooth side.

 

[Gray]

Regardless of age, some people just seem to prefer reduced HF.
The sort of sound you'd get with a quarter inch thick blanket between tweeter and ear.
'Forgiving' is the word often used to describe it - able to make all your worst recordings listenable.....and necessarily compromise all your best ones.