PMC... are they that good?

[plastic penguin]

I wrote:

To which you replied:

To dismiss my post with no is arrogant. I tried to politely explain why older listeners might favour bright speakers, but you arrogantly dismissed my comments without thinking.

I’m not an expert, but unlike you I take into account research by experts. As one ages, ones hearing acuity degrades , and in particular one has lower sensitivity to higher frequencies.

Take a look at this graph:

https://www.thelancet.com/cms/10.1016/j.lanwpc.2021.100131/asset/ae98e797-96ca-49ee-9d7b-4eb92e8ceb0e/main.assets/gr1_lrg.jpg

It comes from this research paper in a medical journal:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanwpc/article/PIIS2666-6065%2821%2900040-7/fulltext

The graph shows the average hearing sensitivity as a function of frequency for a range of ages. Note how the hearing sensitivity decreases significantly with age, and that the effect is greatest at higher frequencies. The vertical axis is in dB, a logarithmic scale. 3 dB equates to a doubling of sound pressure, and 10 dB to a subjective doubling of the sound volume. As early as the early fifties, average hearing declines by 10 dB at higher frequencies. In your early sixties, it can be down 30 dB, a huge amount. These are averages, someone with some hearing loss would be worse off, and about one third of people in their sixties have some hearing loss beyond the natural decline.

Hence my statement that I have a suspicion PMC are tuned to suit older listeners. In other words, it isn’t that older listeners prefer bright speakers, rather their hearing is such that for them bright speakers sound neutral. And as noted earlier, PMC are usually very expensive which puts them more in the range of older people with more wealth to their name.

I've not dismissed any of your posts, but as @Al ears said, no speaker company makes a product that age-related. You seem to be hung up on age and hearing. I know young people who suffer tinnitus or wax-filled lugs.

As I suggested in a previous post, go and demo a pair of PMCs. You'll then be better qualified to comment.

 

[Noddy]

Precisely, however I very much doubt any manufacturer voices their speakers for a certain age group.
They either fit into your listening room or they don't, simple as...
if expensive speakers are designed for those that can afford them then I wonder when Magico speakers will become available to me....

Unless you have inside information. and I don’t, the truth is we don’t know how PMC voice their speakers. My guess is that the hippy owner decides on the house sound for non professional speakers, but that’s just a guess.

But whether or not they deliberately voice them for older listeners - and of course you might be right that they don’t - the bright characteristic of the ones I’ve heard probably appeals to older listeners for the reasons I gave.

The person who bought my PMCs commented that they sounded bright when he first heard them. Here’s a review of the Prodigy 5 also showing a bright presentation.

PMC prodigy5

Brytyjska firma PMC opiera swoją renomę i rozpoznawalność na dwóch filarach. Po pierwsze, zajmuje się jednocześnie sprzętem do użytku ...

audio.com.pl

Note that I’m not giving a value judgement, people should simply buy what they enjoy, and tell anyone that disagrees where to go. Personally I prefer bright to the opposite.

 

[Noddy]

I've not dismissed any of your posts, but as @Al ears said, no speaker company makes a product that age-related. You seem to be hung up on age and hearing. I know young people who suffer tinnitus or wax-filled lugs.

As I suggested in a previous post, go and demo a pair of PMCs. You'll then be better qualified to comment.

No Al Ears expressed his opinion, just as I expressed mine.

Since you’ve stated what you claim to be a fact, I’d be really interested to see the proof. It’s always good to learn something new.

 

[plastic penguin]

No Al Ears expressed his opinion, just as I expressed mine.

Since you’ve stated what you claim to be a fact, I’d be really interested to see the proof. It’s always good to learn something new.

My opinion is based on owning a pair, that's the only fact I know about PMCs. Instead of bleating like a child, go and listen to some PMCs. Only then will you agree or disagree with my opinion.

You have no interest in demoing a pair, you're more than happy to tap away, criticising others, like most keyboard warriors.

Joys of the internet.