PMC DB1 Gold?

[bigblue235]

 

[bigblue235]

I seem to have been struck by the dreaded 'blank first post' problem. Anyway...!

I was just wondering what the DB1 Gold was? I haven't really seen much discussion or info on it, and I thought it'd be a hot topic as the DB1 is such a popular model. Unless, of course, I've missed all the discussion?

 

[BigH]

Just google it. It is a special edition, I hope to hear them next week.

 

[plastic penguin]

There's an explanation here: http://www.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk/p/pmc-db1-goldspeakersincludes-free-metropolis-cd-cleaning-cloth

 

[bigblue235]

I have both Googled and seen them on Sevenoaks, ta, I just thought there might be a bit more info somewhere, or people with experience of them.

There have been plenty of comments about the DB1 lately, but few about the Gold version although it seems to have been out for a bit.

 

[Electro]

Or if you fancy saving yourself a few bob

http://www.production-room.com/pmc-speakers/pmc-db1s-plus/

The professional version .

 

[bigblue235]

I'd seen people mention that elsewhere. I'm a bit clueless though!

Did you consider those when you went for the DB1i? *edit* Ignore that, misread your system! Slight difference...

 

[Electro]

I'd seen people mention that elsewhere. I'm a bit clueless though

Did you consider those when you went for the DB1i?

No I have the PB1i 's and there is no professional version of my model .

I am pretty sure the Pro versions of the DB1 is the same as the DB1golds but with a rugged textured finish and black screws .

The DB1i has the different i series tweeter and a choice of different veneers .

The sound from all versions should be quite similar, but I have only heard the DB1i version which is absolutely fantastic especially for it's size .

 

[bigblue235]

Thanks for that. I edited my post some time ago, strange that it doesn't seem to have updated. I just misread your sig, only about £5.5k of difference!

 

[hoopsontoast]

The 'Gold' version are only about £50 more expensive than the DB1S+, personally I really like the looks of the 'pro' version 8)

Great little speakers

 

[hoopsontoast]

Or if you fancy saving yourself a few bob

http://www.production-room.com/pmc-speakers/pmc-db1s-plus/

The professional version .

With VAT, they are just about the same price as the 'Gold' version

 

[TheHomeCinemaCentre]

The gold is an exclusive model for Sevenoaks - essentially the pro model. The key sonic difference is the better i series tweeter in the DB1i. At this level it is well worth considering the Twenty:21 from PMC

 

[Electro]

Or if you fancy saving yourself a few bob

http://www.production-room.com/pmc-speakers/pmc-db1s-plus/

The professional version .

With VAT, they are just about the same price as the 'Gold' version

Actually the price is including VAT

http://www.production-room.com/shopping-basket.php

 

[hoopsontoast]

Or if you fancy saving yourself a few bob

http://www.production-room.com/pmc-speakers/pmc-db1s-plus/

The professional version .

With VAT, they are just about the same price as the 'Gold' version

Actually the price is including VAT

http://www.production-room.com/shopping-basket.php

Ah ok, just be weary from there, everywhere else seems to have them for £775 ex VAT or around £950 Inc VAT.

http://www.canford.co.uk/Products/76-237_PMC-DB1S-LOUDSPEAKER-40-150W-passive-studio-pair

http://www.millennium-music.co.uk/pmc-db1-s-studio-monitors-passive-pair

https://www.kmraudio.com/shop/monitoring/pmc-db1s-pair.php

http://www.clearangel.net/ProductDetails.aspx?id=h12023233

Usually if something seems too good to be true.....

 

[Electro]

Or if you fancy saving yourself a few bob

http://www.production-room.com/pmc-speakers/pmc-db1s-plus/

The professional version .

With VAT, they are just about the same price as the 'Gold' version

Actually the price is including VAT

http://www.production-room.com/shopping-basket.php

Ah ok, just be weary from there, everywhere else seems to have them for £775 ex VAT or around £950 Inc VAT.

http://www.canford.co.uk/Products/76-237_PMC-DB1S-LOUDSPEAKER-40-150W-passive-studio-pair

http://www.millennium-music.co.uk/pmc-db1-s-studio-monitors-passive-pair

https://www.kmraudio.com/shop/monitoring/pmc-db1s-pair.php

http://www.clearangel.net/ProductDetails.aspx?id=h12023233

Usually if something seems too good to be true.....

You could be right , but if someone is in the market for a pair it may be worth ordering a some and see what happens .

Just noticed they are selling the TB2s+ for £838.33 + vat a total of £1006 as well so maybe they are having a sale

 

[bigblue235]

The gold is an exclusive model for Sevenoaks - essentially the pro model. The key sonic difference is the better i series tweeter in the DB1i. At this level it is well worth considering the Twenty:21 from PMC

Thanks, I thought it might be something like that. I'm not a fan of 'Exclusive' products, so I'd probably stick with the i version, or whatever designation comes out next!

Unfortunately, the Twenty.21 is too pricy for me at the mo, especially as I presume you need (or at least would be better with) the sloping stands too? I'd need a sub to go with them also, and I think the boss lady would go slightly bonkers if I spent over £1500, bearing in mind that I'm only changing my (£650) speakers because they're the wrong finish for our new flat

 

[BigH]

Just heard them, did not like them preferred Kef LS50s.

 

[Zob20]

Hello All,

I just wanted to correct a previous comment which suggested the PMC DB1 Gold uses a different HF from the DB1i. From the PMC spec sheet they use identical drivers. The Gold edition specifically says it uses the Solonex unit that What Hifi liked with the DB1i. Interestingly the DB1S+ spec sheet doesn't mention Solonex driver, but the description is the same (27mm soft dome etc.) so there me be nothing to read into this. Whatever, the DB1 Gold is black only DB1i as far it is possible to tell, the DB1s may be slightly different.

I have just auditioned the DB1 Gold at Sevenoaks HiFi. I have been searching for a satisfying small speaker to replace my enormous 10 year old Eltax LR6.5's (on instruction from the boss!). The Eltax's were cheap compared to the speakers I am auditioning now so I thought I would easily find something I was happy with but I have been sorely disappointed.

After listening through the options from Kef, B&W and others it was a revelation to listen to the PMC's. I had given up on any small speaker delivering anything but single frequency boomy bass from the port and compensating with tiresome midrange. The Kef R100, the best I heard until the PMC's, produce great detail and sizzle but only above 250Hz ish (based on my subjective assessment). They miss detail in the lower end and therefore rhythms are left without much holding them together. In short the PMC TB1 Golds were the first small speaker that I genuinely enjoyed listening to so I have put down a deposit. I didn't hear the LS50's because my amp isn't up to it.

I’ll probably post again when I have them home and I might have a different perspective.

 

[BigH]

Hello All,

I just wanted to correct a previous comment which suggested the PMC DB1 Gold uses a different HF from the DB1i. From the PMC spec sheet they use identical drivers. The Gold edition specifically says it uses the Solonex unit that What Hifi liked with the DB1i. Interestingly the DB1S+ spec sheet doesn't mention Solonex driver, but the description is the same (27mm soft dome etc.) so there me be nothing to read into this. Whatever, the DB1 Gold is black only DB1i as far it is possible to tell, the DB1s may be slightly different.

I have just auditioned the DB1 Gold at Sevenoaks HiFi. I have been searching for a satisfying small speaker to replace my enormous 10 year old Eltax LR6.5's (on instruction from the boss!). The Eltax's were cheap compared to the speakers I am auditioning now so I thought I would easily find something I was happy with but I have been sorely disappointed.

After listening through the options from Kef, B&W and others it was a revelation to listen to the PMC's. I had given up on any small speaker delivering anything but single frequency boomy bass from the port and compensating with tiresome midrange. The Kef R100, the best I heard until the PMC's, produce great detail and sizzle but only above 250Hz ish (based on my subjective assessment). They miss detail in the lower end and therefore rhythms are left without much holding them together. In short the PMC TB1 Golds were the first small speaker that I genuinely enjoyed listening to so I have put down a deposit. I didn't hear the LS50's because my amp isn't up to it.

I’ll probably post again when I have them home and I might have a different perspective.

What amp do you have.

I heard the DB1s and was very disappointed, very lean and cold midrange, very clean, I then played the KEF LS50s afterwards surprised how much warmer they sounded and more musical to. What amps did you demo them with, can you get a home demo? If you can I would hear some more first, I will be looking at Epos Epic 2s and AE 301s next.

 

[drummerman]

I have not (!) heard Kef's anniversary standmount but have looked at a few frequency response graphs.

They seem somewhat mid-centric and somewhat rolled off at both low and high frequencies. This would explain good voice reproduction, rythm with less nasties higher up. When saying nasties I mean recording or system deficiencies rather than bad tweeters.

Whilst speaker measurements are not an absolute, there can be variables in measuring, I would guess from what I have seen that this is not a 'monitor' speaker in that sense. Its unlikely a studio would mix with them but it is roughly in line with what I would personally look for in a speaker.

Explicit enough to show whats there without taking your ears off and no more bass than a small standmount can cope with. Any more, thats what a subwoofer is for.

Incidentally, I almost completely block the ports of my stand mounts before handing over to my sub. I find integration better and it gets rid of time smear.

I think it's great that Kef have come up with a speaker that measures this way and which perhaps sounds less impressive in an immediate comparison with the usual suspects but is probably much easier to live with in the long run.

Now, all I have to do is actually listening to a pair ...

regards

PS. In response to the last post, I would not have described the DB1i's as cold or lean, quite the opposite, to colored perhaps. It tries to chew off more than it can handle in the bass at least that is what I think I remember. May be wrong.

 

[BigH]

PS. In response to the last post, I would not have described the DB1i's as cold or lean, quite the opposite, to colored perhaps. It tries to chew off more than it can handle in the bass at least that is what I think I remember. May be wrong.

Well thats what I tought, maybe the room had some influence, I found them very lean in the midrange but had some bass, the LS50s just had so much more in the lower midrange, treble was a bit recessed, it was there but you had to listen for it. That was with Audiolab 8200A and Mus. Fid. M3I amps and their respective cd players. Wide range of music classic rock, jazz, vocals, classical, blues, world music and reggae.

 

[Zob20]

I listened to the PMC DB1 Gold's through a Marantz amp (not sure on model), it was the closest they had to my PM7200 which is due for replacement anyway.

I actually sort of agree with BigH. Obviously its subjective, your "cold and lean midrange" was soft and beautifully detailed to me, but they weren't as upfront in the midrange as some other small speakers, this is true. You might like these very upfront sounding speakers, they all remind me of my Tannoy studio monitors which are OK but I find them tiring to listen to for long periods or at low levels.

Sorry but Drummermans comment that the DB1's "chew off more than it can handle in the bass" is just wrong. This is the problem with many small PORTED designs, but the heavily damped transmission line DB1's have a comparatively flat response at low frequencies and much less distortion. That’s a well-documented characteristic of TL designs (even small ones).

The problem with small ported speakers is the port frequency is always right in the way of the all the character of the bass and the weight of the kick drum. So rather than hearing all the contours and nuances of the bass instruments and the punch of the kick drum, you just get a big flabby wallop of tuneless boom from the port. Some solve this by simply not attempting to reproduce anything much below 80Hz, but by not using a ported design the PMC DB1 is probably the only small speaker that can be trusted between 50Hz and 100Hz.

BTW I am not a big PMC fanboy or anything. I have had large ported speakers which don't suffer from this issue which befalls all small ported designs, because the port frequency is way down low where it just supports the feeling of weight and space in the music.

 

[drummerman]

I could be wrong. It has been over three years ago. Just seemed to remember a soft and slightly to dominant bass/upper bass, not to dissimilar to a conventionally ported speaker. Perhaps it just co-incided with a room mode.

regards

 

[BigH]

Well it could be the amp. although I don't think the Musucial Fid. M3i is that cold. As I said the Kefs LS50LS which followed were warmer.

Has anyone compared the Epos Epic 2s with the Kef LS50s?

Anyone heard the AE 301s yet?.

 

[Zob20]

Warmth is a funny one because people often mean different things when they say warm/cold. Normally warmth is defined by the particular colouration you get with valve kit. It's actually a subtle HF harmonic distortion. I wouldn't particular seek it out in a speaker because I look for a reproduction of what was intended so I prioritise a flat response, full range and detail. Warmth is often added during the recording process either using tube distortion effects or indirectly with kit which has that particular sound.

It really comes down to personal preference, what music you listen to etc ....etc,...the only thing undeniable is that all speakers sound different so choose what you like the sound of.

This thread is titled PMC dB1 Gold so I will continue to add my comments about this speaker in case it is useful to anyone.