Transcript
STEREO SPEAKERS FIRST TESTS
PMCTwenty22I Stereo speakers I £1825
New stand mounters boost PMC's impressive range It's fair to say PMC has been one of the big hi-fi success stories over the past couple of decades. The company started in the professional world - the initials PMC stand for Professional
Monitor
Company - but pretty soon it moved into the domestic market too. The new Twenty series celebrates company's
the
first 20 years, and builds on
everything it has learned over that time. The speaker on test here, the 22, is the
USErrWITH ----------------
larger of the two standrnounters in the range, and it looks every inch a hybrid of
Twenty stands£295
PMC's long-running
PMC
The sloped design means the speakers look odd on conventional stands.
'i' series and more
lean and immensely
recent Fact designs. Technically the Twenty range is all new,
definition
though: as with their appearance,
standmounters
sonically
taut. Some may prefer
a more relaxing presentation, but it would be very hard to find such leading edge and speed any other way.
The 22 may be medium-sized - standing 41cm high - but
the speakers build on what has gone before.
the bass weight and power they produce is
The tweeter, a 27mm Sonolex dome, is
impressive.
designed
performance
to deliver high levels of detail
with a wide dispersion. The mid/bass driver uses a doped-paper cone - PMC likes paper's light weight, rigidity and resonance behaviour
- and is specifically designed for
use with a transmission
line design.
This low frequency is agile enough to integrate
well with the explicit midrange and leads to a really cohesive overall performance. These PMC speakers do it all. They have the scale and power to do justice to 1812 Overture in full flow and
Tchaikovsky's
The 22s are medium-sized standmounters, but the bass weight and power they produce is impressive - and agile enough to integrate well with the explicit midrange It's the indusion
of a transmission
line
that makes PMC speakers different from
the tonal balance to render individual instruments convincingly. They'll also
most. The idea is that the rearward output
deliver intimate music such as Bon Iver's
of the mid/bass driver is forced through an internal folded path that exits through the
Michicantwith a pleasing amount of
rectangular
grille at the front of the
speakers. This path is lined with specially chosen damping material that absorbs all but the lowest frequencies
in the sound.
As these very low frequencies transmission
anything we've heard at this price level. Overall, these 22s are excellent speakers for the money. PMC has put 20 years of experience to good use.
exit the
line, they augment
finesse. Their detail resolution and way with low level dynamics is as good as
the
forward output of the driver. PMC thinks this is the best way to get high quality,
TECHSPECS
low-distortion
Standmount
bass.
yes. Floorstander
no •
Sensitivity (db/w/m) 90 • Impedance Sound lives up to fine build quality Other technical highlights
(ohms) 8· Max power handling 1S0W· Biwirable yes- Finishes 4 •
are the slight
rearward slope on the enclosure's front and rear panels. These not only give the speakers a distinctive
look. but also help
cabinet rigidity and reduce internal standing waves. There's plenty of attention to detail. with high-quality binding posts, smart badges and good-quality
veneer. The
22s may have a premium price tag, but physically they live up to any high-value expectations.
mirrors
Fact series. The
Twenty standrnounters
are immensely
fast
NEED TO KNOW
authority and scale for the size; build and finish
VERDICT If maximum detail retrieval and top class agility are a must few rivals come close
Alsoconsider
excellent, and they deliver the sound with
Oynaudio Focus 160 £1800*****
breathtaking agility. You can add wide dispersion and an impressively expansive
the PMCs, but the Focus
yet focused soundstage
160s compensate with
and precise. Their detail levels are
PMC'sstands are not obligatory, but suit the speakers
Rating***** FOR Agile, precise, detailed sound; impressive
AGAINST Some may prefer a more relaxed and tonally richer presentation
And, happily, so does the
sound quality they produce. These monitors' sonic signature that of the high-end
Dimensions (hwd) 41 x 18 x 37cm
to the list of plus
points. Tonally, the speakers sound a little
Not quite as insightful as
an easier going character
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Consider if Ifyou want quality standmounters
Make sure Yougive them space to breathe.
and value detail resolution and agilityabove allelse.
Gotoo close to a side or rear wall and stereo imagingsuffers.
You'll need
Highlight The 22's abilityto deliver vast
electronics: these speakers
The 22s willfit on many stands but we'd go for PMC's;stylish,they
could sound overly aggressive
complement the sonic balance,too.
Avoid Thinor bright-sounding
amounts of information without sounding the least bit clinical.
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