IB2I or EB1i v. BW 802Di v. Sophia 3

[kfr01]

I'm just kicking off what will surely be a year-long speaker upgrade search.

The transmission line approach and unique midrange of the PMC line makes sense to my brain.

IB2i or EB1i versus B&W 802Di / Sophia 3.

What say you?

Pluses, minuses? Where will the PMC offerings excel? Where might they give something up?

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by kfr01

I'm just kicking off what will surely be a year-long speaker upgrade search.

The transmission line approach and unique midrange of the PMC line makes sense to my brain.

IB2i or EB1i versus B&W 802Di / Sophia 3.

What say you?

Pluses, minuses? Where will the PMC offerings excel? Where might they give something up?

I' m biased because I hate the BW sound and I'm not an addict of the Wilson sound, but I will have to give a try to the Sophia 3 and the Sasha who are supposed to have a warmer medium than the last gen of speakers.
Advantages of the PMC :
- a very neutral sound. Monitors but not in the "boring" sense. No part of the spectrum is predominant.
- treble is natural and not forwarded or too bright. Treble of the BW is just too much for my ears.
- Low Bass comes out if it's on the record. They are able of a terrific energy in the bass.
- Mids are warmer than BW. Don't know for the Wilson new gen.
Disadvantages of the PMC :
- they are neutral : they can sound less than involving with poor recordings and can also sound bad with them. They do not magnify any part of the spectrum.
- I think that they need a lot of power. I will try saturday a pair of 20W SET 845 Verdier monoblocks but I'm not sure if they will be able to drive their bass. I will report here.
Art Dudley said that he got wonderful results with Shindo Corton EL34 monoblocks driving Sophia 2 and 3. And they are only 25 W. I also heard that even the Sasha could be driven nicely with some amps of only 80W.

To summarize, in my case, the PMC speakers are the first ones I would like to spend my life with.
But you really have to listen to these different options to judge with your ears. Only you can decide what sound suits you the best.
Cheers,

[kfr01]

Jerome: have you heard the PB1i relative to the EB1i? I must admit, I am intrigued by the combination of dual 7" drivers in a TL alignment.

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by kfr01

Jerome: have you heard the PB1i relative to the EB1i? I must admit, I am intrigued by the combination of dual 7" drivers in a TL alignment.

No Karl. At the time I bought the EB1i, the PB1i did not exist. Since I got the EB1i, I have not been interested in listening to many speakers !
Where are you located ?

[klipschfan]

Originally Posted by kfr01

I'm just kicking off what will surely be a year-long speaker upgrade search.

The transmission line approach and unique midrange of the PMC line makes sense to my brain.

IB2i or EB1i versus B&W 802Di / Sophia 3.

What say you?

Pluses, minuses? Where will the PMC offerings excel? Where might they give something up?

At the price points you are looking at, would suggest a trip/vacation/demo to RMAF. Well worth it and chance for one stop shopping!.

Might even find something that you haven't considered.

Nice to drive up Pikes Peak or through Rocky Mountain National Park.

Rocky Mountain Audiofest 2011

[rofo]

I don't think you can ever go wrong with the IB2i or ever regret your purchase they seen to do everything so well. You may find that the EB1 is in limited quantity as it has been discontinued. You may also want to consider the Thiel cs3.7 always a tough decision.

[ian@pmc]

Hi Karl, for the price point you are looking at the IB2i would be PMC to think about. I always recommend the IB2 over the EB1 because of the mid range on the IB2 alone. Also the 20 year warranty doesn't hurt. Specs and other's personal experiences help to persuade you, but it's all about listening for yourself.

[kfr01]

Ian: does PMC have a showroom near Chicago?

Klipschfan: that actually sounds like an excellent idea. Some friends just moved to Denver, so I might actually be able to sell such a trip to the wife. RMAF2011!

[ChisChas]

Originally Posted by kfr01

Jerome: have you heard the PB1i relative to the EB1i? I must admit, I am intrigued by the combination of dual 7" drivers in a TL alignment.

I am borrowing a pair of dem PMC PB1 Signatures at the moment and they are just fabulous speakers

My current pair is PMC OB1i

Pete Thomas (PMC's designer) has redesigned the crossover and various other mods have been undertaken, Ian can no doubt remind us as to the detail.

One more 6.5" bass driver than the OB1i so a noticeable extra bit of depth, no general extra bass so no bass dominance, more open mid than standard PB1i but sweet with it too.

Lovely treble, quite good quantity but not OTT or fizzy.

Very elegant slim tall cabinet approx 2" taller than OB1i and 3" deeper

I know the sound is the most important thing but EB1i are big boys and hard to describe as elegant or smart, the IB2i is an incredible speaker but in another price range than the PB1i Sigs

Being partnered with Leema Acoustics electronics: Pyxis Reference Pre, two Hydra 2's in bridged mono which gives you the power/current the bigger PMCs
require (540w into 8 ohms, 725w into 4 ohms) and an Antila 2S cd player

Hope this helps with your thoughts?

[JohnThomas]

Originally Posted by kfr01

I'm just kicking off what will surely be a year-long speaker upgrade search.

The transmission line approach and unique midrange of the PMC line makes sense to my brain.

IB2i or EB1i versus B&W 802Di / Sophia 3.

What say you?

Pluses, minuses? Where will the PMC offerings excel? Where might they give something up?

Hi Karl,

I went from the B&W 802D's to PMC IB2's . To my ears the IB2's bass was tighter and had more control. Plus the overall presentation was more musical.

John