Upgrade from OB1i?

[jaxwired]

Hi guys. Not about to change anything right now. Love my OB1i's, but I was just wondering what people thought the next step up the PMC line for me would be?

My room is dedicated to listening and is 12x17 with ceiling sloped to 10'. My amp is a Bryston 4bsst2.

I was thinking the IB2i would be my target, but I'd like to hear other opinions. Thanks!

[jaxwired]

[jdandy]

jaxwired.......You took the words right out of my mouth. The PMC IB2i would be the perfect move for your system. It uses PMC’s legendary 75mm soft dome mid range and the ten inch carbon fiber and Nomex low frequency piston driver along with the iSeries soft dome tweeter. If I were to sell my PMC EB1i's, this is the speaker I would replace them with.

By the way, your system is very attractive.

[BuffaloBill]

Within the PMC line, the next real step up would be the IB2i. You get the larger woofer and custom made mid-range driver. However, the IB2i is much more expensive. You might want to do an in-room comparison to determine if the juice is worth the squeezing.

[MC352]

Why not PB1i, or EB1i?

[BuffaloBill]

Chuck, that is why I used the word real. In my mind there is a big price spread between the OB1i, PB1i, and EB1i and yet they all have the same tweeter and 75mm dome mid-range drivers. The OB1i will go down to 30Hz, usually enough unless you have a large room and like to listen to music loud. The extra 6 1/2" woofer in the PB1i will get you a little extra bass if you need it but the technology in the driver is essentially the same as that in the OB1i. The Nomex woofer in the EB1i is a step up in technology and performance and will yet again get you some extra bass if you think you need even more. Compared to the OB1i, the IB2i will get you a larger volume cabinet, a longer transmission line, a better woofer and PMC's robust and priority 75mm mid-range driver. The IB2i can handle 500+ watts. It was designed to compete with the MB and even the BB line.

[MC352]

Thanks for the detailed product comparison.

[Anatta]

[JFTM]

To my ears all PMCs sound similar; they have a "house" sound as vineyards have a house style. That said the 20's are a bit different from the FACTs, the FB/OB, the IB/EB, and the MBs and above.

Sonically I prefer the bigger woofer PMCs, you may not. I bought as far up the chain as I could afford; which was the EB1i's. I was waiting to find IB2's at a point I could afford when the EB's showed up. It was tough. To me the IB2s were better, but only if you are willing to crank the volume. The EB's (again to me) sound better at lower volumes and can still crank volume when you want.

Life is a compromise, and the EB's work better for me.

[jdandy]

JFTM.......I have owned my PMC EB1i's for over four years now, play them every day, and they still surprise me how open and clean they sound no matter what volume level I play them. I spend 90% of my time with them at power levels under one watt peaks. Even at this level I find them rich and satisfying. As for handling power, the EB1i's have rocked the house at 600 watt peaks without a hint of strain at any frequency range across the spectrum. The PMC EB1i is a tremendous loudspeaker.