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Summary:
They measure badly and the reviewer doesn't like them, with a little bit of a dig at the UK "audiophile" scene thrown in.
It's an interesting point that often speakers with flat response are not preferred in subjective tests (although the opposite is happening here; they are not flat and the reviewer doesn't like the sound either).
I bought a pair of Spendors second hand without listening to them first, and was initially deeply underwhelmed. It was only after I'd had them for quite a while that I really started to appreciate how good they are.
Edit - try this link
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That link works.
Mostly I learned that this is a neat toy: https://www.klippel.de/products/rd-system/modules/nfs-near-field-scanner.html
Although the reviewers claim that this allows measurements more accurate than those in an anechoic chamber seems a bit disingenuous. What if you put one of these measuring devices in an anechoic chamber! What then Mr Reviewer! :D I do get what they mean though, the testing is more "real world" for some set of parameters.
The problem I always find with such a scientific approach to audio stuff is that the microphones used in testing represent an ideal ear, and whilst the results of the tests can be said to be indicative if other tests are performed the same way... they still don't reflect that each ear and brain is individual, so it always comes down to personal experience.
That said... the review does suggest it's going to be a shit experience for all :D
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I know, ASR HATES PMC speakers. The difficulty is that you can't measure everything quantitatively and ASR, in its quest for transparency, loses credibility in many people's eyes for failing to recognise that fact.
Obviously I don't drink from the fountain of nonsense at What Caravan™ but it's also important not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_system_measurementsCurious as to how you have narrowed down to those two options.
@ChasnotRobert: Good question. I have Kef R300s and like the sound of them. So I'm sold on KEF, particularly their 3-way design. PMC purely because @Airhead recommends them and like KEF they have a huge following, so I can sell them on if I don't get on with them. I've kind of discounted Spendor and a few others because they aren't aesthetically appealing to me.
I'm not really close enough to anywhere to demo several sets of speakers at home and anyway, I really can't be arsed to do so.
I’ve got the PMC’s and they’re great. I would say they excel with mids and highs but they do struggle with bass.
you have to try them, though. i think the TL sound is an acquired taste.
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I take on board the ASR findings but I'm not seeing anything like that with my own measurements.
I don't doubt that the rig he's using surpasses mine technically and I definitely have some high end hearing loss due to age but the response I get from a room mic at the listening position is nowhere near as lumpy as the results he has.
I've never had problems with the sensitivity although as I noted above they do seem to like a powerful amp. I'm never running them anywhere near max.
One comment about them setting off his tinnitus did have me scratching my beard though. Maybe they fall apart at volumes higher than I'm testing, mine have always been near field or in small rooms.
My listening room end game speaker is the ATC40, active hopefully so I was pleased to see them get a kinder review linked in the thread. I'm not going to rush off and sell the 3 pairs of PMC that I have! but I'm happy not to have a pair of the ones tested because that test/thread would put a big dent in the resale value.
It is also typical that people are commenting about the entire PMC range based on the measured performance of one of their monitors. It is quite possible that PMC don't work so hard to get a flat response out of their small domestic monitors though, they may even be voiced that way.
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Agreed. I’m smitten with a pair of Fact 8s on ebay at the moment but this review has me a little concerned. If it helps I mainly listen to Electronica (four tet, Air, that sort of thing) and my listening room is not huge, plus speakers are closer to the wall than ideal due to kids etc.
Safe option is the Kefs as I know how they’ll behave. The Fact 8s are promising tho.
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I'm not really close enough to anywhere to demo several sets of speakers at home and anyway, I really can't be arsed to do so.
Yeah, me neither. I don't find a/b comparisons that useful in the main, unless something is obviously problematic.
As mentioned, I find that it takes a while of living with stuff before I really know whether I like it or not. Hence tend to pick up stuff second hand.
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Enjoying the high end chat above. These came up inmy googling. MB1s. Possibly the least wife friendly speakers I've ever seen.
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There's at least something suggestive about horny horns.. Flower shaped enclosures etc
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Pre computers I wonder how they'd get it right.
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Does anyone have experience/recommendations at the small end of the speaker spectrum? I have a small spare room and have been thinking about the dynaudio Evoke 10 (so in £1200ish range).
Currently there's a Musical Fidelity x-A200r driving some old fairly budget missions. Thinking I'll upgrade the speakers first and down the line add something like the Brooklyn Bridge/amp combo if the MF is shown to be lacking, love the style of that amp though.
I would and being sensible probably should consider the KEF LSX, but I have the LS50W in the living room and this is more of the hifi as a hobby/money pit set up...
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I have a pair of Cyrus CLS70 that will be spare, soon. On dedicated stands.
Potentially a low cost upgrade :-)
Edit: like these except mine are black ash veneer.
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been thinking about the dynaudio Evoke 10 (so in £1200ish range)
if you want to push the boat out, Acoustic Energy AE500 or Monitor Audio Gold 100 could be of interest. Quite spendy for spare room speakers, though.
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It's spare as in it's where the records live, where I play computer games and currently have my workspace but people use if they come to stay - I do a lot of my listening in there when I don't share the same interest in my partner's Netflix choices...
Those look a similar kind of profile to what I'm thinking, will investigate, thanks.
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What do think of the LS50Ws?
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It's spare as in it's where the records live, where I play computer games and currently have my workspace but people use if they come to stay - I do a lot of my listening in there when I don't share the same interest in my partner's Netflix choices...
Your hidey hole...
your island of respite
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I absolutely love pretty much everything about them. They sound really brilliant for everything I listen to regularly - mainly modernish guitar bands, some techno and fair amount of parts in-between.
There's something really great about their simplicity, you just turn them on and away they go. My partner who's not really fussed about hifi I think likes the modern way they just work with Spotify connect from a phone.
The big draw back has been how crap the KEF app is and the lack of something similar to Spotify connect for Tidal - there's no way to control streaming direct to the speakers from the Tidal app, you have to do it via the pretty rubbish KEF app, and for a £2000 hifi it seems a shame to be using the slightly inferior streams from Spotify but we do that a lot because the integration is so much nicer to use.
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I was once being shown round a house we were thinking about buying by the lovely old couple who had lived in it for years. The old fella showed me his basement study/man-cave/hidey hole. He was a keen entomologist so it was covered in books and prints and specimens of insects. He introduced it as his "glory hole". Top Freudian slippage that.
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"The Mastabatorium"
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Audiophiles hifi appreciation thread old and new
Posted by
@coppiThat
i loved the little db1+ that i had (shouldn't have got rid of them either). they would have been perfect bryston for the second set up i now need. you have to try them, though. i think the TL sound is an acquired taste.