Long Listening session of the PMC DB1S

[denom]

Had the opportunity to listen to PMC DB1S in depth yesterday thanks to Khusrau & though that since it was an exhaustive listening session, I should write a review on them.
The associated equipments list:
Speakers:
PMC DB1S
DB1S+ | PMC Loudspeakers

Amps:
Advance Acoustics Pre
Advance Acoustic • Produits

Advance Acoustics Power
Advance Acoustic • Produits

Sources:
Music Hall 2.2 LE
.:: music hall audio :: mmf-2.2le

Artora CD Player

Cables:
ICs & Speaker Cables: Binary Entry level

Speaker Stands:
Sound Foundations Aura
Sound Foundations - Aura Speaker Stand

We heard a variety of music on Vinyl & CD. Plenty of setting done w r t positioning of the speakers as each time we discovered something new, something changing, sometimes good, sometimes not so good Ultimately we agreed on a placement that was making the music sound just about right!

Now the music we played

Vinyl:
Pink Floyd The Wall
RHCP Californication

CD:
No Doubt Rock Steady
Rainbow Best Of
Kraftwerk The Man Machine (Remastered)
Judas Priest Best Of
Elbow Leaders Of The Free World
Mumford & Sons Babel
La Tarrentella - Antidotum Tarantulae
Trentmoller The Last Resort


As can be seen from the variety of music genres played, this was a true test of how a speaker sounds with everything thrown at them. That they performed admirably well with all shows that these are genuine studio monitors resulting in them dishing out whatever you feed them without any fuss! I heard some new music during this session, with artists whom Ive never heard of before but the music played was enjoyable. We played some music at lower volumes & some at high volumes, the speakers played through the passages at various volume levels un stressed. There was no missing of detailing at any given volume, no masking, no overlapping, which resulted in me sitting in 1 place enjoying whatever was being played.

I always carry certain CDs with me & let me tell you that a couple of tracks played from them had me smiling, infact laughing, making Khusrau think that I had lost it! The Priest CD in particular sounded SUPERB! I had heard this CD with the PMC Behemoths IB1S Paired with BelCanto Monoblocks during the lunch break of the Mumbai Meet earlier this year, but it sounded much better with the DB1S :clapping: Khusrau also agreed to this & was enjoying Priest going hell bent for leather hyeah:

Couple of observations:

The DB1S are to be bi-wired for best results, as advised by Khusrau.

The Placement of the DB1S is critical. Incorrect placement will not make them shine & give you the desired impact. Get the placement correct & they will reward you to no end. Contrary to their dimunitive size, they make music sound like coming from much bigger speakers!

I asked Khusrau about what type of Amp (Wattage) wise would be good for the DB1S, to which he replied a good 40 Watter at actuals should be fine for powering them. He further went on to say that NAD amps (352, 372) would be ideal to partner with the DB1S.


Man that was a fun session! Time just flew by with the music sounding awesome & before I knew it, I was cemented in the room for close to 5 hours!!!

Priced at 1.41 L, these are by no means cheap, but worth a good listen to realize what the little boxes are capable of! Khusrau has informed me that he can offer a substantial reduction in the price if 5 pairs are bought together. Anyone interested in listening to the DB1S can get in touch with me via PM & I will arrange for a demo for them.

 

[magma]

yep

i was there all evening friday
setting up the speakers at the DEN with khushroo

i heard them with the Atora amp and atora cds

these small speakers are by no means small
easily one of the best speakers i have heard to date under 1.5l

the DB1's are lovely transmission lines that are immensely coherent.
They need to be set up right though
8 inches off the rear wall and you are fine

the speakers just disappear (well almost really given their diminutive size)
what is amazing about them is the loss of detail at really low volumes.
And then again
you crank up the volume - but the speakers dont shout.
You are never fatigued

that small transmission line has the bass to make you hair behind your neck tingle
Spread out your palms and touch the sofa with your fingertips
you will feel the low end

i have rarely heard this from a speaker of this budget

Ofcourse as i said
khushroo is a magician while setting up the system
the speakers normally need a very slight toe in depending on the room
again i say - very slight

Dont expect rock and roll - bang boom from the speaker-( thats for fools)
But expect the rythum of the Jamaican and the timing of senna

i have a gut feeling
pair this with a Naim
and you will RULE most setups

i am anxious now to work on khushroos pet project
if it turns out right - that speaker will be to kill for

 

[mpw]

dave & ali,

how would this compare to the KEF R300 or the MA GX100 bookshelf ?

The technology may be different but we are interested in the sound.

mpw

 

[Hiten]

Denom,
your reviews are straight from the heart and enjoyable. Thanks for the good work and effort.
Regards

 

[denom]

yep

i was there all evening friday
setting up the speakers at the DEN with khushroo

i heard them with the Atora amp and atora cds

these small speakers are by no means small
easily one of the best speakers i have heard to date under 1.5l

the DB1's are lovely transmission lines that are immensely coherent.
They need to be set up right though
8 inches off the rear wall and you are fine

the speakers just disappear (well almost really given their diminutive size)
what is amazing about them is the loss of detail at really low volumes.
And then again
you crank up the volume - but the speakers dont shout.
You are never fatigued

that small transmission line has the bass to make you hair behind your neck tingle
Spread out your palms and touch the sofa with your fingertips
you will feel the low end

i have rarely heard this from a speaker of this budget

Ofcourse as i said
khushroo is a magician while setting up the system
the speakers normally need a very slight toe in depending on the room
again i say - very slight

Dont expect rock and roll - bang boom from the speaker-( thats for fools)
But expect the rythum of the Jamaican and the timing of senna

i have a gut feeling
pair this with a Naim
and you will RULE most setups

i am anxious now to work on khushroos pet project
if it turns out right - that speaker will be to kill for

You should hear them again with the speakers positioned now paired with the amps I've written about above & see the difference!

Yes, Khusrau knows what he is doing & achieves the optimum placement of speakers indeed. The fact that the man is passionate about his craft is very evident not only by the way he goes about his work but also the way he talks about it. I had some very interesting discussions with him before, during & after the session with the DB1S

The Naim combo with PMC should be very interesting, no doubt. Wonder if I will get a chance to listen to it

dave & ali,

how would this compare to the KEF R300 or the MA GX100 bookshelf ?

The technology may be different but we are interested in the sound.

mpw

Mahesh,

The speakers you mention are not all rounders to play all genre's well. They have their strengths with certain genre's. But thats my opinion though:indifferent14:

Denom,
your reviews are straight from the heart and enjoyable. Thanks for the good work and effort.
Regards

Thanks Hiten, am glad you liked it. That is my intention always when writing a review

 

[magma]

mahesh

i have not heard the golds
they have ribbons
should be intresting

Uni q kefs ive heard - they are superbly cohehrent ill give you that
they are good speakers

i would say both the MA's and the Kefs are comparable and sound close to one another
they are a very nice and articulate top end

the PMC's on the other hand do something differnt
the top end may not as good - but they make up in "involvement" and timing


the speakers were connected to the advance acoustics intially
we disconnected and played through the artora
i liked the artora

are the sepaekrs placed differntly now?
they were 7feet apart and 6- 7 inches of the rear wall when i was there

 

[mpw]

would be interesting to find out which one would go well in a home situation. I guess the room would have been very nicely done up - audiowise .. with panels and all..

how i would like to have a home demo where things are not so ideal..but thats dreaming..

)

mpw

 

[keith_correa]

<snip>Dont expect rock and roll - bang boom from the speaker-( thats for fools)
But expect the rythum of the Jamaican and the timing of senna<snip>

Meaning what? Are you saying that expecting these speakers to rock and roll is foolish OR are you implying that "rock and roll - bang boom" is for fools? If it's the latter then I'm guilty of being a "fool". No apologies for being one too.
And, from Denom's review, looking at the music list, I'd assume that these speakers did rawk.

 

[magma]

nope
i mean
expecting this speaker to go really low with thumping bass is not wise

 

[denom]

Some more albums that We heard & I forgot to mention.

Niladri Kumar - Sitar Gaze

Ultimate Collection of Rock Ballads

In the above album was Khusrau's fav track: Alannah Myles - Black Velvet, which we played @ full tilt

 

[Hari Iyer]

@ Denom. A well written review and details about the speakers.

Would be eager to have it compared with my Kevlar TL BS speaker. Is there any opportunity for this. Pls. advise.

 

[denom]

Hari,

Will try to fix up something & keep you posted.

 

[Kittu]

Dave,

As usual a well written review, I am sure the speakers do even better as the listening continues. Can you post a pic of the entire setup in action?

 

[denom]

Krishna,

Have not taken pics of the set-up. Sorry!

 

[just4kix]

Good review denom. Keep up the good work.