Looking at getting a new monitor system in the not too distant future and am looking for some advice from others. Think it's going to be between these two models, they are going to be used for both mixing and mastering. So far I have tried out the PMC TB2S (not the IB1S) and they seem to be the clearest monitor I have heard so far but were lacking somewhat in the bass department (something I'm sure would be different with the IB1S?)

PMC's
+very clear mid/high range
+great stereo imaging
- Costs more
- May be too big for a small room?

Dynaudio's
+Costs Less
+Smaller so should fit any room I might move to
+With the cheaper cost I could get them sooner and invest more money into acoustically treating my room
+Easier to find a 2nd hand pair compared to PMC's
- not as detailed sounding as the PMC's
- Better for dealing with bass/low-mids? (compared to the TB2S)

Any advice? better substitutions? places to buy 2nd hand (besides the GS classifieds?) especially advice from others who have used 1 or both systems. If I went for the IB1S I would definitely get a listen on them (maybe at PMC HQ?) first but want to know if spending the extra money can really justify this

Wotcher Jonathan - sorry not getting back to your mail yet, it's been mental!

It's kind of men against boys though, not even a fair competition. I mean.... 6" bass driver vs 10" bass driver, and that's just for starters. Mostly it depends on your room, so investing in acoustics is the way. You can use the same treatment when you step up to the PMCs

I don't think the TB2S are lacking in bass though, at least, compared to the BM6... :?

Will try to get back properly by email soon!

In your shoes I would first asses your needs. In oter words decide if your room needs near or midfield. This would be dictated by many factors including the acoustics of the room, placement , other gear and so on.
Can't really compare near with midfields. is it true there are nowadays speakers that perform well in between (Barefoots and ATC 25 spring to mind amongst others of course).
The active TB2s with their dedicated sub are outstanding. Haven't heard the BM6A with a dedicated sub so I can't comment. On their own they are nice speakers you can surely work on albeit feeling a bit compressed but this is my personal "taste" (like Gennies 1031/1032 kind of feeling)
Not sure they would be accurate enough for mastering work, surely adequate for mixing though

I agree there is no comparison between the IB1s and the BM6's and I'd be choosing the former if that was the only selection for mastering. Take a look at ATC and other manufacturers too.

Riccardo makes some excellent points and the ATCs are a good choice. However, remember if you're mastering and doing so with smaller monitors, then a sub should be placed in the mix too.

Room/Acoustics/placement etc are the name of the game.

No worries man I assumed as much heh

The reason I was looking at BM6A's in the first place was due to me working on Alesis monitor ones atm, so was thinking would it be better to wait it out and get something realllll nice or just get the ball rolling sooner by getting the dynaudios and then upgrading at a later time.

Potentially:- work as I am -> Get room sorted -> go straight to PMC's?

As for room size, I saw a youtube video (can't remember the guys name) and he has a pretty small space and seems to find the IB1S ideal as it's supposed to be almost a halfway point between near field and full on mid-field monitors. So I guess that's no longer an argument?

Finally I kind of settled on the IB1S instead of the IB2S because I didn't know how much of a difference the mid-driver made (the only difference?)

Has anybody compared the two? really think it's worth the extra cash?

May have to take a trip down to Luton at some point and find out heh

Oi Jon, get back to work!





PS, FOCAL.















me and jon are work colleagues

I own some IB1S' and I can say that I wish I had the IB2S....the mids and tweets on the 1's are delicate....thankfully they are vifa drivers and easy to replace.....but they do go out quite a bit more than I would like....the 2's should be much more robust

also if you go with the PMC's, be sure to get some good amps....they are tri-amp capable....

I used bryston 4b's on mids and tweets...and Hot HOuse M500HV's for the woofers (monoblocks)....

very nice system, but they are in storage now, due to the unreliability of the drivers, and the fact that PMC tries to charge you 5 times the value for replacement Vifa drivers (you can get the exact same drivers for peanuts at speakercity)

not fair to compare to Dynaudio BM6A though....not even close...the more accurate comparison would be with the Dynaudio M series (M1.5's)...I happen to own the M1.5's as well...and prefer them to the PMC's....but that is just me



P.S. it's really not fair to compare any near-field to the IB1S....the PMC's are a LARGE 3 way, much better suited for mid/far use or in soffits...they will simply demolish any small speaker (in terms of dynamics and weight)

I love my BM6a but you need to be sure they are what you need. I didn't like the BM15a in comparison so if I wanted bigger speakers I'd also go for the Dynaudio M1.5 (I don't know the PMC personally) which I used once and REALLY liked or some other high end but larger speaker. For the money and size though, I love the BM6a.

So definitely worth going for the IB2S then if PMC was the direction I take?

if it was up to me yes....but again...it's personal preference

there are other speakers out there, for far less money

also the PMC's aren't powered....so with amps you are talking about a playback system costing tens of thousands of dollars

I am not sure how that can be mentioned in the same consideration as the BM6A

if anything I would say get the BM6A for near-field and the IB2S for mains

have you actually gotten a quote on the IB2S with appropriate amplification?

I happened to get my IB1S' for almost free (a friend had an entire surround system composed of them, and practically gave me a pair)....if I would have had to pay retail, I most certainly would have bought some ATC's instead

if you are dead set on the PMC's though I wouldn't hesitate to buy the model with the more robust midrange (which takes a bit of load off the tweeter)

$$$$$$$$$$

You can put a Hypex amp together for around $1k5 that will work beautifully with the IB2s.

Your monitoring system and environment is the place to sink your money. I've never heard anyone say they wish they'd spent less on their monitors and amps.


GR

This is one thing I've been thinking about as the IB2S have 3 pairs of input sockets (one for each driver) would that mean I'd need to power each one separately? or can I do a bodge and wire all 3 off the same amp?

less than ideal....a speaker like the IB2S deserves an amplifier combo that can deliver some serious on demand current (the PMCs are small cabinets and not very efficient). I suggest tri amping so that you can get a bit of gain play between the drivers....

do you own IB1S'? or the 2's?

the cost of the entire PMC system is out of line with it's performance IMO

the ATC offerings are much more attractive and less hassle

like I said I own a IB1S system and have played with a lot of amp combos...never was a phenomenal system....I much prefer my M1.5's with BM12s under each one.....

again do you own a IB1S system?

also I wish I had spent less money on my monitors and amps....

That's just for the hifi-guys. There is no need in using more than one amp or more than one pair of cables on one speaker unless you go fully active and use the amps _after_ the crossover.

Hypex indeed work very well with the IB1s / IB2s.

For a couple of years ive been running IB1s with a pair of UCD400 HG HxR monoblocks, and couldn't be happier (well i could be, if you were to give me a set of IB2s, but i couldn't justify the additional outlay at the time, and to be honest if you cant get good results with the IB1s, theres probably other things you should be worrying about first)

My SCM partner Bob (Macc) just got a set of IB2s, with Hypex amplification, but not sure if he's got them set up yet.

Jonathan, hows your room? Net result might be better with the IB1s and putting the difference into additional room treatment?

Ps. PMC will likely drive a set of each to you to audition in your space if you ask nicely....I was left with a set of IB1s for a week....good guys..

There's one geezer on this forum who owns both monitors,)
everybody knows him here, so I won't mention hehhis name

I've been driving my PMC MB1 XBD system with four Hypex UxD 400HG amps for about three years now and I can tell you it's a marriage made in heaven. You definitely would not need to tri-amp IB2s with this amp.

GR

Ian by any chance? top guy

Sorry I still don't understand "would not need to tri-amp" if there's a separate input for each driver then surely tri-amping is inevitable?

I have been using BM6A here at the studio for mixing and mastering since September 2007 and I have to say I have been pretty satisfied.

In the past 2 years I have been 70% mastering and 30% doing mixing/co-production.

My room sounds terrific, not that big, so no reason to overpower, damage hearing.

Lots of albums out there ( MTV, Youtube, a few awards). No clients have complained about lack of frequency regions or deep bass, as many report here.

I wished I could afford the bigger C4s, but frankly, they are too much for my cup and room.

You would run the three drivers in parallel. They probably come with a bridging strap.


GR

the reason I suggest tri-amping (not tri wiring) is so that you can get independent control of gain for each driver....think of it as a basic EQ

also you can match the load of the driver properly to an amp....

If there was no benefit, why would PMC even give you to option?

meh, doesn't matter....I know what does and doesn't work on my set....

either way they are overpriced...IMO

I am glad I got mine second hand, and for almost nothing....I would be VERY upset if I had paid retail.....they are not reliable speakers

So you would say the m1.5's are a lot more cost effective?

if money was no issue which would be your preferred speaker here?

Good point - where have you got to with it, Bob?

PMC is a very common monitor in high-end mastering and film post. Accuracy and reliability are as good as anything available at any price. The rest comes down to personal preference.

GR

What's that opinion based on?

I've been waiting for the stands to arrive, and also having some problems with the Hypex rewire (even the Hypex bod is baffled), so I might get an Emotiva as a sell-on-stopgap.

To be honest I haven't been that bothered as it's been so insanely busy beyond belief. Not a bad reason! I don't really want to change everything in the middle of such a busy period. Ideally I'll be taking a week out to do all the measurements and so on, as well as the final cosmetic stuff for the proper room pix. Just got back from a gig overseas as well, not enough hours in the day at the moment!

Yes, a very good reason! Hope it all goes OK when you have the time.

Right, I think I'm more leaning towards a £2000 - £2500 setup (second hand) and then putting the rest into treating my room, which is why I'm thinking of the M1.5's however I could get a pair of 0300's for that price which have a 3-way design and are active so no worrying about how I'm going to power them.

I know Macc's repping the 0300's atm (I think?) anybody else have any input on these monitors?

Don't know if I mentioned but I'm going to be stepping up from an untreated room listening to Alesis monitor ones to this next setup. So I may not even be able to hear, if the differences are subtle enough but I definitely feel I have outgrown my monitors and it's time to move on.