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twenty.23 | PMC Loudspeakers
A chance introduction to the PMC slim & petite FS called twenty.23, thanks to KJ of Nexus Audio, who represent PMC in India happened couple of days ago. These are the entry level FS of PMC. Having already a fine taste of the now discontinued DB1S & the Mighty IB1S earlier, it was now time to hear these beauties sing
The pair on demo were in a beautiful amarone finish, as shown in the pics above. This is a really gorgeous silken finish & really stands out on the slanted cabinet of the 23s :licklips:
The 23s are really slender & lithe speakers hardly having any body to them size wise but sound wise, well let me get there later
I think the 23s are really well crafted & completely WAF proof
hyeah: I say this in complete astonishment as have never seen a PMC speaker look so beautiful & feminine compared to the standard macho brute studio matt black finish Beautiful to look at the 23s are for sure, but then looks alone are not important for us now are they???Niceties out of the way, we start off with some soothing Jean Sibelius.
Amazon.com: Complete Symphonies: Music
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43: I. Allegretto
Now am not a western classical aficionado so I should not be able to do justice to the description of the way this particular piece played but I could definitely feel that the orchestra was playing its part, as individuals or as a combination of arrangements with the nuances being articulated & details imparted. KJ also explained certain aspects of the rendition by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, so that gyaan was most useful to me
Having started off with a nice warm up of the above classical piece, I requested for something that was familiar to me. Since this was an impromptu visit by me, I had not carried any music of mine & so had to select from the selection at hand at the venue. Luckily the next CD that appealed to me was
Amazon.com: On Every Street: Dire Straits: Music
1.Calling Elvis
2.You And Your Friend
3.Iron Hand
4.My Parties
Heard the above & yes! Now I was in a position to feel comfortable & try to hear what was going on with the 23s. The CD to be very honest was quite average recording wise & inspite of me trying to hear the music I know pretty well, I was hearing the deficiencies of the poor recording as well. Things showing up which I gather happens to me now having been used to the naughty actives that I have at home
So request to hear something else. More Mark Knopfler??? Sure, why not!
Amazon.com: The Ragpicker's Dream: Music
1.Why Aye Man
2.Devil Baby
WOW! What a difference a good recording makes
Spot on phantom centre, Mark Knopfler singing casually opposite to my seat! Tone, timing, width, space all in bags. Yes, now the 23s are showing what they are capable of, belying their size. Am amazed!
Look at KJ & ask him surely the recording is playing tricks! He hands me another CD to look at, it being
Amazon.com: The Mix: Kraftwerk: Music
1. The Robots (Remix)
2. Computerlove (Remix)
Blown away, felt like I was in a discoteque, minus the irritating bass hangover & boom! A slender cabinet with a measly 5.25 driver producing crazy amounts of fast & accurate LFs like no bodies business! Eccentric beauty of a TL design speaker highlighted to the core :licklips: I enjoyed this so much I repeated the tracks :yahoo:
This time I heard the Karftwerk tracks with another amp, a hybrid with tube pre, the tube made the sound even more trippy & added bounce/energy. Something that was quite a revelation to me & KJ as well
A thread regarding this amp will appear in the near future, probably once I hear it with my music to complete the picture
Am shocked after the Kraftwerk performance so now its time to listen to some female vocals & see if the 23's can pull them off as well
Amazon.com: Recollection 2 CD Set: K.D. Lang: Music
1. Trail Of Broken Hearts
2. Constant Craving
Again, vocals beautifully rendered with clean accompanying instrumentation showcased in harmony. I closed my eyes & heard KD lang paint a picture for me :clapping:
Soothing & easy on the ears, at low volumes can put you into a relaxed zone, keeping all the details intact & maintaining coherence. Detail in the softness of an acoustic guitar, guitar twang & string resonance decaying in the intended way, no over hang of the bass notes either.
The fact that the LF reproduction is mind boggling is an understatement with the 23's. Time & again, 1 will ask where is the hidden sub that is doing all the donkey work!!!
These speakers can play loud & not lose control, can be placed say 8 -10 feet away from each other & create an even bigger soundstage, so they should be ideal for large rooms as well. I also tried some toe-in & out to see what happens, I liked a slight toe-in to ensure a wide sound stage without losing out on the phantom centre. In fact even changed seats & heard them off axis & could listen to both speakers playing their part distinctly. So, on almost all fronts these look to be a great pair
The price am not going to reveal now, reason being this review is not over yet! Little suspense :indifferent14:
So ends my initial impressions of the PMC twenty.23s
I now await the next opportunity to go for another listening session, armed with my Music to do a wrap up of these delicate damsels err speakers :lol:
As an aside, I heard the PMC's paired with 3 amps, the details of 1 of them (which was used extensively) are to be found in this link
http://www.hifivision.com/surround-...avm-inspiration-c8-all-1-stereo-receiver.html
Decided to keep this thread dedicated to the PMC twenty.23's & hence not much info on the associated chain of equipments revealed.
