PMC FB1i Floorstanding Speakers – Walnut

Here we have a pair of high quality floorstanding loudspeakers from British company PMC. Our examples of the FB1 come in fair fully working condition noting several marks to the cabinets – please refer to product photographs. They will be appropriately packaged along with grilles, plinths, spikes and our regular three month warranty.
PMC Said….
The FB1 was the first wholly domestic model from the PMC stable. From its humble drawing-board beginnings to the present day it has become an audio legend, winning awards on all continents from the leading audiophile critics. The FB1 has even received critical acclaim from respected professional magazines for its ability as a true reference-recording monitor.
The i series upgrades of the new SONOLEX™ tweeter, PMC designed bass driver, improved cabinet integrity and optimised crossover network has once again raised the bar in what can be achieved in a 2-way floorstanding speaker. These significant technical improvements give greater speed, transparency and a wider window onto the performance whether it is music or movie surround.
The FB1i, with its 6½ inch bass unit and extended ATL™ provides a deeper and richer feel than the smaller models and therefore excels in a medium to large listening room.
The i series is the embodiment of our innovative approach to professional audio monitoring, brought to the home.
PMC products are to be found in every demanding application, from broadcast to major film scoring to CD and DVD mastering. The accumulated technical knowledge and high level of engineering excellence developed over many years at the pinnacle of professional studio monitoring has been incorporated into the development and production of the i series – leading professionals such as BBC Radio and Television, Dolby Laboratories, DTS, DreamWorks USA, JVC Studios Japan, Lucasfilm and Coldplay, use PMC loudspeakers. There are no differences between the production of professional and domestic product bar the cabinet finish.
The i series models, including their corresponding horizontal centre channel versions have been engineered with identical tonal balance and dispersion characteristics. This makes them ideal to ‘mix and match’ to create the ultimate high resolution Home Theatre system in any domestic setting.
The sub/.1 effects channel within a i series system is ideally handled by the professional proven TLE1 active subwoofer which excels in production of both sheer level of bass energy and musical subtlety when required.
The world’s leading professionals rely on the accuracy of PMC’s ATL™ designs every day to create much of the music and sound you hear every day.
PMC’s ATL™ (Advanced Transmission Line) enclosures have taken loudspeaker design to the highest level. A PMC transmission line design utilises sophisticated cabinet construction, proprietary drive units and patented absorption materials and techniques. The benefits are enormous compared to the relatively simple sealed and ported models currently available elsewhere.
The main driver is placed at one end of a long tunnel (the transmission line), which is heavily damped with absorbent acoustic material. This material is specified to absorb the upper bass and higher frequencies that radiate from the rear of the main driver. The lowest frequencies, which remain in phase, then emerge from the large vent at the end of the line,
which essentially acts as a second driver. One advantage to this approach is that the air pressure loading the main driver is maintained, thus controlling the driver over a wide frequency range, which in turn significantly reduces distortion.
A spin-off from the lack of distortion is that the upper bass and midrange is not masked by harmonic distortion residing in the very low frequencies. The result is PMC characteristic transparent midrange and fast, attacking bass notes, all with outstanding clarity.
A further advantage of the transmission line approach is a cabinet that produces a higher SPL and lower bass extension than a ported or sealed design of a similar size. Moreover, as the loading on the main driver is maintained at all volumes, the frequency response also remains consistent regardless of listening level.
Neither casual late night listening nor prolonged monitoring sessions have to be conducted at high volumes to achieve maximum bass response, a characteristic that is especially suited to the home user.
All PMC loudspeakers are hand-built in the U.K. using individual components that are matched to our reference model; this includes the structural integrity of every cabinet and the testing and recording of each component. This guarantees it will be within our strict tolerances and ensures your purchase sounds identical to the original design.
Each completed loudspeaker then undergoes a set of objective and subjective measurements – frequency response sweeps ensure that the design meets our exacting performance criteria, and then listening tests are conducted against the reference model using a wide variety of material, from a benchmark BBC speech test to classical music, pop and rock.
Specifications:
Frequency Response: 28 Hz – 25 kHz
Sensitivity: 90 dB, 1 W, 1 m
Recommended Amp Power: 40 – 300 W
Effective ATL™ Length: 3 m
Impedance: 8 Ohms
Drive Units: LF PMC Doped 170 mm cast Alloy Chassis; HF 27 mm SONOLEX Soft dome Ferro-fluid cooled
Crossover Frequency: 2 kHz
Input Connectors: 2 pairs 4 mm sockets (Bi-Wire or Bi-Amp)
Dimensions: 1000 (H) x 200 (W) x 300 (D) mm
Weight: 18.0 kg

For a review from TechRadar magazine please click HERE