Frequently Asked Questions

We are confident your loudspeakers will afford many years of trouble-free listening of the highest order. B­­ut in the unlikely event that one or more requires repair, our unique manufacturing procedure, wherein the precise value of each component together with the response of the system as a whole is recorded, will ensure that any replaced parts will exactly match the performance of those originally included within each individual loudspeaker. For any issues that might arise or for advice and service requirements, the primary point of contact should be your knowledgeable and authorised PMC dealer/distributor. If you do not have a local representative please see the Where to Buy section of this website.

For any replacement parts, costs and logistics please contact your nearest dealer: Where to Buy

You should not overtighten the fixings of the drive units as it can distort the chassis or damage the bolt’s thread.
The best solution is use a torque wrench using the following settings in Nm:

If you are unsure or need assistance please contact our service department for further information – service@pmc-speakers.com

Customer DIY upgrades to PMC speakers are strongly discouraged as not only will this invalidate the warranty, it may very likely make your speakers sound worse. Designing PMC speakers takes skilled R&D engineers a great deal of time with the best equipment at their disposal taking all factors into account. Judiciously replacing components can upset the balance of a carefully designed speaker.

For additional information please contact service@pmc-speakers.com

DB1 Gold, twotwo5/6, result6, and the ci series have mounting points on the rear panel so they can be used with the BRKT, a PMC bracket that can be purchased as an option. This will allow for ideal positioning. See: https://pmc-speakers.com/products/consumer/hifi-accessories

Because out unique ATL advanced transmission line enclosures, wide dispersion pattern, low harmonic distoring and smooth roll-off, PMC loudspeakers are more forgiving of difficult room conditions and placement constraints than conventional designs. However we encourage you to spend some time experimenting in your own room in order to obtain the best results within any applicable architectural influence upon system performance, especially in the low frequency region.

The following guidelines are suggestions for the initial location of you monitors.

Fine tuning of the positioning can start from here.

Place the speakers so that the front face is forward of any object that protrudes into the room – a fire place, bookcase or television for example.

Ensure that stereo pairs of loudspeakers are equidistant from the listening position, although some arrival time differences can be accommodated within modern home theatre receivers and processors.

It is always best to position front left/right pair and centre channel loudspeakers, at the same height, usually that of ones ear level when seated at the primary listening position.

When calculating the distance between your left/right speakers, create an imaginary equilateral triangle between them and your listening position.

For example, if you are seated 3meters from the plane of your left/right loudspeakers, they should be positioned roughly 2metres apart. As a general rule, the soundstage width will diminish if the loudspeakers are any closer together and become disjointed if they are further apart, but we encourage experimentation within your own room.

Loudspeakers can be ‘toed-in” to improve stereo left/right imaging, so that the axis of each loudspeaker crossed approximately 50cm behind the primary listening position.

Any of the PMC range can be used as surround (side or rear) loudspeakers in a multichannel music or movie playback system, placed just behind and elevated approximately 1meter above ear-height when seated in the primary listening position.

PMC recommend using a high quality thick multi-strand Oxygen Free Copper (OFC) cable between the amplifier and speakers. The use of ‘exotic” cables has limited improvement on sound quality, so we would not advocate spending great quantities of money. However, if you are prepared to spend a great deal of money in this area, we would strongly advice you listen first to determine whether the outlay is worth the improvement.

They are expensive to build due to the labyrinth design within the cabinet and only a few speaker designers have a sufficient understanding in order to produce competent designs. Unfortunately there is no standard formulas, as with sealed and ported designs.

Transmission line, ported and vented designs are three different concepts on how to load the bass driver in a speaker enclosure. Transmission lines and sealed boxes have a 12dB per octave roll off after the resonant frequency, while a vented box has a 24dB per octave roll off. Ported speaker are the most common as they are cheap to build and easy to design, though the quality of the bass reproduction is questionable in many designs and such a steep roll off can have knock on problems further up the frequency range.

Sealed boxes have a similar roll off to transmission lines, however the efficiency of such systems is lower due to the inward radiating energy not being utilised by the cabinet. Distortion also occurs as the air in the box is compressed and expanded adiabatically as the cone moves in and out, the force required to move the cone changes non linearly with respect to the cone excursion. Both sealed and vented designs require careful absorption to avoid rear radiating sound bouncing off the cabinet walls, and passing through the bass driver causing boxy resonances.

Transmission line by contrast sound very natural because there is no build up of pressure behind the bass cone, with the rear radiating air being forced through an internal labyrinth to reinforce the bottom end of the frequency band. This also means no rear sound is re-radiated through the bass driver. The other advantage is that the air in the transmission line loads the bass driver and lowers its resonant frequency. This allows for the extended low end response and keeps the bass driver well damped, requiring less excursion than sealed or ported speakers to produce the same output. PMC has painstakingly developed their own advanced transmission Line (ATL) and has taken loudspeaker design to new levels, by using a cabinet construction and highly specified drive unit and crossover components. The PMC ATL design has enormous benefits including Improved resolution & reduced distortion, Even frequency response and Deeper, faster and better defined bass.

The studio version’s are exclusively for professional customers as the matt black paint finish is very hard wearing and robust, which is ideal for vigorous use in a studio like environment.

In a passive loudspeaker the low-level audio signal is amplified by an external power amplifier before it reaches the loudspeaker cabinet. This signal is then split by a selection of components  into the  frequency ranges suitable for each drive unit. This usually found inside the cabinet and is called a passive crossover. This is the most common method used in home audio and allows the choice of the widest selection of amplification.

In a true active loudspeaker, each drive unit has its own dedicated power amplifier.  These can be house inside or outside the loudspeaker cabinet. The low-level audio signal is sent through an active (powered) crossover to divide the audio signal into the suitable frequency ranges before being sent to the power amplifiers and in turn to the drive units.

Please follow the link and click on your county from the list to locate your nearest dealer. Where to Buy

Bi-wiring is the use of two runs of speaker cable per channel between the amplifier and speaker. Tri-wiring is similarly the use of three runs of speaker cable per channel, but you will require a three way loudspeaker and three rear pairs of terminals per speaker to achieve this. Some people advocate that separating the signal paths aids the retrieval of fine detail. However, the evidence is far from conclusive. If you intend to bi-wire your two way speakers, or tri-wire your three way speakers ensure the metal links on the back-panel have been removed. If you wish to bi-wire our three way speakers, so the tweeters and mids are served by one set of cables and the woofers by a separate set of cables, remove the bottom link, but retain the top one. 

We use both our own, and Bryston amplifiers.  We have distributed Bryston in the UK for many years and we share the same design philosophy and they therefore they make great partners. Our cor integrated amplifier is also a superb choice and has won awards throughout the globe and will combine perfectly with all our models up to the fact.12 Signature.

We always consider that a vast array of amplifiers could be partnered with our loudspeakers so we ensue that they do not present a difficult load or impart character that will colour the sound.  This allows for use with most good quality, well designed electronics.

It is important to remember an amplifier should have enough power in reserve to reproduce dynamic pieces of music or effects. It is easier to damage a loudspeaker with a low powered amplifier driven to distortion than a high-power amplifier with plenty of power in reserve. If in any doubt it will be best if you consult your retailer.  We also offer a power rating guide in the specification table of each product on-line.

To choose a speaker, you should consider the following:

• How big is my listening area?
• How loud do you listen to your music?

The choice of speaker will always be down to your own personal preferences, whether you listen to your music loud or quiet, or have a room large or small, PMC accommodates for all needs though its extensive consumer range of bookshelf, stand mount and floor standing monitors.

One important factor to consider is that generally small speakers sound better in smaller rooms, and larger speakers sound better in larger rooms. A small room will have higher resonant frequencies, and the bigger the speaker, the more energy will be produced around the room’s resonant frequencies, which can produce an unpleasant overblown bass. Whereas a smaller speaker such as a GB1 or TB2 will not produce the same low end energy, and will sound far more controlled in a smaller room.

If you have a larger room available smaller speakers will still work well, but a larger speaker will have a more extended frequency response and because a larger room has lower resonant frequencies, it is unlikely to be upset by a larger speaker.

These are only guidelines. The best way to select a speaker is to listen to it, preferably in your own listening room if possible and decide for yourself. If you think a speaker sound good, it sounds good, whether it abides by the above guidelines or not.