[adol290]

James,

You gave a really good review on the PMC IB2i's a while back.

You also got a pair of KEF 207/2's.

How do you compare the KEF's against the PMC IB2i's?
Bass. mids, high's.

As an owner of the IB2i's I am very curious.  Don't hold back 

Do you still own any of these speakers?.

[James Tanner]

James,

You gave a really good review on the PMC IB2i's a while back.

You also got a pair of KEF 207/2's.

How do you compare the KEF's against the PMC IB2i's?
Bass. mids, high's.

As an owner of the IB2i's I am very curious.  Don't hold back 

Do you still own any of these speakers?.

Hi There,

No I do not have any PMC's at present (have 2 subs) but I have asked for a pair of the newer IB2's to try.

james

[adol290]

So, how are the KEF's.

Are you ordering the newer IB2's to compare?

[James Tanner]

So, how are the KEF's.

Are you ordering the newer IB2's to compare?

Hi - no I sold the KEF's - not to mean that takes anything away from the KEF's - they are a terrific speaker. 

Being the audio nut I am I like to try as many different speakers as I can so that I can be reasonably intelligent when offering advice as to how a specific speaker sounds with Bryston gear. I find living with it for a few months allows me to assess the nuances a lot better than just hearing them at shows or in stores

james

[adol290]

It's great that you have the opportunity to try so many speakers, and share your experiences here.

I find it interesting that you come back to PMC.

I have the newer IB2i's,  I upgraded from EB1i's. The EB1i's had the same mid as the old IB2's(non i version).

The biggest difference I noticed was the Mid-range driver. In MHO, the EB1i's were a tad bright/sharp, with a very small bit of detail looseness in louder passages. This is what my ear perceived(in my room), and I always was not completely satisfied with the mid-range sound(i am nitpicking here).

The IB2i's present a much cleaner and fuller sound in the mid-range. Loud passages are very tight and clear, with no perceived brightness/sharpness. I am very happy with the change in sound.

I hate to say this but, I find the IB2i's more sensitive to cable changes(flame suit on). I have tried XLO Signature 3 shotgun, alpha goertz MI-3 and some cheaper cable(which I did not care for). 
I also have ordered some of the new Bryston cable to try. I am curious how it stacks up against the XLO and Goertz.

[mclsound]

No
the EB1's never had the mid the IB2's have...

[gtaphile]

So, how are the KEF's.

Are you ordering the newer IB2's to compare?

I thought I might chime in  - I had a pair of PMC OB1's and then replaced with a pair of MB'1s, and replaced them once again with a pair of KEF 207/2's.

What exactly are you wondering about?

Gary   

[Vipers]

Hi There,

No I do not have any PMC's at present (have 2 subs) but I have asked for a pair of the newer IB2's to try.

james

Hi James, Whilst you are at it you may aswell ask for a pair of MB2i's to try they are pretty awesome, I really love mine, I found compared to the IB's that the bass is tighter and more controlled thanks to the eko-skeleton design on the driver + thanks to the larger cabinet they just sound more open, awesome mid range too.

[James Tanner]

Hi James, Whilst you are at it you may aswell ask for a pair of MB2i's to try they are pretty awesome, I really love mine, I found compared to the IB's that the bass is tighter and more controlled thanks to the eko-skeleton design on the driver + thanks to the larger cabinet they just sound more open, awesome mid range too.

Ok thanks ...... I will see if I can talk Peter into it.

James

[peterjpromnitz]

Ok thanks ...... I will see if I can talk Peter into it.

James

James, you might as well go for broke and ask for BB5i's - I demoed the MB2i's but ordered BB5i's and they are even more awesome than the MB2i's (sorry Vipers).

Peter

[adol290]

No
the EB1's never had the mid the IB2's have...

I thought it was the IB2(non i). Maybe it was just Ib1.

maybe  mvwhiting_83  can chime in and confirm.

[adol290]

I thought I might chime in  - I had a pair of PMC OB1's and then replaced with a pair of MB'1s, and replaced them once again with a pair of KEF 207/2's.

What exactly are you wondering about?

Gary

I am interested in knowing the sonic differences in the  mid-range and tweeter. Were your MB1's the
 non i version. If so that is not the same mid-range that is in the current IB2i.

The only reason I am going down this road, is I has a chance of hearing a Revel Ultima Salon. The
 one released in 2000. The person had just one of them hooked to a cheap cd played and a cheap amp. He then put in a cd of a woman jazz singer.
I was astounded how smooth and silky her voice was. I didn't do any more testing but It started me wondering.
 
I started reading up in the new revel ultima salon2, and it's limitations and that ended up
leading me to the KEF, which led me to james review.

Aways looking for something better. When do I stop....

[vegasdave]

hahahahaha never!

[mclsound]

I thought it was the IB2(non i). Maybe it was just Ib1.

maybe  mvwhiting_83  can chime in and confirm.

The IB2, both "i" and non i,have the same mid,again only the tweeter changed.
The EB1,is just a floorstanding IB1.
Funny thing is professionals still love the non""i"" pro monitors(IB1 &2,MB2.BB5).

[vegasdave]

Hmm...you would think the EB1i would be better than the IB2...

[adol290]

Hmm...you would think the EB1i would be better than the IB2...

Why would you think that?

The IB2i has the better PMC midrange speaker. Same tweeter and woofer as the EB1i.

I have seen the physical mid-range from the EB1i and IB2i(outside of the speaker itself).

There is a huge difference in magnet size and the driver itself. 

[Vipers]

James, you might as well go for broke and ask for BB5i's - I demoed the MB2i's but ordered BB5i's and they are even more awesome than the MB2i's (sorry Vipers).

Peter

No need to apologise Peter, I heard the BB5i XBD's afew months ago, they blew me away, I had just taken delivery of my EB1i's at the time, unfortunately I haven't got the room for the BB5's so the EB's went straight away to make way for the smaller brother of the BB5's, the MB2i's, I'm very jealous btw 

As a side note, I helped out in a HiFi shop in London for a couple of years until recently, victims of the recession I'm afraid, and they were both PMC and Kef dealers, so I got a chance to hear the best of PMC and Kef, although I liked certain attributes to the Kef Reference 207/2's, very detailed and revealing but maybe a little analytical and not as musical and smooth as the PMC's, especially form the IB2i's up, so for me it was PMC, but I did afew demo's where the customer preffered the Kef's, just shows the importance of a good dealer and a demo.

[adol290]

As a side note, I helped out in a HiFi shop in London for a couple of years until recently, victims of the recession I'm afraid, and they were both PMC and Kef dealers, so I got a chance to hear the best of PMC and Kef, although I liked certain attributes to the Kef Reference 207/2's, very detailed and revealing but maybe a little analytical and not as musical and smooth as the PMC's, especially form the IB2i's up, so for me it was PMC, but I did afew demo's where the customer preffered the Kef's, just shows the importance of a good dealer and a demo.

Thanks for the info on the KEF's compared to the PMC's.

SO, how would you compare the IB2i to the MB2i.


 vegasdave - My note may have come off sarky - not my intention

[Vipers]

Thanks for the info on the KEF's compared to the PMC's.
SO, how would you compare the IB2i to the MB2i.

Basically the IB's don't go as low with the bass frequencies as the EB's but the IB's bass is tighter and more controlled + the IB's have PMC's own mid range cone which gives a fuller and richer mid compared to the EB's and anything below in the range, then the MB's have the same mid and tweeter as the IB but virtually go as low as the EB's and with the Eko-Skeleton on the bass driver of the MB you get a really tight, powerful, punchy bass, pretty impressive, you can actually feel it sometimes, and all this is with the smooth, detailed and musical presentation that makes PMC so good 

I should be on PMC's sales team 

[gtaphile]

For me the the KEF reference, in particular the 207/2 has a very different presentation than the PMC MB series. It is like comparing the latest Porsche to the latest Ferrari.

In my room - the MB-1's image starts more forward than the KEFs and does not extend nearly as far to the side and back as the KEF's. The MB-1 mid is incredibly revealing and at the same time somewhat ruthless with less than ideal recordings. The KEF's imaging made the speakers completly dissapear. For me they were less revealing to the point of being somewhat diffues. I then added diffusion to the wall behind the speakers and the image came into focus right away. They are now great all around performers in my room yet still very different from the MB.

Hope this helps.

I am interested in knowing the sonic differences in the  mid-range and tweeter. Were your MB1's the
 non i version. If so that is not the same mid-range that is in the current IB2i.

The only reason I am going down this road, is I has a chance of hearing a Revel Ultima Salon. The
 one released in 2000. The person had just one of them hooked to a cheap cd played and a cheap amp. He then put in a cd of a woman jazz singer.
I was astounded how smooth and silky her voice was. I didn't do any more testing but It started me wondering.
 
I started reading up in the new revel ultima salon2, and it's limitations and that ended up
leading me to the KEF, which led me to james review.

Aways looking for something better. When do I stop....