[Viajero5000]

that is my impression too; Ian/James, could you kindly confirm re OB1 vs. OB1+?

My MB2 are in studio finish btw Bassman.

[Bassmann]

Does that mean they have a matte black look to them with PMC embossed on the side?

also i notice in the Professional brochure of theres that the mb2 'S' has a straight backed cabinet, yet others i have seen in veneers have the top part lopped off at an angle on the back? is there two variants of this speaker?

[James Tanner]

that is my impression too; Ian/James, could you kindly confirm re OB1 vs. OB1+?

My MB2 are in studio finish btw Bassman.

As far as I know the OB1 was the first of the "i" series.

james

[Viajero5000]

James, do you mean 'i' or '+'?

Bassman, yes, it's the durable matt black finish, with the PMC logo embossed on the side... the speakers are large and heavy beyond what photos suggest, and have an industrial look and finish, which the woofer adds to .... it looks quite cool, but it's definitely not the sort of speaker you'd put in your drawing room. the non-studio version has the truncated back end, while the studio is a full box; as far as I'm aware, there are no spec/performance differences between the two.

[mvwhiting_83]

The OB1 does share the same tweeter as the other + series models.  It just wasn't designated as a + version, since it wasn't upgraded from a prior unit.

[Viajero5000]

so essentially there never was such a thing as an 'OB1+' then?

[mvwhiting_83]

Viajero,

No, never such a thing as an OB1+, just the OB1, and now the OB1i.

[Bassmann]

Hi Ian

Please can you explain the reasons why it is that the consumer version has a truncated back end, and the studio version is a straight backed box?

I would assume that the studio version has a slightly stiffer cabinet due to this, as i bet that their has been a piece of medite put inside the cabinet from the top panel to the back panel on the upper part of the back of the box - that provides the same angle of reflection as the consumer variant, but inside the box?

Could this be due to the pros being more likely to drive them to high spl's, and so they have been over engineered for definitely no cabinet rattles and less resonance?

Are they both manufacured in the same way?

Regards

[mvwhiting_83]

Bassman,

The cabinets for the MB2 consumer and studio version are manufactured in the same way, both use medite and undergo the same construction process.  Measurements between the two have proven that there is no difference in power handling and or cabinet resonance, and that they are engineered very much to their respective specs. 

Regarding resonance though, every single PMC model that comes from our factory goes through a frequency sweep during measuring & pairing to weed out any that aren't 100% up to spec. 

It is only the veneered MB2's that have the truncated top.  The only difference between the two, besides the components between the i & S version (HF and x-over), is purely and negligibly aesthetic. 

From what I have seen most professionals usually work in between 85-95db, pretty good levels...  It is more of the consumers that actually push it to 110+db.

[Bassmann]

Thanks Ian, good reply.

Is the passive studio version likely to get the new i series tweeter and crossover at some point in the near future?

Can't wait to get some of these bad boys (one day)

[mvwhiting_83]

Bassman,

The passive studio version is tried and true, it will likely never see the PMC/SEAS Solonex tweeter. I would love to have a pair myself, but I only have room for TB2i's.

[Bassmann]

Ian

Have you ever known any night clubs or dance events to use PMC / Bryston gear? I've been to so many places in my time (the good, the bad, and the ugly) that haven't got a clue about what good sound is all about.

I think it would be very cool to setup a coffee bar / dating lounge sort of place (in somewhere like york,  harrogate - Edinburgh etc where people have money, and use a no compromised PMC / Bryston setup to play top quality music all day long, with it all set-up mint and comfy sofas and bespoke furniture everywhere that gets used but is also for sale. With the main enfisis on sound quality and musical pleasure, a place for people to relax and have a coffee and snack and simply enjoy the music together in a refined way. Everyone could enjoy the sound of these superb audio equipment then.

I've never seen or been anywhere like that where the quality of sound comes first, followed closely by fine music. I'm sure that would appeal to city folk, and promote other business too. Lots of different ways and things you could get involved with.

What do you think? freak or unique?

[mvwhiting_83]

Bassmann,

I don't think I have ever been to a single place in my life where I looked over to my fiance and said "Hey this place sounds pretty nice.." IMAX is just about the only place where you can count on being moderately impressed. I've never even seen a restaurant or club or cafe with some decent kit let alone some PMC's.  It still boggles my mind as to how little people know in the way of playback, people in my family (mostly on my fiances side ) think Bose and B&O are the best you can get ... It isn't until I play them a Blu-Ray demo on my kit that they finally get it.

I know that there are a few places in England scattered about, cafes and record stores that have some PMC/Bryston kit...  One record store actually has some IB1's - If I was close I would surely frequent the place! But for live sound, pretty much everywhere it's JBL, and we all know what they do .

[guest2521]

I went from mb2 with monoblocks to triamped mb2 and then to active mb2 xbd - the difference at each stage was extremely convincing.

[b5pt9]

I went from mb2 with monoblocks to triamped mb2 and then to active mb2 xbd - the difference at each stage was extremely convincing.

When you went active tri-amped did you use the Bryston 10B crossovers?  I'd be interested to know what frequency's and slopes you used and how you came to the ideal crossover settings.