PMC TB2i Bookshelf Speaker Review

PMC TB2i 2-Way Speakers~ $2450

Shared Review with Dagogo.com

Passive Monitor Speakers With its new PMC designed 6 1/2 inch bass unit it allows for higher volume levels, increased bass extension and dynamics, making it suited to both large and small listening rooms. It has the same tonal balance and wide dispersion characteristics, as with all PMC designs, providing a room filling audio picture outstanding for both stereo and surround configurations. Specifications Type: dynamic 2-way bass reflex Frequency response: 40 – 25kHz Sensitivity: 90dB/1w/1m Impedance: 8Ω Crossover frequency: 2kHz Drive units: LF Doped 170mm (6.7 inches) cast Alloy-Chassis, HF 27mm (1 inch) SOLONEX dome Ferro-fluid cooled Effective ATL length: 1.5m (5 ft) More Speakers from PMC >> Search AudioReview Forums for PMC TB2i >>

Reviewed by: Adam LaBarge

It would seem to me that the audiophiles on the other side of the pond have had PMC to themselves for far too long. This should not be the case. Especially when you consider the entire pedigree of action packed, star studded, blockbuster Hollywood soundtracks, sometimes those being the best part about the movie, that have been mixed on PMC speakers. It is a wonder you don’t see many more PMC speaker reviews in the American audiophile press. Well, maybe shame on the press, maybe not… Although you, the reader, I implore you, if you get the chance to listen to some PMC speakers, give them a nice long demo. Their neutral and revealing studio sound doesn’t stun you, it doesn’t wow you; instead, the clarity, detail, and excellent ability to reproduce the source slowly grows wins over your ears.

PMC stands for Professional Monitor Company. The name is a little on the refreshingly bland side but it is very much to the point. A professional monitor company they are. If you read over the surprising long list of high-end studios and world renown musicians that use PMC speakers, one can be left a little star stunned. But once you get in a good long audition you’ll know that bland a name and seventies-looking veneer are just fine. When you have a speaker able to reproduce the source and system behind it with such transparency, you won’t mind at all.

All PMC speakers use a variation on transmission line cabinet design. PMC calls it the ‘ATL’ for Advanced Transmission Line technology. The transmission line cabinet design is rather uncommon and a hard-to-be-perfected design. The ATL cabinet essentially places the woofer at one end of a long tunnel that is damped accordingly to remove upper bass and higher frequencies that typically come out of something like a ported cabinet. The port of an ATL cabinet acts almost as a second driver and the lowest exiting frequencies are said to remain in phase with the rest of the speaker.