Hi folks,
The PB1i indeed has the Vifa midrange that has been used by PMC for a while; it was also used in the previous range of speakers like the OB1 and EB1. I have had the OB1 for several years and did not experience any problem in the midrange even at high volumes. But if you like to play everything at thunderous levels, go for the mighty IB2i which uses a midrange of a different level (mighty price too). If you are in favour of transmission line type speakers at a price level comparable (some even cheaper) to the PMC PB1i, maybe the T+A Criterion TS200 (German manufacturer) or the French J-M Reynaud Orféo MK2 or Concorde (both having a ribbon tweeter) are something for you. I've heard some very good things about these TL-speakers. To end I would like to point out that I've experienced some quality issues with the finish of the PMC speaker cabinets. I replaced my previously mentioned OB1 by the PB1i. The first pair has been taken back because of a gap between one of the side panels and the front panel. The second pair has problems with paint (black ash finish) comming of between the two bass speakers. Where the paint let loose, wood paste is visible. So some repair has been done to the panel before painting it (we are talking about a 7000 speaker!!!). An endless discussion about this has been going on between PMC and myself. I even didn't get any support from the local distributer; he found that I was making a lot of fuzz about nothing. So in the end I gave up and decided to do the repair myself. PMC claim to be perfect but they're not. They sound great; but .... So be aware.
The PB1i indeed has the Vifa midrange that has been used by PMC for a while; it was also used in the previous range of speakers like the OB1 and EB1. I have had the OB1 for several years and did not experience any problem in the midrange even at high volumes. But if you like to play everything at thunderous levels, go for the mighty IB2i which uses a midrange of a different level (mighty price too). If you are in favour of transmission line type speakers at a price level comparable (some even cheaper) to the PMC PB1i, maybe the T+A Criterion TS200 (German manufacturer) or the French J-M Reynaud Orféo MK2 or Concorde (both having a ribbon tweeter) are something for you. I've heard some very good things about these TL-speakers. To end I would like to point out that I've experienced some quality issues with the finish of the PMC speaker cabinets. I replaced my previously mentioned OB1 by the PB1i. The first pair has been taken back because of a gap between one of the side panels and the front panel. The second pair has problems with paint (black ash finish) comming of between the two bass speakers. Where the paint let loose, wood paste is visible. So some repair has been done to the panel before painting it (we are talking about a 7000 speaker!!!). An endless discussion about this has been going on between PMC and myself. I even didn't get any support from the local distributer; he found that I was making a lot of fuzz about nothing. So in the end I gave up and decided to do the repair myself. PMC claim to be perfect but they're not. They sound great; but .... So be aware.