B&W PM1


I heard the B&W PM1's yesterday. I was blown away by their sound. Really good. Smooth, clear, detailed, wide soundstage, and amazing bass for a small speaker. We all thought there was a sub on, but there was none. They were hooked up to simple Rotel electronics. An RA-05SE integrated amp and a 06SE CD player. About $500 each only. I am trying to imagine the sound quality with better electronics.
Just curious if anyone else here has listened to them yet and what your impressions are? I am thinking of buying a pair. Also, anyone know where they are made? Still in England or in China now? Any good advice on matching integrated/amp for them? Thanks.
mezzanine
I bought a pair for my office yesterday. Stayed up late listening to "Just one more song".
The WAF is high on these speakers. She felt the Mini Maggies didn't have enough bass.
They are truly gorgeous speakers. Would love to try a pair of PM1s. I just snagged some KEF LS50s of audiogon and I think they are in the same league...
Yes, they are truly musical speakers with exceptional balance. Usually I would have traded or sold them by now...not this time!
I have a set of PM1, and unless I move to a much larger home and require something bigger, this might be the last set of speakers I buy for a long while. I went through upgrade-itis for a few years, going from B&W 704 to 805 to 805 Signatures to Sonus Faber, all of which were very nice but never reached that point where I stopped shopping. After selling everything off and going with a cheap set of Mirage Omni-poles just to have some music (at a much lower investment), I decided to take one more shot at music happiness and bought a set of PM1 with matching stands. I absolutely love them - the bass is superb for such a small box, the highs are smooth, and the best compliment I can pay to any set of speakers is that these don't color the music. With all my previous speakers I got the impression that I wasn't listening to the music as it was recorded, or as it sounded live in the studio, rather I was listening to that particular speaker's interpretation of it and that interpretation altered the music somehow...like hearing an anecdote from a friend of a friend, and the story changes a little more as it goes from person to person, you know? I guess the best way to say it is that if the artist were in my room, playing the song, it wouldn't sound any different than what I was hearing on the speakers.

The real reason I wanted to post a review was to commend B&W on their service...yesterday my cat knocked a camera off a coffee table next to the speakers, and it was heavy enough to put a large gouge in the base. I emailed B&W customer service, and with one email reply and one phone call (for my credit card number) a new base is on the way. What makes this surprising is that the base is not on their parts list - they don't normally sell them separately, but I got lucky and the rep was able to find one for me and it's on the way. This is the 2nd time I've been helped quickly - the first time I needed a new set of foam plugs and that also took one quick email and they were in my mailbox. Great speakers, great service, kudos to B&W.
In order to get that nice glossy finish, a few companies have their cabinets made in china because of local laws regarding hazardous chemicals and waste used for the finishing process.

Basically we pass the buck on the environmental issue and turn the other way, but in the end, we all live on the same planet. I am going to go hug a tree now :)

The PM1 according to my dealer, is all made in china. There are some USA companies that sub out the cabinetry to china for reasons stated above.