B&W PM1

@Mkash3,
My guess is that with a 6.5 inch woofer the PM1's would need a slightly bigger cabinet and sound quality wise they would have been getting a little too close to B&W's 805 model for half the price.

05-12-13: Mkash3
I imagine the PM1 is a much better speaker than the CM5 but I don't know why B&W didn't stick a 6.5" woofer in the PM1s!

The bigger the woofer, the lower the frequency at which the driver stops dispersing and "beams" instead. A 6.5" piston starts beaming at about 2100 Hz. Yet the CM5's crossover frequency is listed as 4 Khz, which has a wavelength of 3.39".

The PM1's 5" mid/woof (with a piston diameter more like 4.25") beams at a much narrower frequency range, and blends seamlessly with the tweeter, making for a very uniform in-room power response.

A larger woofer also requires a wider baffle (possibly less precise imaging) and a larger cabinet (higher price). If there's a speaker in B&W's lineup that hits several sweet spots at once--dispersion, power response, imaging, soundstage, tonal balance, compactness, gorgeous design and finish, price point--it's definitely the PM1.

Johnny how do you feel these little guys stack up against your Mirage OMD-15?

05-12-13: Mkash3
Johnny how do you feel these little guys stack up against your Mirage OMD-15?

When the OMD-15 came out in 2006/7 at a list price of $2500, it had a lot going for it--realistic tonality, ability to fill fairly large spaces, reasonable sensitivity, excellent dynamics, etc. Seven years later there is a lot of competition at $2500. Much of my enthusiastic posting for the OMD-15 was in the context of being able to buy them at Vanns.com for $800-1000/pair. At that price they were a no-brainer. However, it looks like that party's over. When Vann's lists OMD-15s and OMD-28s, it is at full list price ($2500 and $7500/pair respectively), and they seldom have them in stock.

Also, I heard the PM1s with the $600 factory stands and well-integrated with the $1700 PV1D subwoofer, so that's a $5100 setup.

Both speakers share a musical and realistic tonal balance. The Mirage is 89 dB sensitive and can handle about 250 watts. The B&W has about 84 dB sensitivity and 100-150 watts power handling. So it operates within a smaller dynamic envelope.

But paired with the sub, the PM1's ability to fill a room goes up as does the perceived sense of weight and dynamics.

Where the PM1 really shines is how clean, quiet, linear, and coherent the speaker is. There is a very strong sense of the musical performance without artifice or reminders that you're listening to reproduced music. It's a significant notch up in clarity and detail, which one should expect from a well-made mini over a same-price tower. Both speakers are excellent at disappearing and throwing a realistically sized soundstage that scales up and down according to the recording. The PM1 has more specific, palpable imaging and is simply a higher resolution transducer overall.

I feel that high resolution is a two-edged sword, because it can tip into hyper-detail, losing the body of the music in favor of the details. The PM1 avoids this pitfall completely--you get a high level of detail, but always in proper musical perspective. The higher resolution adds to the musical involvement and enjoyment rather than distracting from it.

That PV1D sub is a real sleeper as well, musical, fast, and deep; and comes with six built-in EQ/crossover profiles to integrate with various models of B&W speakers.

Wow, such a great post Johnny! Its ability to disappear and make me forget that I'm listening to a recording has me intrigued, although sometimes I wonder just how well the PM1s can handle a good old-fashioned rock song. ;)