B&W PM1 with JL sub or 805D?

The biggest price difference between the 805 and PM1 is because the 805 has the diamond tweeter. The PM1 tweeter is very similar except it uses a carbon fiber damped aluminum dome instead. The fiber damping has a significant effect on the behavior or a metal dome. I have several Mirage speakers which all use a titanium dome tweeter, but it's damped by a cloth surround. It's a sweet seductive tweeter with air and detail, but no harshness or ringing.

Having a more conventional but well-executed tweeter dome saves a lot of money, freeing up the cash for a good subwoofer (or two). The demo I heard was put on by B&W, so they were keen to show off how good the PM1 is. I was very impressed. It had much of the speed and transparency of the Wilson Alexandria XLF, though of course not the dynamic range or scale. But it had that core transparency and ability to draw listeners into the music that is so essential.

Johnny, you are comparing the PM1 and sub, to a two hundred thousand dollar speaker?

03-06-12: Toddnkaya
Johnny, you are comparing the PM1 and sub, to a two hundred thousand dollar speaker?

I made it clear that the PM1 can't do what the Alexandria XLF does in frequency extension, dynamics, and ability to fill a large room. But when augmented with a well-matched, very fast subwoofer, properly set up, and in an appropriate size room, the PM1 has that resonance-free highly resolving immediacy that draws you into the music much the same way the Wilson's did, and far more realistically than the $95K Wisdoms system did that night.

It won't do it with everything you throw at it like the Alexandrias, nor will the delivery be quite as visceral, nor would it be suitable to a very large room. But it definitely makes a lot of magic for $2500 (or $4800 fully configured--$500 for the stands and $1800 for the sub).

This was an annual vendor open house at Seattle's best-known high end store. B&W could have demoed anything including the Nautilus. But the PM1 and matching sub is what they chose to show off, and for good reason.

The April issue of TAS reviews the PM1 and directly compares it to the 805D. According to the reviewer, the extra $2+K for the 805D does not buy you extra bass, but rather more transparency and treble detail. If anything, the reviewer felt that the PM1 has more bass, or more perceived bass and the 805D has a leaner tonal balance. Therefore if you spent the extra money on the 805D you'd also be wanting a sub very soon.

He made it clear that the PM1 isn't lacking in speed, clarity or transparency, just that the 805D has more of it. Between the two I think the PM1 would be easier to live with, with or without a sub. I heard the PM1s with the B&W sub and I could easily live with that in a mid-sized room on a wide variety of program material.

Seems like it depends on the type of music you listen to. Is it Pink Floyd or small scale acoustic? Might make a difference.

I find it tough to find a good speaker with an awesome midrange and deep bass for under 10k used. The smaller speaker with a great midrange and a good sub is a good path in your price range. You might want to go with the D and later pick up a nice sub.