PMC TWENTY5.26I FLOORSTANDING LOUDSPEAKER

The 6.5 inch bass driver in the twenty5.26i has a woven cone in a very minimal cast alloy basket, it’s a long throw type that’s designed to cope with high power outputs over extended periods. PMC’s experience in studios has taught them a lot about making bomb proof drivers. The midrange is a 50mm fabric dome and the only one you’ll see in this particular speaker range, what with the 26i being the biggest model and all. PMC also go to some lengths with the crossover which uses military grade fibre glass boards and thick pure copper tracks for its fourth order slopes. It connects directly to a single pair of high quality cable terminals in a matte finish stainless steel back panel. The whole speaker whether it be in real wood veneer or one of the two paint options available is exceptionally well finished and attractively appointed.

In the system with an admittedly rather affordable Rega Elex-R amplifier on the other end of the speaker cables these speakers made a positive impact with a tremendously open and rhythmically clear-cut presentation, the slightly dry character of the Rega was apparent but that did nothing to undermine weighty bass and excellent lyrical intelligibility. No matter how much Tom Waits muttered and grumbled I could tell what he was saying, it really brought out the pathos in the songs. I’m a big fan of Townshend isolation bases because they let the sound escape from speakers so well, the PMC isolation system seemed to have the same effect. PMCs tend to be more open than most because of the company’s emphasis on dispersion and the isolation system does nothing to undermine this, quite the opposite.

By using a fairly stiff isolation system at lower frequencies their system allows these speakers to deliver powerful, at times menacing bass whilst the midrange exposes all the fine details that create a sense of an instrument in space. This was made clear by playing Keith Jarrett’s Budapest Concert (ECM) where the quiet coughs of the audience appeared in the mix for the first time, I was almost surprised that Jarrett didn’t throw some of his toys out of the pram. On Bob Marley and the Wailer’s ‘Natural Mystic’ (Natural Mystic (The Legend Lives On) Island), which has become my ‘go to’ bass resolution track of late, the solidity of the low end is balanced by texture and depth to the notes. These PMCs are first rate at producing a three dimensional soundscape, putting the music and its reverberations and harmonics in the room with you.

Moving up to the considerably greater power of an ATC P2 amplifier with the Townshend Allegri+ preamplifier brought a strong sense of control to proceedings, if nothing else this amp has grip. It lets you hear a lot more in ‘Natural Mystic’ and brings a degree of immediacy and presence to the sound that is addictive. The result is vivid and precise but remarkably fluent with it, the sheer amount of inner detail that came off Yussef Kamaal’s superb ‘Remembrance’ (Black Focus, Brownswood Recordings) made the drums sound tremendously real, while the Rhodes keyboard’s higher notes had a shine and vibrance to them that felt so right. The midrange on this speaker is very special indeed but it wouldn’t be that way if the treble weren’t totally seamless and effortlessly extended, I noticed this with the twenty5.22i two-way and it remains so here. The bass is phenomenally clean and articulate and this explains both the quality of timing on offer and the overall musical ease of the speakers even at higher levels.