I find they have a good overall sound although they do not have the sound stage i am accustomed to or would expect. I find instrument placement can be a bit confused at times which to me is critical or less realistic.

I do know I have to watch which words i use when describing what I perceive which is not always easy.

 

I'm sure if you get the chance to drive lots of different cars you can form a view on which ones are best, but that could be subjective to the conditions and the actual car and someone else will experience it differently. Most ordinary folks will test a few within their budget and choose the one they like best.

I am in that group, I know I can't afford 10K speakers so I looked and listened within my budget and purchased some PMC passive ATL speakers about 5 years ago. They are not too fussy about placement and sound great to me on my consumer level but higher end Arcam components. They work well in the 5.1 setup and in 2.1 channel backed up with a REL sub. Are they the best I have listened to? Yes, compared to the others I auditioned.

Someone else might think or hear differently, a relative has some expensive components and interconnects running Linn Isobariks which he thinks are the best of their time, he might be right but I don't like them, some high frequencies are offending to my ears but that might also be the room they are in.

If I ever had the money to build a dedicated room (and I wish I could) then I am sure I might have a different opinion.

I have started a project to build my own speakers following a proven design, I have the drivers so far and need to buy the filter components, cabinet materials and then build them but getting the 928 back on the road is taking priority at the moment.

 

What Arcam components do you have? I have a number of Arcam units and have always been pleased by their products. I find them to be very good for HT applications and the AVR600 is quite good for 2 channel if you are inclined to use it for this application. IMO dollar for dollar they outperform any of the previous denon, pioneer, marantz or most Japanese receivers i have used except the Integra line which IMO is quite good for the money.

Making your own speakers can be rewarding and frustrating. There are some tremendous deals on used equipment right now. I picked up my entire 5.1 speaker setup for my HT second hand albeit not cheap it saved me nearly 70% off the cost new for cosmetically and functionally perfect speakers. You might consider looking into this option as a quicker path to enjoyment.

 

As cobalt says it does come down to room characteristics and placement. I for one do not have a room soley dedicated for audio (that would be a dream come true). If I did the room would get major acoustics design. So just maybe my room is more condusive to the Vans and Martins.

In response to making your own speakers, the overall engineering design is something one has understand rather then just throwing a cabinet together and a set of drivers. Material and reinfocring of the cabinet srtructure plays a lot as it relates to secondary harmonics which could muddy the actual sound. The other thing to consider is cabinet dimension vs the transparancy and freq response. The size of the frontal area and cabinet depth based on a calcualted maximized driver placement and size will have a major impact on the size of the sound stage (not considering reproduction tricks). A lot of design consideration is needed to get to enjoyable listeing.

 

Lets face it, this topic is more subjective than a concours event. Although it is fun to talk about and hear different opinions on what we each consider to be the best. The best is what suits your budget, room and ear. Don't get me wrong If you are fortunate enough to have a pair of 5A's, 7's or even 3A's they are all good if not great speakers but there is so much in these price ranges to choose from. We get to a point after a while where we become overly critical or possibly sensitive to subtle nuances that the average listener has not begun to focus on.

I built a system HT for my nephew using used 2Ce's and VCC-1 without a sub and he is the happiest 15 year old i know. It is quite impressive considering the cost and the average person would be floored how it sounds compared to the POS bose system they spent far more money on.

 

I can't recall the models of my Arcam stuff, might be AVR300 with a DV79, both are very good to me anyway using 5.1 and 2.1. The front channels are bi-amped. The DV79 was designed with playing CD's in mind and does a far superior job than playing CD's on the Sony blu-ray machine, the DV79 also plays SD dvd's better than the Sony does when upscaling them. I can really tell the difference with the sound though, HD music in 5.1 is amazing if the disk has been mastered correctly, Queen live in Montreal is my favourite.
I don't have very much vinyl, but I do have an old Kenwood amp, Sony TT where the tray slides out to put the record on, (still makes me giggle) and some original Mk1 wharfdale diamond shelf speakers. It doesn't sound great but is ok for the room it is in.

As for building my speakers, I did say I was doing from a proven design after quite a lot of research into what I wanted out of them and also size being a consideration, I don't want huge speakers that are not suitable for the room they are going in. I am aware of cabinet calculations etc. I will be using active filter before the amps for the low pass into a subwoofer and passive for the stereo pair. I have the filter and amp design worked out (again from proven designs) just need to buy the stuff and build it. I might never get round to it, been on the back burner for a couple of years already.

Oh and I tried to find s/h PMC speakers further up the range, but no one sells them once they have them!

 

I have a 280 and 300 in my other rooms both excellent units although the 600 takes it to an entirely new level the older units are still quite good. I also have a 78 and a 29 again some of the better units for their time.

I toyed with building my own speakers after building my own amps just found that as i get on in years it is nice to just sit back and enjoy. I have a pair of Fried R3's i used to love I plan on restoring one day but that is going on 10 years now. I also used to work on my Porsche's for the first 25 years of owning now I just want to drive. Amazing how our interests change as we do. Good luck with the speakers if you get around to building them please share.

 

I 'could' go out and splash 3K GBP on an AVR600 (ex-demo otherwise 3.6K) and 1K on a BDP100 but I would be wasting my money. I don't have a detached property so can't really use the full potential of the system I have now.
If I were to go and listen to the newer kit I would have ground to compare, maybe, as it is I have no complaints so I won't. Every time I use my current system it amazes me and that is good enough.
Which goes back to the original question, PMC are the best speakers I have heard.

 

One thing keep in mind use only silver solder, and don't be frugal on the components you source.

 

Best I've heard are the Avantgarde Duo Omegas, which sing in my dedicated room. If one sits at least 12 feet away, the output from the drivers coheres properly and it's pure bliss. The 107 dB sensitivity and 18 ohm load means that low-power SET amps drive them to concert levels without compression or strain.

If I had the coin and a much larger room, the Avantgarde Trios with BassHorns would take their place. And for silly money, the mega Magico horns would also be a contender.

 

I have a pair, that sound great... One has a slight rattle at low frequencies which disappears if you cross them over.... also small hole in cloth grill. They sound great with the right amp (I ran a small Mcintosh). I've stored them for 5 years because of a lack of space, I live in tiny San Francisco.... make me an offer plus shipping and they are yours. Would like to see them someplace they are enjoyed.

 

Best speakers I ever heard-Apogees. I still have a pair of Centuar Majors and have owned the Mini Grands. Best conventional drivers I have heard are Ushers. I have a pair of 8571's with the DMD tweeter upgrade for my vinyl only system and they have been great. Great value too-

 

I'll weigh in and say that the Tannoy 215 DMT speakers the seller of our new home left for us sound pretty special.

 

I was first exposed to Paradigm speakers by my father in law. He had a home theater like I had never seen. I currently have a matched surround system with the studio 100's for the fronts. When watching a movie.....you are in the movie. When listening to music the clarity breathtaking. Definately not cheap speakers but wow.

 

The Infinity IRS-V, the Genesis 6 series, and a set of classic Magnepans (the model escapes me, but I could be buried in one of them).

I own a set of the Infinity IRS Betas, so as you can see I'm biased to ribbon/planar technology.