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Thread: New Speakers For Home, PMC BB5 SE’s, Uncompromisingly Big and Beautiful!

  1. #1
    Join Date: Aug 2014

    Location: Bedfordshire, UK

    Posts: 1,003
    I'm Paul.

    Default New Speakers For Home, PMC BB5 SE’s, Uncompromisingly Big and Beautiful!

    Hi All,

    So this all goes back well over a decade ago, long before HFL was even a glint in our eyes, when myself and Wendy attended an PMC Open Day at Unilet where the PMC BB5’s where being showcased and I remember it clearly when Wendy looked at me and said ‘We’ve got to get a pair of those’ unfortunately at the time we couldn’t fit them in our living room so we ‘settled’ for the MB2i’s which as I’ve said before inadvertently led to the opening of HFL as I became totally addicted to them and my hifi but that's another story.

    Anyway if I have learnt one thing from this whole Covid-19 thing is that life doesn’t stay the same and it can change in a heartbeat as it has done for everyone in one way or another so I thought to myself what am I waiting for, if there is something you want and you have the means to get it then why wait as who knows what is around the corner, so a quick email to PMC to see if they had any BB5 SE’s in walnut in stock, to my surprise they did and a couple of days later Wendy went over to pick them up from PMC in Luton, so around 12 years later her wish became a reality, have to say a lot certainly changed in those intervening years.

    Now I love speakers, they are my favourite part of the HiFi chain as they really do make the most difference in presentation and I have always believed that you can put a big speaker in a small room but when I saw the size of the boxes of the BB5’s even I thought we maybe had bitten off more than we could chew this time but after a couple of hours of unboxing and manhandling the speaker onto their stands it was time to fire up the Bryston amps and see what we had.

    Needless to say I was extremely relieved when they sounded incredible instantly, extremely open and spacious with a huge soundstage and with tight and punchy bass with no overhang or room issues but for me it was how 'correct' they sounded, from the very bottom to the very top the balance was perfect, not one aspect stood out other than you really feeling you are hearing the presentation as it should be, there is just this big and airy image that hangs in front of you, as they say with car engines, there is no replacement for displacement, and I feel it is the same with speakers, you just can’t beat a big cabinet to free up the sound.

    Now obviously they are on the slightly large side and are not really room friendly for your normal domestic situation but luckily I married a crazy woman who thinks they look awesome in the room and we both love the sound so I think at long last my speaker search for home is now finally over, yes I measured for a pair of BB5 XBD’s but they really won’t fit, now I just want to play with the rest of the system to get the very best from the speakers.

    Cheers,

    Paul.

    https://hifilounge.co.uk/product-cat...ers/se-series/

    Please find some unboxing pics below -







    Wendy get's her dream speaker at last.











    Getting a Rough Idea of the toe in.



    Deep breathe as we now need to lift it onto its stand.













    Specialists In The Brands We Believe In, Set in the Beautiful Bedfordshire Countryside, Just off The A1M, Loads Of Free Parking, Relaxed Environment, No Pressure Sales!
    PMC, Naim, Bryston, Devialet, Rega, Martin Logan, Musical Fidelity, Sonus Faber, Heed, Spendor, Koetsu, Dynavector, Michell Engineering, JVC Projectors, OPPO, REL, Atlas Cables.
    For All The Best Headphones, Amps and DACs All Under One Roof Then Please Visit Highend Headphones.
    www.hifilounge.co.uk / www.highendheadphones.co.uk / 01767 448121 / paul@hifilounge.co.uk

  2. #2
    Join Date: Nov 2010

    Location: Yorkshire

    Posts: 9,302
    I'm Andrew.

    Default

    Neat thread, love the pics and the speakers.
    SS
    CD Teac VRDS25X(Audiotuned) DECK 1210 Mat Crystal Audio Mods MN Base/Bearing/Platter+Ebony armboard Feet Isonoe PSU Paul Hynes SR7EHD-27XL/DCSXL Ag DC lead/3 Stage Regs/Recap PCB+No Pitch/Strobe/Light ARM SME V(Kondo Ag Rewire&Tags) MC Cadenza Black FGS CABLES Arm Yannis SPD-4 IC Yannis 222 Litz+Ag bullets Power WAR PRE ATC SCA2 SPEAKERS ATC 50ASL STANDS Atacama PHONO Sugden Masterclass PA4 SUT Ortofon ST80SE POWER PSAudio P10

    VALVE
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    Croft Epoch(Modded) AMP Sondex S100 (Modded) SPEAKERS Tannoy 15"MG+RFC Warwick cabs+ Ref XO + Batpure supertweeters DECK Garrard 301 Mat Teunto Bearings 401(Bastin) Plinth Bamboo Arms 3009/3012 PSU Eagle+Tachometer MC Ag Meister II/FGS + Ortofon SPU MONO CABLES Arm Yannis 420.5 Litz+ SpeakerPC Tripple C+WBT-0681 Ag IC Oyaide FTVS-510 AgWBT 0110Ag Phonostages Paradise(4 Box Mega-Modded) / Croft Musicmaker



  3. #3
    Join Date: Jan 2013

    Location: Bristol

    Posts: 6,843
    I'm Justin.

    Default

    Something odd going on here. Wendy looks virtually indestinguishable both in face and physique to a drama teacher girlfriend I had called Juile.

    Long time ago but the similarity is insane.

    Hope she enjoys those bad boys. They'll blow her ears out at that distance!

  4. #4
    Join Date: Jun 2010

    Location: London, UK

    Posts: 391

    Default

    Not sure the cat was impressed although I am. The only speaker I have seen that dominates the room even more is Pete's over on AA who has a massive Western Electric Horn in his room.
    Paul.

  5. #5
    Join Date: Oct 2012

    Location: The Black Country

    Posts: 6,089
    I'm Alan.

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    Love that picture of Wendy with the speaker box

    Fantastic looking speakers and finish, good on you for going for it. I've been doing the same just of late.

  6. #6
    Join Date: Apr 2011

    Location: London

    Posts: 4,419
    I'm Robert.

    Default

    Always terrific pictures..... and considering what you do and have built up, you deserve something special
    My System:
    Amplification - Sansui AU-alpha 707 DR
    Turntable - Technics SP10 MK2-Technics EPA-250 Tonearm-Yannis Tome 423.5Plus tonearm cable-Eichmann KLEI Absolute Harmony plugs.
    Ortofon Cadenza Black moving coil cartridge-Fritz Gyger S re-tip. Panzerholz plinth.

    CDP - Pioneer PD-91
    Speakers - Spendor D7 on Soundcare SuperSpikes
    QED Silver Spiral speaker cable-airloc banana plugs
    Mains - Ultra Pure silver plated un-switched socket-Missing link EPS 500 silver plated plugs-Hi-Fi Tuning gold plated silver ceramic 13 amp fuses

  7. #7
    Join Date: Aug 2009

    Location: Staffordshire, England

    Posts: 37,770
    I'm Martin.

    Default

    I thought the MB2 were fantastic so god only knows how good those are.
    Current Lash Up:

    TEAC VRDS 701T > Sony TAE1000ESD > Krell KSA50S > JM Labs Focal Electra 926.

  8. #8
    Join Date: Aug 2014

    Location: Bedfordshire, UK

    Posts: 1,003
    I'm Paul.

    Default

    Thanks guys, even I'm surprised how well they work in the room as once I got them home I really thought I'd bitten off more that the room could handle but luckily we got away with it as they sound brilliant.

    Justin, it sounds like I'd better check my wife is actually who she says she is
    Specialists In The Brands We Believe In, Set in the Beautiful Bedfordshire Countryside, Just off The A1M, Loads Of Free Parking, Relaxed Environment, No Pressure Sales!
    PMC, Naim, Bryston, Devialet, Rega, Martin Logan, Musical Fidelity, Sonus Faber, Heed, Spendor, Koetsu, Dynavector, Michell Engineering, JVC Projectors, OPPO, REL, Atlas Cables.
    For All The Best Headphones, Amps and DACs All Under One Roof Then Please Visit Highend Headphones.
    www.hifilounge.co.uk / www.highendheadphones.co.uk / 01767 448121 / paul@hifilounge.co.uk

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