TEMPTATIONS
Active stereo speakers £2394
Are PMC’S studio speakers suited to a domestic environment?
“The PMC Result 6s are intended as studio monitors, so it’s no surprise that they have a highly analytical nature”
PMC is now firmly established as one of the major premium speaker manufacturers with a long string of five-star reviews and Awards to show for it. The brand was originally aimed at the pro industry (the initials stand for professional monitoring Company) and it continues to make dedicated monitors alongside its highly regarded domestic speakers.
The Result6s are entry-level studio offerings and while we don’t usually test pro kit, there’s plenty about them that suggests they will work in a domestic environment.
They are two-way active speakers, but unlike many, they eschew complex DSP for a more straightforward approach. pmc already has the pricier Two Two monitor range for those who want something more sophisticated, so the Result6s offer a lower entry point into the company’s world. That doesn’t mean the ’6s are in some way a compromise. It’s more that pmc has had to come up with clever solutions to optimise the speaker’s performance without throwing huge amounts of money at it.
The most obvious example is the distinctive fins that flank the 27mm fabric dome tweeter. These D-fins (as pmc calls them) are designed to minimise the distortions generated as the sound from the tweeter reaches the cabinet edges. Here it experiences a change of air pressure that causes some of the energy to be reflected back, leading to unevenness in the high frequencies. The use of the D-fins is also claimed to improve high-frequency dispersion, resulting in a wider listening sweet spot.
tonal balance
It comes as no surprise to find that the Result6 design uses a transmission line to improve bass response. It’s a low-frequency tuning technique that pmc claims offers advantages in low-end extension and maintaining a tonal balance across a wide range of volume levels.
It works by the sound from the back of the 17cm paper mid/bass driver travelling through a folded acoustically damped passage inside the speaker cabinet. As this sound travels through the transmission line, only the lowest frequencies manage to reach the outside world – the damping material absorbs the rest of the frequencies– augmenting the forward output from the driver.
you’ll find two Class D power amplifiers inside each cabinet. A 65W module drives the tweeter, while the bass has a meatier 100W to work with. Class D makes sense in a product where a good power output has to be combined with a compact design and low heat dissipation.
The build quality is good, though there's a paint finish rather than the luxury wood treatment of most domestic premium speakers. Given everything pmc has packed in, they’re surprisingly light at 8kg, but that’s no bad thing considering they have provision for wall mounting brackets.
Two thick rubber strips wrap around the speakers to prevent them sliding on their support and, if used in their natural environment, also provide a degree of decoupling to minimise the amount of vibration fed into a mixing desk.
Connectivity is limited to a single balanced XLR analogue input and mains power. unlike many of the active speakers we’ve reviewed recently, there’s no hint of tonal EQ or any ability to fine-tune the speaker’s output for a wide range of positions. This may not be as much of an issue as it first appears, as pmc’s engineers have managed to deliver a remarkably accommodating presentation.
These are talented speakers, so it pays to use a top class source and preamplifier. We use our usual Naim NDS/555PS music streamer and Gamut’s D3i preamp to good effect.
Revealing quality
Given a few days to bed-in, these speakers turn in a remarkably complete performance. They’re about as detailed as we’ve heard for the price and capable of unravelling a recording with ease. Rarely do we hear speakers at this level that so readily reveal the production differences between recordings. Such is the Result6s' transparency that it is difficult to decide whether the qualities we hear belong to the recording or the product.
That means the pmcs' tonality is spot-on. There’s no emphasis on any part of the frequency range, and the bass stays controlled even when the speakers are placed close to a back wall. We feed them massive Attack’s Angel and the low frequencies come through with punch and power. The grip at the low-end is so impressive we doubt any passive alternative comes close, particularly at this price.
They’re fully capable of delivering high volume levels with composure, and don’t harden-up notably when pushed. Despite a refusal to sweeten any aggression or flaws in the recording (or partnering system for that matter) these speakers are pleasingly refined, sounding as clean and crisp as you like given a signal of adequate quality. We can’t complain about the way these pmcs organise things either. They reveal a lot of information and assemble it in a composed manner. They rarely sound stressed or cluttered no matter how demanding the music gets.
They’re surefooted rhythmically and convey the music's momentum well. We like their precision with beats and ability to define the leading and trailing edges of notes.
We switch to Stravinsky’s The Rite Of Spring and the pmcs respond with a large-scale soundstage and a crisply focused image. As we move away from our listening position, the Result6s' stereo presentation stays unusually consistent. It looks as though that D-fin design really works.
They’re intended as studio monitors, so it's no surprise they have a highly analytical nature. Equally there’s a case for saying their confident handling of rhythms falls a little short of sounding enthusiastic.
but take a look at that price and think of the possible alternatives. A passive amp and speaker combination wouldn’t come close in terms of precision, grip and insight while superior active options tend to cost far more.
For the money, these speakers represent excellent value, and provided you can cope with the functional appearance and the need for some sort of preamp, we have no issue with giving them a firm recommendation.