Seeking opinions on PMC IB2

The SE are in the $35, 000 range

Yes
I seen those but $30, 000.......cmon

There is a Special Edition version of the IB2. Now that should be a treat!

These are excellent speakers. ...very precise and have huge spl....boxy looking but a serious sound....retail price is high but used prices are fair...
I hzad a pair of IB1 built in 1999 and never a problem even today...I put my IB2s up for sale with 19 inch sound anchor stands. ..better than the smaller ones. ....
MB2 are good but not much more at twice the price.

For PMC speakers, best response is if you sit with your ears at a hight between tweeter and midrange. Or tilted towards the midrange, more so than tweeter. Check how high your sofa is and at what height your ears will be when you listen. I also have PMC, but AML-1. My stands also needs to be higtened.. Do a serious check or suffer twice buying new stands. I had the IB-2 at home demo with Krell FPB 600c and Esoteric P-70 & D-70. Very nice, treble could be a little provocative if pointed direct at ear. Different IC's did a substancial difference, but still electronics and matching is the (sonic)key. The 700cx had been solving all that in this setup. As it is smoother, darker and slightly warmer sounding than 600c.
Otherwise AML-1 with Benchmark dac-1 usb is a cheaper way. Also quite good for small space and small pocket.
The IB-2 is better choice than IB-1, no question.
Just use a big power amp and realize punch and dynamics in spades.

Cheers!!

I recommend the higher stands as well if you have the option. Your ears should be below the mid range.

My stands measure about 19" with spikes and they work really well. Fantastic speakers.

Personally I like the industrial look so I went for the "S" version and have them in a dedicated room. Flat black color works well in HT environment too.

FWIW, I just bought PMC IB1 speakers (same form factor as the IB2) with 14" stands. One of the speakers is in the shop (buzzing bass driver... damn it!), but I set them up long enough to know that I wish I had 20" stands! I think that you'll want the tweeter at ear level, which doesn't really happen with 14" stands. I'm using cinder blocks to bump them up until I can afford 20" stands.

Congrats those IB2's are great speakers.

I would go 20" stands and a good powerful SS amp. Good luck!

i should have stated that in this catagory, the harbeths and spendors not better, but a better 'value'. my apologies....for the money though, theres a lot of great ones out there

I have a pair of the PMC AB2. I would tend to say go wiht the higher stand, unless you are sitting very low.

I used blue tac between the stand and speaker and that seemed fine.

PMC speakers do best with SS amps with high damping factors

Sim Audio, Bryston, McCormack etc. I would say you want 200w at 4 ohm minimum as the IB2s can take it.

take a look here for some info
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/pmc2/ib2.html

I listened extensively to these speakers and the smaller floor-standers in a showroom in Los Angeles about two years ago. I agree with Jaybo. They are absolutely superb (the smaller floor standers are too). I heard the IB2 in a large acoustically-treated room and they filled that room without any sense of strain. They are very neutral but with a very slight warm balance. They are very transparent and detailed but without sounding overly analytical. Images are correctly propotioned, and imaging and soundstaging are very good but not the best I've heard. I was very impressed by their ability to play at reference levels without a hint of compression. I would disagree with Jaybo regarding their performance against the Harbeth, which I like very much also by the way. I believe the IB2 to be superior, especially in terms of bass extension and resolution. The only reservations I have about the IB2, and the main reason I didn't buy them at the time was that I could never bring myself to like the way they looked (very industrial). I guess I could have overlooked this but my better half would not like looking at them in our living room. Other than the looks, the IB2 speakers are truly superb in every other respect.

i don't own these, but i can tell you i logged many hours at audio perfection in mpls listening to them. they are superb. much much better than the touted ATC monitor types. i believe the 14 inch stands would be fine, particularly in an average sized room. i would throw out one objection to their sound vs their value....there are other oversized british monitors that are perhaps better(ie Harbeth and Spendor)....for 12k you pretty much have the world to choose from.