PMC Prophecy 1

A pair of gems far more capable than the compact dimensions suggest

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PMC has certainly chosen grandiose names for its recent product ranges. First, we had an entry-level series called Prodigy, and now we have a step-up range named Prophecy. It will be interesting to see what grand-sounding name starting with P the company comes up with next.

Fortunately, each model we have reviewed from both these new ranges has knocked it out of the park. And we're pleased to report that the baby of the Prophecy speaker range maintains that high standard.

The PMC Prophecy 1 is a small standmount speaker for the money. It stands at a fairly conventional 40cm high, but it is the slim proportions that draw the eye; it is just 16.5cm wide. The need to provide decent internal volume is satisfied by a relatively generous depth of 26cm. We can't imagine many rooms, no matter how small, that the Prophecy 1 speakers won't fit into.

Rather than use a reflex port to tune the bass performance, these standmounts stick to PMC's tried and trusted transmission-line configuration. This involves the rear-firing output from the Prophecy 1's mica-loaded 12.5cm mid/bass unit travelling down a folded, carefully damped path inside the cabinet. As this signal passes through, most of the sound gets absorbed, leaving only the lowest frequencies to emerge from the substantial vent at the base of the speakers.

Importantly, this low-frequency sound is in phase and, if properly tuned, fills in below the point where the mid/bass's output starts to tail off. The transmission line inside the Prophecy 1 has an effective length of 1.79m.

This is a type of bass loading that PMC has employed since the brand's inception in 1991. The company has long claimed that it is the most effective way to achieve clean, low-distortion bass output from a box speaker. Why, then, don't more manufacturers use such a design? That mostly comes down to cost and complexity when compared with a conventional reflex-port configuration.