PMC FACT 12 launched in Malaysia - a demo at AV DESIGNS

JAMES TAN (left) and LOW CHAN WEN of AV DESIGNS

BIG and bold in sound, and beautiful to behold… these are the very first impressions one forms of PMC'S fact 12 floorstanding loudspeaker, just launched in Malaysia by local distributor AV Designs. That's not all, though… pay more attention and you'll realise this one is as refined sonically as anything else in its class, and arguably even more elegant in its outriggers.

The fact 12 is the third model in the new "fact" line and the flagship of the range, ahead of the stand-mounted "3" and smaller "8" tower. It sports, not surprisingly, the familiar Advanced Transmission Line (ATL) bass loading technology, although with a small twist - it has stacked twin vents, as opposed to the single one in other models.

AV Designs held a listening sessions on November 7 to launch the fact 12, the pair on demo driven by a set of Bryston electronics and source (the BDA-2 with SSD storage), with WyWires hooking them all up. I'm not one for making a quick call on anything, but if you're in the market for a pair of speakers in the RM60,000 range, here's a serious contender for your money. Well, the fact 12's a bit cheaper, though, at RM59,000… which should leave you with some change for a few LPs or high-resolution downloads.


A listener's POV of the fact 12

The fact 12 is fast, and right on the dime with timing… with some high-octane electric bass, it dug deep into the bowels of the instrument and revealed the bare essentials of riff - if you want visceral lows, the fact 12 has 'em, but this is not at the expense of control or expression. No, sir, this is extremely classy bass, capable perhaps of decking it out with the "Ws" and such in its price range.

The overwhelming impression, however, didn't detract from the finesse and detail the fact 12 displayed further up - these speakers are highly resolving of the signals fed into them across the spectrum, and despite their deftness with dynamics, never sounded over the top or brash. Of course, these are just my very immediate impressions, you're going to have to sit down with a pair in the showroom to verify my sentiments as I doubt I'm going to get a pair to take home for a spin!


Up close and personal with the fact 12

According to AV Designs general manager James Tan, the brief of the fact 12, and in fact the fact range, was to deliver a level of performance perceived possible only with "big" loudspeakers… but in a slimline cabinet.

"It delivers a level of performance you would expect at the price… but it has a smaller footprint," Tan said, adding that the fact models were ideal for those who didn't want their speakers to be too visible.

"The WAF (wife-acceptance factor) is also high," joked the company's manager Low Chan Wen. He said with the fact series, PMC had also aimed at taking the finish quality of its speakers to the next level.


Tri-wiring? Not a problem

The fact 12 is a near full-range design, going down to 26Hz and up to 30kHz. At 84dB sensitivity, it's going to be hard work for amps to drive the 8-ohm load. Three pairs of speaker terminals make it serious business to extract maximum performance from the speaker.

The fact 12 employs one 19mm Sonomex soft-dome tweeter, one 50mm midrange driver and two 140mm super long-throw woofers, the configuration crossing over at 400Hz and 4kHz. Measuring 1,110 x 168 x 420mm (h/w/d) and weighing 26kg each, the fact 12 is available in Tiger ebony, Graphite poplar, Rich walnut and White silk finishes.

Sure, I'd like a pair... even if in my dreams!


Bryston electronics used to drive the fact 12