 I finally decided on the speakers for my reference set 1. In this video I explain why I make this choice. It's not a review though, since I did not compare it with other speakers in this class under my own controlled conditions. It's almost like when you buy speakers. Although the AudioPhysics Corpios, even the initial version I own, are fantastic speakers in their class, the other components in my setup 1A were rather upgraded over time and needed loudspeakers of an even higher class. Over time I have gathered a number of criteria for loudspeakers. The most important is a fairly usable impedance curve. Almost all speaker manufacturers specify the product as being 8 ohms, as where they sell them are. As such, that isn't the problem but if the impedance get below 4 ohms in combination with a large phase angle, the amounts on the amp become really troublesome. See my video what about loudspeaker impedance for more on this. And although the AirAcoustics amp can handle a lot, I rather use a speaker that doesn't live on the edge. And there are more than enough brands and types to choose from. Another factor is the efficiency specified as a number of dBs per watt at 1 meter or a number of dBs per 2.83 volts at 1 meter. These two are more or less interchangeable. The average speakers deliver 89 dBs SPL at 1 meter when driven with one watt or 2.83 volts, written as 89 dBs slash 1 watt slash 1 meter or 89 dBs slash 2.83 volts slash 1 meter. I explain this in detail in my video how many watts do I need. In short, the lower the number, the more amp power you need. For every 3 dB lower, you need 10 times the power but keep in mind that for normal playing levels only a few watts are needed. Room friendliness might not be effective for people with their own listening room NX Men Cave, like I have for my setups 1 and 2. But if you have your stereo in the living, like my setups 1A and 1B, aesthetics play a role. Size, shape and finish play a factor here. I like the sound of the vivid GI range of speakers but both the shape and the finish would be completely misplaced in our living room. The same goes for instance for the PMC MB2S XBD Studio monitor. But there also is another form of room friendly. That has to do with acoustics. There are many technical properties in a loudspeaker that determine placement in a room. For instance the dispersion of a loudspeaker dictates a certain distance from the sidewalls as where a fan at the rear of the speaker might dictate a certain distance from the back wall. The dispersion also is a factor when towing in loudspeakers. Dipole and bipolar speakers might need an even larger distance to the back wall and can live with a smaller distance to the sidewalls. I own several electrostatic loudspeakers and they fit at the room perfectly, both acoustically and aesthetically. My wife even liked them very much but there were two problems. We had three cats and I smoked cigars then. I quit over six years ago by the way. The fatty cigar smoke stick to the membranes and collected dust and cat hairs clearly reducing the lifespan of the membranes. So environmental factors including moist, temperature and direct sunlight can play a role in choosing a loudspeaker. And then there is the sound quality. This is the difficult part since the sound that leaves the speakers is not defined by the quality of the speakers alone but also by the quality feeding them. See my review on the Core Dave DAC and the Grim Audio Mewan digital player for a report on the clear improvement in sound quality using these gems. And that would probably not have been so clear if not for the Air Acoustic AX520 amplifier. Of course the M must be able to drive the speakers effortlessly so it should have enough power, the watts, but it must also be able to deliver current fast and keep that current flowing for long as it is needed. The more difficult the speaker is to drive, the more discounts. All these factors played a role in selecting new speakers. But in the end it's a matter of taste and that is the result of how you have been conditioned during your active audio live. For me timing is extremely important. So is deep lows. I hate the artificial lows as often produced by the popular surround sound setups. Of course the midrange must be extremely clean and sibilant should be well controlled. Furthermore the special information should project a wide and deep stereo image with in it a well focused instruments and vocals. So there were a lot of criteria for my new speakers. But to be honest there probably are tens of speaker models, if not hundreds, that fulfill these criteria. There were several brands I was focused on. Amongst them for years PMC. And the next close encounter with them made me decide. That was when I reviewed the Grim Audio Mewan digital player. The CEO of the Dutch distributor Teresun, Bert Bazun, had the unit at home so I visited him. I've known Bert for donkeys years and he lives only 2 km from my place. On my visit he demoed the Mewan over the Mola Mola Tambaki DAC, two classic Halcro DM58 power amps and the PMC FAC12 signature loudspeaker. I was blown away immediately. After reviewing the Grim player I bought it and realized that, with the exception of the Halcro's my setup wasn't that different. I was so impressed by the supple flow of music, something I would normally associate with open baffle loudspeakers. Bass was deep, full of texture and came so easy as if they were able to go still another two active D. Snare drums were full of impact and strings sounded sweet while offering lots of detail. Of course the Halcro's, called the best amps ever by some of my colleagues, played a part here. But it was immediately clear these were my new loudspeakers for my reference set 1. So I ordered a pair in Walnut and waited for delivery. The FAC12 signature is a further development of the FAC12 that already got raving reviews by my colleagues. Cabinets and drivers remain the same but the crossover had been made drastically less sensitive to vibrations using capacitors and resistors that are less microphonic. It's a tall, slender but deep loudspeaker that comes in three finishes. Walnut veneer, white silk and metal graphite. It's 1135mm tall, 168mm wide and 420mm deep and weighs 26kg. The 19mm Sonamix soft drum tweeter is co-developed with CS and is ferrofluid cooled. The midrange driver is PMC's own development and is also used in their studio monitors. They are hand built and ferrofluid cooled. The faceplate is specially formed to improve off-axis response. The low end is taken care of by two 130mm super long-throw woofers that are mounted in PCMs advanced transmission line which is a further development of the classic transmission line. I understood that the special internal damping appeared to be of importance. The cabinet stands on two chrome steel bars that hold either spiked or rounded feet. As said, the crossover filter is made from low microphony audio grade capacitors and resistors. It is mounted against a metal plate that holds the three sets of silver coated binding posts, facilitating tri-wiring or tri-amping. The also silver coated bridging bars can be set for tri-wiring or amping, bi-wiring or amping or single-wiring and amping. The PMC's only arrived two days ago and need at least 50 hours of playing time before performing optimally. Bert even states 90 to 100 hours. And then I need some time to accustom myself with them. So I keep the audio physics Scorpios around for a short period to fall back to. After I am comfortable with the PMC's, the Scorpios will be sold to an interesting audio file. Just PM me if you are interested and at traveling distance. That brings us to the end of this video. As usual there will be a new video next Friday at 5 PM central European time. If you don't want to miss that, subscribe to my channel or follow me on social media so you will be informed the new videos around. Help me reach even more people by giving this video a thumb up or a link to this video on the social media, it is much appreciated. Many thanks to those viewers that support this channel financially. It keeps me independent and lets me improve the channel further. If that makes you feel like supporting my work too, the links are in the comments below this video on YouTube. I am Hans Beekhuyzen, thank you for watching and see you in the next show or on the HVproject.com. And whatever you do, enjoy the music.