Bookshelf Speakers — PMC ACTIVE twenty5.22i

The Active twenty5.22i is the larger standmount in the Active twenty5i range built by the English company PMC, positioned above the compact 21i and below the 23i and 24i floorstanders. Launched in February 2024 alongside an upgrade kit for existing passive owners, the series applies the active crossover and per-driver amplification used in PMC studio monitors to its home speakers, a first for the company's domestic range. PMC describes the 22i as suited to larger spaces and equally usable on its dedicated stands, a console or other furniture.

Key specs that matter

Each speaker holds two 100 W rms amplifier channels, one for the bass driver and one for the tweeter. Low frequencies come from a 170 mm (6.5 inch) long-throw g-weave cone in a cast alloy chassis, working with a 19 mm SONOMEX fabric dome tweeter that PMC developed together with SEAS, whose dome uses ferrofluid for heat transfer and carries a 34 mm surround behind a dispersion grille. The two drivers cross over at 1.75 kHz. Quoted response runs from 39 Hz to 25 kHz, and the effective ATL length is 2 m. With 1 V rms at the input the output reaches 99 dB SPL at 1 m in low gain or 109 dB in high gain, and input impedance exceeds 14 kOhm. Height is 410 mm, width 192 mm and depth 357 mm including connectors, with 9 mm more for the grille, and the weight is 10.15 kg.

Engineering and use context

Behind the bass driver a transmission line, which PMC calls the Advanced Transmission Line, loads the cone and terminates at a Laminair airflow vent on the cabinet. The crossover ahead of the amplifiers is analogue and was computer modelled for this cabinet, with its own roll-off curves, so each power stage receives only its own frequency band. The electronics also include preamplification, filtering and a two-band limiter that protects the drivers without a separate protection circuit. PMC also sells an Active upgrade that turns passive two-way twenty5 and twenty5i speakers into powered ones by swapping the back panel for a module with its own crossover and amplifiers. A 20-year warranty applies if the product is registered within 10 days.

Pairing

The only electronics needed are a source with variable output, such as a preamplifier or a streaming player with volume control, connected by balanced XLR or unbalanced RCA cables. The gain switch helps when a source has an unusually high or low output voltage, and each speaker needs a mains socket nearby.

Alternatives

The PMC Active twenty5.21i is the smaller standmount of the same series, using a 140 mm bass unit and a 1.72 m line rated to 46 Hz.