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Any Love for Proac?

ateal

ateal

Super Member
Hi all, I would love to hear from other Proac owners out there as I feel we are a rare breed, especially here in USA.

I have owned my Proac Tablette 50 Signature’s since 1997 and absolutely love them and could never ever sell them. Everyone who has ever heard these speakers has been astounded by the imaging and their ability to completely disappear. Also despite their small size, they have tremendous bass response which is both deep and taut. So much so that I have never needed a sub in my listening room.

The only real criticism that people have with the Tablette range is that they may struggle to be commanding in a very large room and also the top end can be a bit harsh for some systems or on some recordings. For me the first issue is not a problem as my various listening rooms over the years have always been modest in size and lent themselves to near field listening. My current dedicated listening room is 12ft x 13ft. As for the issue of top end harshness, I cannot really say this has been much of an issue for me over the years. I think the fact that my primary source is vinyl, my amp employs tubes in both pre and power stages and my listening room is acoustically treated helps tame any top end harshness there may be.

Another great thing is that this particular version of Tablette is super efficient with a sensitivity of 89db. This makes it super easy to drive with even a low output tube amp.

Finally they also look gorgeous in my eyes with the matched ebony veneer, see below pics of mine + official brochure.

If there are any other Proac owners out there please chime in.

Thanks

E05FA563-0904-4F58-8705-FE87D209FBD8.jpeg

Proac Tablette 50 Signature.JPG
 
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Yep, this look great. I really like my Response 2.5's. Listening to them the first time it was like a veil had been lifted between my chair and my system, the music seemed so much more effortless.

I had been using mainly mid tier Energy 22 Ref Conns, PSB Stratus Silver's and Paradigm Studio 20's before the ProAc's arrived. I don't care how much they deviate from a flat measured frequency response...they sound wonderful. And I agree, their cabinets are very well finished.

Another nice thing about ProAc is that parts (woofers/tweeters) are still readily available for most models dating wayyy back.

09A05BB3-F495-41C4-8149-D48F61A29B76.jpeg
 
mikeybc said:
Yep, this look great. I really like my Response 2.5's. Listening to them the first time it was like a veil had been lifted between my chair and my system, the music seemed so much more effortless.

I had been using mainly mid tier Energy 22 Ref Conns, PSB Stratus Silver's and Paradigm Studio 20's before the ProAc's arrived. I don't care how much they deviate from a flat measured frequency response...they sound wonderful. And I agree, their cabinets are very well finished.

Another nice thing about ProAc is that parts (woofers/tweeters) are still readily available for most models dating wayyy back.

View attachment 1581489
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Beautiful example of the 2.5. Can i ask what was the smallest room you have used them in and do you think they would get boomy in a 12' x 13' room. Also how easy are they to drive.

Thanks for posting.
 
ateal said:
Beautiful example of the 2.5. Can i ask what was the smallest room you have used them in and do you think they would get boomy in a 12' x 13' room. Also how easy are they to drive.

Thanks for posting.
Click to expand...

The room they're in now (the only one I've used them in) is about 19 feet long and 14 feet wide at the speaker end then it narrows to 11 feet almost halfway back to my listening chair. Bass can be a bit much when my chair is against the back wall but if I pull the chair out about 2 feet it balances out quite nicely and the bass tightens right up..

I think a 13 X 12 room would make these sound a bit overbearing and bloated in the bass but you never know till you try.

They are not efficient, Stereophile measured them 83 dB efficiency versus the 86 advertised. However they barely dip below 8 ohms so they're not demanding of a high current amp and tube friendly. I'm only running 50 Watts per channel SS and have no problem getting more than the volume I need. I was running 115 Watts per channel and I'm not missing the extra power.
 
mikeybc said:
The room they're in now (the only one I've used them in) is about 19 feet long and 14 feet wide at the speaker end then it narrows to 11 feet almost halfway back to my listening chair. Bass can be a bit much when my chair is against the back wall but if I pull the chair out about 2 feet it balances out quite nicely and the bass tightens right up..

I think a 13 X 12 room would make these sound a bit overbearing and bloated in the bass but you never know till you try.

They are not efficient, Stereophile measured them 83 dB efficiency versus the 86 advertised. However they barely dip below 8 ohms so they're not demanding of a high current amp and tube friendly. I'm only running 50 Watts per channel SS and have no problem getting more than the volume I need. I was running 115 Watts per channel and I'm not missing the extra power.
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Thanks for that info, very helpful.

I agree with you and think my Tablettes are as big as I should go in this room, especially since I just installed a quad of Tung Sol KT120 tubes in my Copland amp which has resulted in even deeper and stronger bass than the KT88's that were installed before. Even I think there is a subwoofer installed in my room somewhere!!!!!
 
Hi,

There actually is a "Proac Owners Thread" in this British Sub-Forum and currently is relegated to page 3. It would be fabulous to see a bit more activity on that actual thread.

Sadly they didn't sell well in Australia and that was all about their pricepoint, apart from that they were great especially the "EBS Studio" and some of the tablet variants.
 
I've had Proac studio 125's for about a decade.
They came in as a trade ins to a local dealer.
Great bang for the buck pricing used.
You would have a hard time finding them at that price point
even now. I'd love to get into the Response series, but I'm pretty
happy with these.
 
Haven't heard any Proac model in the past ten years. I liked a lot the D15 I auditioned twice, both with tube & SS amps. What I don't like is how often they change their models and how much they have raised their prices.
 
Art K. said:
I have one pair of both brands!

Might be looking at Tablette Signature's next year.
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Try the Tablette 50 Sigs. I’ve had other bigger Proacs, big B&W, various Maggie’s, now Harbeth SHL5’s. I still use the Tablette 50’s in a bedroom setup. They never, and I mean never cease to amaze me, even after over 20 years of ownership. They have, IMO, the sweetest midrange of anything I have heard. Have run both tubes and SS, makes no difference as to their musicality.
 
Gazdatronik said:
Hmm I have been in the market for some high quality small footprint speakers.
I had not heard of this brand.
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In the small bookshelf range.. the Proac 1SC and Tablette 10 are highly rated... and are often $800 to $1,200 used. The Tablette 2000 can be bought for $600 - $800 /pr and surprise many first time Proac owners. The Proac "Signature" designation is a significant increase in quality and cost. For the Standmount Proacs... I believe the Response 2 or 2s is a solid purchase for $600 - $1000 used. In the smaller footprint Floorstander line the Response 2.5, & 1.5 get high reviews for $1500 - $1700. The early Studio 150 and 250 are a slight drop down in price and sound quality... but still good value. My recommendation is to remain open minded as to model and if you see Any pr of Proacs at thrift store or estate sale... buy now and research later. They All are superior reproducers of the human voice and non-electric small instrumental groups. They are Not high volume rock barroom speakers like big Altecs or JBL's. For cathederal organ music you need 15" Altec 604's in large corner folded horn cbnts. Proacs have been described as polite, transparent, superior at imaging and warm... except for the larger footprint newer D series with ribbon tweeters... which to me are too analytical and shouty. Prefer soft dome, silk dome tweeters over metal or ribbon. Anyway... owned from Altec to Zu...Beveridge to Quad..and Proacs are still #1.
Jim
 
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I'm on the verge of pulling the trigger on a pair of new Tablette 10s, but I'm struggling with choosing an appropriate integrated amp to power them. I'm down to Creek Evo 50a, Naim Nait 5si or Hegel H90. Any thoughts?
 
I remember there was a shop in Providence, RI that sold them in the late 80s. They were big on them.

I saw a pair of Super Towers for sale a little while ago. Are they any good?
 
Hoytis said:
I'm on the verge of pulling the trigger on a pair of new Tablette 10s, but I'm struggling with choosing an appropriate integrated amp to power them. I'm down to Creek Evo 50a, Naim Nait 5si or Hegel H90. Any thoughts?
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I think the little Nait would be good. Anything from LFD or Croft.

Are you buying at Stereotypes? That’s who I bought mine from. Bought my Harbeth’s from Gene Rubin.
 
Yep, Stereotypes. They have a pair of Mahogany ones I think I'll take off their hands. And I've decided to to go with Audiolab 6000a and their CD transport :)
 
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