ProAc Owners Thread

[farbrorseb]

A pair of RELs.

I’m loaning a T5 from my hifi joint next week! You’re saying “a pair” though.. Are two necessary? I should add the room is ~50 square meters, so the ProAcs do strain themselves to fill up the room. But I seldom need to rock the whole block.

 

[opnly bafld]

I’m loaning a T5 from my hifi joint next week! You’re saying “a pair” though.. Are two necessary? I should add the room is ~50 square meters, so the ProAcs do strain themselves to fill up the room. But I seldom need to rock the whole block.

It is not about loud, it adds to the realism of reproducing music IME/O.

 

[theophile]

ProAc makes subwoofers too.

 

[farbrorseb]

ProAc makes subwoofers too.

I’ve heard of them, never seen them. I’ve also heard they’re not suitable for the Tablettes. Maybe that’s BS?

 

[lissenup]

Hey how have I not found this thread before?! Proac owners assemble!

I’ve owned a pair of Tablette 50 Signature for about 8 years now, second owner. I fell in love with them before I even heard them. They’re the most beautifully designed bookshelf speakers ever, imo. It’s weird, there ain’t all that much to be creative with when designing a bookshelf speaker, but damn this is the benchmark.

My chain is Tab 50 Sigs - Rega Brio R - Thorens TD-2001 and the output is so sweet and pure. But along the years I’ve wondered what a bit more bass would sound like. And started looking for subwoofer options. I’ve gathered that the Tablettes aren’t the easiest speakers to find a matching sub for. So when I found this thread I signed up to ask this question, and hopefully get stuck here for other Proac related shenanigans.

So, does anybody own the 50 Sigs, and a subwoofer that fits the bill?

Oh, I should add that my amp does not have a dedicated sub out.

Fingers crossed!

I have owned a pair of 50 Signatures since I bought them new in the 90’s. They replaced a pair of Magnepan when I needed a pair of speakers that were not as room intrusive as the Maggie’s. My only requirement was to meet the magical midrange of the Magneplanar 2.5. The small Tablette 50 Sig’s not only met that requirement but they have now given me two decades of ownership enjoyment.

However, I have never been satisfied mating them to a subwoofer. I’ve tried a couple subs, REL and B&W, but have not found that magical point where I get to enjoy a bit more bass without losing the midrange liquidity. And to me, it’s the midrange that makes these so special. Not sure if it’s been my rooms, ancillary equipment, or the subs themselves, but I can’t make the sub invisible with the Tablette and the combination of the two removes the magic. I always go back to using only the 50’s.

I tried Proac 2.5R for a few years in efforts to gain a bit on the bottom. They did provide more bass but did not have the magic. Sold them. I now use a pair of Harbeth SHL5 with a Naim Superuniti in our living room. Better, but not devoted to them. I will never sell the Proac Tablette 50 Signatures. One of the few keepers I have in my years of audio purchases.

Hopefully you can find the right sub combination and if you do I would be interested.

 

[writesds]

I have a pair of Proac Studio 200s from the 90s. While they sound excellent, they are definitely a weaker link in my system and not as refined sounding as other Proac speakers I have heard in the past. I am wondering if any of you think it would be useful to rebuild the crossovers with higher grade components of the same value and point wiring along with some work inside the box or just look into something different. I don't want to create a different sound signature, I just want to improve what I have. Any experience with this approach or recommendations? Thanks

 

[montrecott]

Not sure what happened to my post here--did I delete it by mistake?--but I did not get the pair of Response 1.5 being sold locally. Maybe next time..... It would be nice to hear something larger than the Super Tablette.

 

[writesds]

Not sure what happened to my post here--did I delete it by mistake?--but I did not get the pair of Response 1.5 being sold locally. Maybe next time..... It would be nice to hear something larger than the Super Tablette.

What are your thoughts on the Response 1.5 speakers?

 

[montrecott]

What are your thoughts on the Response 1.5 speakers?

I was looking for feedback here, as a pair was available locally. Apparently they sold last night or this morning. I did not get a chance to hear them (or buy them), unfortunately. The price was on the high side but they looked to be in beautiful shape, one owner.... The Response 1.5 appears to be the right size for our 14' x 14' living room. Oh well, hopefully another pair will show up eventually. They are pretty rare here. I found my Super Tablettes at a yard sale several years ago. I no longer have those.

 

[shrinkboy]

i have a set of Response D that I acquired last year. they have taken over from my set of Ewaved Altec Santana cabs, with no apparent loss of bass, and a massive improvement in clarity and depth of soundstage.

 

[lazycat]

I have a pair of Proac Studio 200s from the 90s. While they sound excellent, they are definitely a weaker link in my system and not as refined sounding as other Proac speakers I have heard in the past. I am wondering if any of you think it would be useful to rebuild the crossovers with higher grade components of the same value and point wiring along with some work inside the box or just look into something different. I don't want to create a different sound signature, I just want to improve what I have. Any experience with this approach or recommendations? Thanks

I recapped and replaced the resistors in my Studio 150's. Nothing extravagant cost about £40 all in.

The difference was substantial. The 2 larger caps were out of spec higher and lower, there always was a slight imbalance but I thought it was my room.

No, imbalance gone when fettled. The result of replacement was a much more refined mid and top with a larger soundstage L-R and depthwise.

The bass became/is far tighter and much more funky. A very large improvement overall.

So, yes, it's worthwhile fettling the c/overs. I replaced them with like for like values - both caps and resistors.

 

[writesds]

I recapped and replaced the resistors in my Studio 150's. Nothing extravagant cost about £40 all in.

The difference was substantial. The 2 larger caps were out of spec higher and lower, there always was a slight imbalance but I thought it was my room.

No, imbalance gone when fettled. The result of replacement was a much more refined mid and top with a larger soundstage L-R and depthwise.

The bass became/is far tighter and much more funky. A very large improvement overall.

So, yes, it's worthwhile fettling the c/overs. I replaced them with like for like values - both caps and resistors.

Glad to hear it worked. I assume you stuck with electrolytics on the caps. Do you recall which brands you went with in the caps and resistors?

 

[lazycat]

Glad to hear it worked. I assume you stuck with electrolytics on the caps. Do you recall which brands you went with in the caps and resistors?

There was only one electrolytic the rest were polyprops.

I used Mills resistors and a mix of Jantzen - larger value and JB JFX series for the lower values(Jantzen wouldn't fit in the small space).

I still believe that the improvement wasn't all the 'quality' of the caps per se, but having very close spec values as opposed to values which were all over the place.

The JFX were very cheap TBH.

 

[writesds]

There was only one electrolytic the rest were polyprops.

I used Mills resistors and a mix of Jantzen - larger value and JB JFX series for the lower values(Jantzen wouldn't fit in the small space).

I still believe that the improvement wasn't all the 'quality' of the caps per se, but having very close spec values as opposed to values which were all over the place.

The JFX were very cheap TBH.

The 2 caps measured perfectly. One of the resistors was high. Is there really a reason to replace caps on spec? Your thoughts on that? I will definitely replace those resistors with the Mills. I assume the inductors are OK, although I've heard arguments against iron core vs air core.

 

[lazycat]

I fettled because the speakers were of a certain age app.15 yrs. I'd replaced caps with 'better' in 2 previous speakers and tho' subtle, it was a worthwhile improvement.

I only measured the caps once I'd removed them and already bought the replacements. The 7.4uF caps were out of 20% spec, one higher and the other lower.
Probably caused the L/R imbalance to the soundstage.

I did the resistors and lower value caps first - as before, subtle but worthwhile.

The 7.4 replacements were a massive improvement. Chin nearly hit the floor TBH. I haven't looked at another speaker pair since.

As for the inductors - there wasn't enough space in my speakers to fettle them, so I left them alone.
As I say, I'm very, very happy with them now - and they were hardly crap before fettling.

The caps I replaced were blue expotus. I'd take the components out of circuit to get a true measurement. If they measure fine it's up to you whether or not it's worth trying better caps.

 

[writesds]

Thanks for the feedback. My measurements were done out of the circuit but I may have to consider replacing those caps if the impact was that great.

 

[lazycat]

Thanks for the feedback. My measurements were done out of the circuit but I may have to consider replacing those caps if the impact was that great.

If everything, almost, is in spec the difference maybe small. But it doesn't cost much to try. Good luck.

 

[writesds]

Lazycat, what specific caps did you use? Do you have pics?

 

[lazycat]

Hi.

7.5uF 400Vdc Jantzen Cross Cap Capacitors. And 4.7uF 250Vdc JB Capacitors, JFX Series Polypropylene Cap.

Bought from Hifi Collective in the UK - obviously. lol

Sorry I don't have any 'after' pics. There are pics on the site.

 

[writesds]

Hi.

7.5uF 400Vdc Jantzen Cross Cap Capacitors. And 4.7uF 250Vdc JB Capacitors, JFX Series Polypropylene Cap.

Bought from Hifi Collective in the UK - obviously. lol

Sorry I don't have any 'after' pics. There are pics on the site.

Thanks again. I'll let you know how it goes after I change those resistors to Mills and then the caps.