What are people's thoughts on ProAc (D48R, D30R)

Hi

I have a pair of D30R which I am using with my NDX/Supernait 2 system. I find them excellent and very musical. Taste in speakers is however very personal. When I démodé these I also démodé Spendor D7 speakers. My son also came to the demo, he liked the D7's best which I found to be "very in your face" and I much preferred the D30R by quite a large margin. So that's the problem we all have in choosing speakers. If you were a hard rock fan then of these two the D7's would be your choice but if like me you like a great variety of music particularly jazz and classical then the D30R may be preferred.

philip

I use proac d38 and find they are great with naim. They dont suffer from the "glare" that some speakers do when partnered with naim. Ive been using them for four years now and not looking to upgrade anytime soon 

I still wonder how D30R compare with D28 and whether I should upgrade? 

Chag -

I've got a pair of D30-R's and love them. There does seem to be some anti Proac + Naim bias among some Naim-ites however, so an audition would be recommended. 

I've personally never understood why some dislike Proac... I think they partner exceedingly well with Naim.

D40R here.

I really like them. Good for all styles of music. But if you seek low-mid bass slam, others do it better (e.g. the Spenders?). But I rather trade low-mid slam for the 20Hz extension. And the ribbon tweeter is sublime.

I understand the D48 were developed for a dryer/tighter bottom end vs the D40(?).

If you opt for the smaller or larger speaker depends on your room?

I auditioned a pair of D30R on the end of a Naim NDS/555PSDR, 552DR, 300 system and compared them with a couple of other loudspeakers including my own, old Proac stand mounters.

The D30R is a real step up from the older but still lovable D28.  Bass is less warm & cuddly.  It is more tightly controlled yet dynamic & punchy.  This speaker images like the very devil.  And the clarity that the ribbon tweeter provides is delicious without sounding a little "hot" as some Kudos designs can at times.  The D30R conveys the music in music, not just the notes.  I really liked them.  They are up there at the very top of £4,500-5,000 speakers that I have heard, alongside Kudos S20 and equivalent.

Do they work with Naim?  Of course they do.

 Hope this helps, FT

I have D40 R's and like them well enough.   I don't think they are my last speaker.   They do require a lot of power and they need to have room around them because they fire into the floor.  The 500 does the job but I have heard them sound like crap with a lesser amp.   Use caution to match them.  Mine are 27"  from the rear wall (measured at the front) and need another few inches but I don't have it to spare given my my lovely wife and her well-vacuumed living area.  

An interesting thing about the speaker is that the ribbon can be repaired by the consumer, and if you run yours like I do, this will be required at some point.   I fried one ribbon over a period of months did this repair myself over a weekend using torx drivers available at any hobby shop and I have been very pleased with the result.  I would also note that the ribbon tweeter repays any investment you make in Nordost power products.   Since I have had the D40 R, I have been very pleased with the audible difference of the Nordost jumper, Qbase8, QLine ground, and Frey2 power cords.   All my gear has the Naim Powerline cord individually, but the Nordost Qbase8 and related products make it all sing a little sweeter to me.   I know you are skeptical and so was I but I have been very pleased with my modest Nordost investments.

I would like to try the Kudo Titans and the Magicos one day when my ship comes in.  

I have the D20's and after 3 months they sound really nice.  Unless a lottery win appears on the horizon I will stick with them.  As a matter of interest do people leave the foam covers on or remove them for listening.  I leave mine off, that is until the leprechauns appear at the front door with lollipops.

Chag... posted:

I still wonder how D30R compare with D28 and whether I should upgrade? 

Chag -

ohhhh Chag ! don't be shy go for it. After a period of demo with D28 at home, i've choose the D30R. much more controle on bass, much more image, and more reffinement with treble. If you had the convenience for placement, you'll find some good reason to upgrade to the D30R.

I have

musica posted:

Hi

I have a pair of D30R which I am using with my NDX/Supernait 2 system. I find them excellent and very musical. Taste in speakers is however very personal. When I démodé these I also démodé Spendor D7 speakers. My son also came to the demo, he liked the D7's best which I found to be "very in your face" and I much preferred the D30R by quite a large margin. So that's the problem we all have in choosing speakers. If you were a hard rock fan then of these two the D7's would be your choice but if like me you like a great variety of music particularly jazz and classical then the D30R may be preferred.

 

philip

I have heard some really great things about the Spendor D7. They are also on my short list. I have heard spendor's before and liked their sound. Does anyone on here have a pair of D7's

I find that Proac in general require good grip to be at their best. Matched with the wrong source and/or amp the bass can end up being a bit ''thuddy'' In addition some of the larger models will require sufficient breathing space and proper acoustics. Given the right gear and conditions they can be VERY enjoyable. For some reason some of the older models had a reputation of singing quite nicely when being driven by good tube gear.

On the other hand I have yet to be impressed by Spendor (any model) But you never know...