proac d18

I did listen to a pair about three years ago and thought they were rather good not having heard your current speakers I can't comment on the differences between the two.

You shouldn't be worried going from a Linn speaker to a Proac speaker, now, if it was the reverse, then yea, I would be a little worried.

Proac D18 is a lovely speaker and is easy to drive.  The NAP300 is easily capable of driving & controlling the D18 very well indeed.  As a ported speaker, the D18 will need a little room behind it.  Sound quality wise, no need to worry after a Linn speaker.

While a very very good speaker inheriting from the classic and much acclaimed D15, the D18 is not up to the 300 DR class. You might want to consider the D28 or the most promising D30 RS or DS. You might want also want to consider upgrading from 202 to 282, or even to 252 since you already have a SuperCap, to get the best out of the 300 DR.   

Chag -

Well none of those options (D28, D30s) are going to work if he "can't afford much at the moment." I would think even used D28s are going to run about $3,000 at least.

I agree with the preamble assessment - I would rather see a 282 or 252 with the D18s than the D28s with the 202 fronting the 300. But of course, all that takes is money too.

If a home demo is possible that would be the ideal situation for your ears to decide.

I've had a couple of Linn speakers (Majik 140 with upgraded plinths and Majik Isobarics) home for demo the past 6 months along with a pair of Proac D20R. I've heard D30R (at dealer) as well. Linn speakers are very musical but have an overall relaxed presentation - not especially fast on the attack and I prefer my speakers to play a bit crisper. I found they also have a slightly pronounced emphasis of the mid bass (notably the kick drum). The Proacs I found very musical and involving, tonally balanced top to bottom (very similar to my Totems) but with greater resolution and clarity, and a deep, well-defined bass. The Proacs are what I'd consider a fairly fast speaker.

I can see where a person might prefer one or the other brand depending on their tastes, but based on what I've heard, I wouldn't consider them comparable.

I would then consider going downgrading 300DR to 250DR and go 282 or 252 on D18. The sole advantage of the D18 over the D28 and possibly any D30 is that they are easier to drive for tighter bass in particular in a smaller room.

Chag -

As a follow up to Chag's comment - I had initially demo'd the D20R on my SN2 + HCDR and found the bass overbearing in my 14 x 16 foot room. Taking the HCDR off the SN2 the Proacs played perfectly in my room. In fact they are the best of the half dozen speakers I've had home the past year. So yes, results are gear and room sensitive as is always the case. That said, I'd settle first on boxes and then find speakers to suit your room, home demo mandatory.

As far as amplification and ease of driving speakers, I'd say you can't really be over-amped. In my experience, greater amplification will grip speakers better and have them perform better at lower volume.  For me Naim PSUs are the greater wildcard and I've found they can often "over trump" a balanced set up, especially on the bottom end.

That's pretty cool Joe - a 14' x 16' room, while not big, isn't too small, in fact at one place i lived there was a 4th bedroom that was exactly that size and was my "man cave" with my SBLs as the speaker. But to me the interesting part was the removal of the PS making it work for you - sometimes less is more!

DrMark posted:

That's pretty cool Joe - a 14' x 16' room, while not big, isn't too small, in fact at one place i lived there was a 4th bedroom that was exactly that size and was my "man cave" with my SBLs as the speaker. But to me the interesting part was the removal of the PS making it work for you - sometimes less is more!

Agreed.  Not sure I would have considered removing the PS during an evaluation.  

Hi,

I´m demoing at my 3,20x4 meters studio a pair of Proac D18 against my Neat Motive 1.

Speakers are a very depending one the personal tasting how each of us like the presentation, I had an Sonus Faber Grand Piano ( 1 model ) before and I was not able of extract the presentation that I have now with both Proac and Neat.

I´m using to test them a Krell 300il, and Naim 82 as a pre with changes on power and supply beteween NAC 250 vs a pair of 135, and Hicap vs supercap,all olive series.

I tend to prefer the Neat on HF and the Proac on LF, but to be honest they are both exellent speakers and I think you won´t be wrong with Proac.

To give you an idea I haven´t decide wich one to keep.

As stated here, your 300 might want a step up on the speaker range ( going only by specifications ) but Proac and Neat at my place are a very comptent speaker that I can live wihtout thinking that I´m losing to much.

But, you must listen it in you room, and decide if it suits you and the way that you like the music to be presented.

I´ll keep demoing it untill I decide which one to keep, the good part is that I´ll be very please nomather what my choice will be at the end.

Good luck !

BR

RM

The ProAc needs more power than you think to sound its best.  I have heard them sound like crap with the Nait and Uniti lines.    I would stick with the 300DR.  You might also consider a set of Herbie's Audio Labs Gliders under them to tame the bass a bit and give you more flexibility to place them.  They have worked wonders under my D40R's!

Since we are posting on tuning & tweaking ProAcs, FWIW I use a tight roll of felt cloth to close and damp half of the lateral ports of the D28s. It helps to limit some, but not all, of remaining bass resonances, clear the low medium and reduce the touch of brightness that came with the DR upgrade of the 300. 

Chag -

Hi Chag,

The same here, to controll the bass in the Neat and the Proac ( both portal at botom ) I use some felt cloth, and the bass resonances just gone, no changes on the remaining audio frequencies, it was just to control the bass.

BR\RM