Proac D48R


Proac owners, I need advice for a integrated amp for the Proac D48Rs. I listen mostly to classic rock an jazz. My budget is 5k new or used market.
128x128heinrichmilw

Showing 34 responses by milpai

Does this mean that ProAcs and Solid State amplifier don't go well together?
Yes, I have read that review about ProAc 20R as the Baroque loudspeaker. But there was another audiogoner who was trying to sell his D30R because it seemed to lack the bass. Take a aook at erikminer's system. He has those speakers. The D48R seem to have 4 ohm nominal impedance Vs 8 ohms that I would prefer, my system having a passive preamp.
Thank You for the clarification carmenc.

And how would you describe the ProAc sound? In my room, with precise placement, my Quads's sound stage starts about 2-3 feet behind the speaker front face. And the sound stage is pretty wide, since I moved them 65" from the back wall and 36" from side walls, with 9 feet between the tweeters. If I change the speakers, I do not want to loose this character in the sound that Quads currently provides. I am looking for more refinement in treble and bass extension.
Ron,
Congratulations on the new ProAcs. I would love top see the D30R loudspeakers in your system. Care to post some pictures so that I can drool over?
Thanks!
:-)
Folks,
The decision has been made. My ProAc D48R in Ebony are on order. Should get them by end of November or start of December.
Thank You @carmenc . Yes, I will post my impressions once I spend sometime with them. Yes, spent almost 2 years searching for speakers to replace my current ones. The Quads are really that good. But it was between family, overseas trips, work, etc, that I had to find time and audition the speakers.
@jperry,
Thank You. Your's was one of the system that inspired me to start looking at the ProAc.
@itzhak1969,
Yes, I will be using the custom made Clear Day jumpers that I am currently using for my Quads.Thanks for the suggestion.

@cmach,
Thank You. Just curious, what was the system that you heard the ProAcs in? Will definetely report back after I spend some time listening to the speakers.
@cmach,
I completely forgot about our discussion from 2 years back. Yes, you also auditioned the D48R. BTW what is your room size? You need to post some pictures of those D30R.
Also, you are right. Clear Days are excellent cables. I will continue to use them on the D48R as well.

@gnostalgick,
Thank You.
BTW, I had posted on your system page sometime back.
Thanks kclone. Your feedback regarding room size and experience also played a role in my decision.
@gdnrbob,
Thank You sir.Good to know that you like ProAcs too. I found them musical at the demos I had. All I am hoping is that they would gel in my system.
Hey, why not make this the official ProAc D48R owner's thread? Now I have them and love what they are doing.
@heinrichmilw,
I was wondering how you have positioned your ProAcs? I am trying to find the BEST positions for them in my room which is 18X15X8. I have currently placed them about 5 feet from the back wall and 3 feet from the side wall. Both positions are approximate for now, since I am still trying to adjust to the new sound. I have also toed them per ProAc's recommendation - speakers are facing directly at listening position, with neither side of the speaker sides seen.
Thank You for letting me know JohnnyR. Not really keen on the asymmetric approach. But will move the speakers slightly away, instead of facing directly at listening position and check the results. I believe I have tried that, but will experiment more.
@itzkak1969,
Thank you for the suggestion. My listening room is "almost" symmetric. Almost - because there is a door on the first reflection point. But it has been reinforced with extra ply, so that it is on the same level as the wall. I did try out this method, as you suggested, but ended up symmetrical.

@ctsooner ,
Thank you for adding on to the previous suggestion. I did try out your suggestion last night. But the way I ended up was, pointing the speakers directly at the listening position where neither side of the speakers are seen.

For the past few days I struggled for more than 12-15 hours trying to find out the best position for the speakers in the room. What I found out was, even moving the speakers 1/8th inch, changes the imaging. While it was also the case with my older speakers, the changes with this speakers is huge. I was able to lock down this down with the songs "The Rain Falls" ( Eleanor McEvoy) and "Desperado" (Eagles). What I find now is that, not all songs have the vocals coming from dead center. Some songs have vocals that are slightly on the left, while some to the right. Even my chair is positioned exactly in the center of the room.
I have the speakers on the granite plinths with the Herbies footers and that improved the bass. They are 70" (front face of speaker) from the back wall and 41" (tweeter center) from the side wall. I am enjoying my music more than ever.
@cmach,
One thing I forgot to mention. I know that the vocals (or center image) in my system can be further improved, if I remove the audio cabinet in between the speakers OR lowering the height of the cabinet OR placing the components on the floor. That will be the next step, but not for the immediate future. I will do that in the coming weeks, as and when I find time.
@cmach,
Ha ha, I agree, it always feels good to know that you are not the only one. I feel that this is a generic problem. But folks like us are super-critical about our placement and that is why it bothers us so much. Over last night and tonight I spent an additional 1 hour and I think I have got the placement more to my liking. Thanks to the so many suggestions from JohnnyR, @ctsooner, @itzkak1969 and others. My final position stands at 74" from back wall, 40 1/2" from side wall with 100" between the speakers. All distances from the center of the tweeter. The speaker, now, does not face the listening position "directly". Instead they are angled slightly so that I cal see a very small sliver of the inner walls, such that, if a line were to be extended from the tweeters of both speakers, to the listening position, they would cross about a feet behind the listener's ears.
Listening to Steely Dan's "Pretzel Logic" and the vocals seems dead center. One observation is that these are absolutely not analytical speakers. Since these speakers are new to me, I start listening with the intention to experience the "sound staging and imaging". But this speakers does not allow me to focus on that. It creates such a coherent sound that, you look at the music as a whole instead of trying to identify the individual instruments/vocals/effects/etc. I love the guitars and the tight bass. I think this is the bass I was looking for. It provides the strong foundation of the musical experience.
Just finished Steely Dan. Next album is Faith, George Michael. Vocals are centered and I have no issues. Would like to hear from you when you get that "lock on vocals" in your system. I will update my system in a few days. Between job, kids and activities it is becoming  more challenging to do this. Do post your system pics, if you get a chance; would love to see your system.
I believe that the speakers are properly "run in". I don't understand why people say ProAcs are musical and not for people who want "pin point imaging". These speakers certainly image awesome in my setup. They are super musical without being a bit analytical. The problem with these speakers is that they reveal shortcoming in the recordings. But on the positive side, it does not kill the musicality of the bad recordings. Only the "quantity" of the musical enjoyment is reduced. These speakers have been keeping me up, late into the night.
A couple of folks reached out to me and indicated that an active preamp will take my system performance to a much higher level, now that I have the ProAcs. In my system I have adequate bass and sound to the point that I have ordered 2 more tri-traps from GIK to cover the entire front corners, top to bottom.
My question is, what will the active preamps do that the TVCs are not doing? Is bass and loudness of a system not a good measure to judge that your system has enough gain?
I am open to suggestions.
@ctsooner ,
Sorry to hear about your condition. Hopefully music soothes you.

What are you missing?
That is exactly what I want to find out about using active preamp in my system. I have been recommended the JR Capri S2 and the Wyred 4 Sound STE-SE Stage 2. I wonder how they will compare with the Parasound JC-2.
BTW, you have a great system.
@jperry ,
Thank You for the kind words. Yes, it is indeed a huge upgrade.

I will have to try some active preamp in my system. Not sure if any dealer or manufacturer would entertain the idea of in-home demo.

As for the factory spikes, they are fine for now. I have not experienced the Nordost footers. I have demoed the IsoAcoustics Gaia footer and was super impressed. Those are on my mind, but maybe for next year.
@ctsooner ,
Would like to hear more bout the shootout when it is completed - like what other footers were used, price points, advantages, availability, etc.
I have heard the GAIA and was pretty impressed with what they did. Amazing difference with and without, in that demo.
@ctsooner ,
What was the outcome of the "footer" shootout? Also I hear good thinks about the ISO Pucks. Any experience with them?
These speakers are like monitors. Listening to "Road To Escondido". I like the entire album, musically. But the Recording on this CD is pretty compressed.
Nevertheless, I have not experienced this music in "full spectrum" before. One thing is for sure - a loudspeaker makes or breaks a listening listening experience. Basically some albums that I thought were "alright" before, sound so  musical. 
Thanks for the update @ctsooner . I would love to get the IsoAcoustic GAIAs, sometime in the future.
Anyone know the thread size of the footers on the D48R? I am thinking of getting the Isoacoustics Gaia II for my ProAcs. Have emailed soundorg.com, but have not heard back.
@mets1p,I had emailed them last year and did not hear back.But based on @itzhak1969's suggestion I have emailed them again. So lets see when they respond.Out of curiosity, what was the thread size on your DT-8? Maybe the D48R uses the same size.
Got response from ProAc and Soundorg today and both confirmed that it is the M6 thread size.
Anyone noticed that with the grills left on the D48R, they sound slightly lost in definition, imaging is affected, bass also looses definition. At least this is what I noticed with my D48R with ribbons. The "liveliness" of music simply goes away if you leave the grills "on".I was experimenting with a new position last and discovered this. But with the grills removed, the bliss returned. With the new position I was able to successfully achieve the LEDR Test UP. Also the vocals "lock" in the center now and the music sounds more coherent. Love how the D48S make music!
This was not an issue when the speaker was new. After 1 1/2 years I notice that any small change to the speaker placement or grill makes a big difference.
@kclone ,
Good to know that you are still hanging on to your ProAcs. One thing to know - you have (probably) NOT heard the full potentials of these loudspeakers. I recently introduced the Inakustik power conditioner and later a Inakustik power cord in the system. And this positively transformed my listening experience.