Harmonic richness, soundstaging, bass response, elegant cabinet design.

None detected as yet.u

I was in search of magic. I''d been listening to most of the highly-regarded speakers in the $5K range–you know, Audio Physic Virgos, B&W 803''s, Eggleston Fontaines, Meadowlark Herons, JM Lab Electras, Dynaudio Contours, and the like. And, while all of these were outstanding in some way, none was totally, undeniably compelling to my ears. Then I heard the ProAc 2.5s. These speakers sounded vivid and alive to me. The sound coming out of them wasn''t some sort of clinical, technological thing–it was music, with all the color, pace, and vibrancy of the real thing. To me, these ProAcs compare to, say, the Virgos, as tubes compare to transistors. Both are valid, but one seems to emphasize complexity and "soul" over absolute clarity and accuracy. I am still amazed at what these speakers can do. There''s a technicolor richness to the sound. But, a little surprisingly, I''ve found their spatial presentation to be amazing, too–in the same league as that of the Virgos, to my ears. And the bass response is phenomenal for a medium-sized box–it''s got plenty of thump but lots of pitch definition, too. I do believe in magic. System: Sonic Frontiers Power 2 Sonic Frontiers Line 3 VPI Aries/JMW/Grado Reference Lehmann Black Cube Sony SACD/CD 777 AudioPrism Foundation 3 Harmonic Tech Pro-Silway Harmonic Tech Pro-9 Biwire

Similar Products Used:

Totem Forest, Audio Physic Virgo, B&W 803, Eggleston Fontaines, Meadowlark Heron, JM Lab Electra, Dynaudio Contour.a

Bass (depth, nuance, sub 30Hz), musicality, sweetness, coherence, energises large rooms

sibilance in treble, slight hole in mid, forward/back imaging, driver price parts/ratio

A belong to the camp of devotees of the Proac 2.5, its truly a great speaker and I agree with all the good points and some of the critisms as well.

The main problem I have is the retail price to the consumer compared to the real world cost of the speaker construction and drivers through Scanspeak: US$52 - tweeters and $130 - bass drivers, + ~ $50 crossover, + $50 cabinet, + other minor parts, X two = roughly $564, which means alot of fat for the middlemen & manufacturer. Its perhaps not as simple as this as you also pay for the artistry & design of the product (crossover is half the story & the bass driver apparently modified to Proacs specs). For an extra $24 Proac could have thrown in the D2905/9500 tweeter, which is much more detailed, though perhaps not as sweet, or what the heck more generously thrown in the D2905/9900 Revelator tweeter used in other $20K speakers, like the Sonus Faber Amati. Despite the tweeter being so cheap and only 2nd from the bottom of the Scanspeak range it performs extremely well. The tweeter below this is used in a huge range of other designs (Sonus faber, Spendor, Linn, etc) and is also very good. Other speakers using the Proac Response series tweeter include Spendor S100, even the Proac Response 5 granddaddy, thats how much faith Proac has in it.

So guess whot, I sold my P2.5 & DIYed higher spec units for a fraction of the cost which sound similar, although I'm still searching for the same coherence and sweetness. I now have DIY speakers with similar bass, better mid projection & detail, extreme treble detail & imaging, no treble sibilance and I hav'nt even glued the cabinets together and the crossovers are still hanging out (probably a good thing). Any one contemplating a similar project should consider using the D2905/9500 tweeter instead, as the Revelator can be thin sounding.

If any one has successfully completed a similar project I would like to exchange crossover design & other info.

Similar Products Used:

B&W801(oldies), Yamaha NS1000, Linn Kan, Quad SL 57, Martin Logan Aerious i, Jamo Concert 8

Natural sound, bass extension, finish

Price

This is the third year I have owned these great speakers. Like many of you, I wasted way too many weekends at dealers listening to the same CD cuts. After going to three different dealers, I knew these were the speakers for me. They simply had the natural, coherant sound I was looking for. I heard it with ARC systems, Cary/Wadia systems, Connie J/Sonic Frontiers, and Mark Levinson. All sounded different of course, but in large or small rooms, they all had the focus and "emotion" most speakers lacked. The Virgo has better soundstaging but is cold and unnatural sounding. The big problem is cost. They sound great and I will keep them until they break, but $4000 for a speaker is a lot of cash. Given the bull market in tech stocks, I'm glad i haven't put a dime in upgrading my system since '97. I think if a component puts a fix on the upgrade bug, that is the biggest testment to it's performance and quality. Since '97 I have the luxury the ordinary person enjoys all the time. I just listen to music! No repeating tracks, switching cables or trading in. I don't worry about making a recording sound better, I just listen, bop around, and enjoy. I think if you listen analytically too often, you can't enjoy the music for what it is. Then again, I suppose some audiophiles are really on a quest for the closest thing to live. Of course, the 2.5 may not fit into every system, budget or room, but if you get it right, it does magic. A few more things for potential buyers: I got my pair at a 20% discount which I think is almost unheard of for a pair of 2.5's. I can't tell you where I got them because the dealer might get it trouble, but it's not Audio Connection or Stereo Exchange. Those two dealers I cannot recommend. They sound better to me with the grills off, and like everyone said, they are quite sensitive to front ends and sources.

Similar Products Used:

Thiel 3.6, Martin Logan, Apogee Baby Grand, Totem Mani, Audio Physic Virgo, B&W, Proac 2.0

Very balanced and musical.

The price.

I have had these speakers for almost 2 years. It is a pair of speakers that is transparent and allows you to hear what is on the CD (in my case). It gives you a wide soundstage and depth, detailed yet musical. I find there are lots of speakers out there that give you a lot of detail but extract you from listening to the music. I mean we are here to enjoy the music, aren't we? I was using a Nu Vista pre amp before but when I upgraded to the ARC LS25 it made a huge difference especially coupled with my reissue McIntosh MC275. I think this is a great combination. ProAc speakers are very good with tube power amps.
I highly recommend this speakers. However, if finance do allow, I would get the Response 3.8 but I think at the moment, the 2.5 is the next best thing.

Humm, lots of strong opinions here. Yes, these speakers do provoke some emotion. I have no new revelations, but I post this to reiterate a couple of points: First, opinions of reviewers who have not spent quality time with this speaker (with proper gear) should be totally discredited. Its silly to give a short audition, (especially in a store), then post a review. Of course its equally foolish to waste words taking issue with those kinds of “reviews”, so enough about them. I agree that this speaker is a wee bit up there in price, but unfortunately, what isn’t these days if you want it nice. Just to look at the simple elegance and craftsmanship will evoke a certain degree of pleasure. Yup, they take a long time to break in, and you really do need to have a decent rig with good wire if you want to be fair to them. Having done that, any reasonable person should be very happy. These are accurate and clear (plenty deep with a perfect midrange), very transparent, they image extremely well, and the overall musical presentation top to bottom is very big league for just a two way box. These speakers sound very refined, and will be very satisfying to a careful listener, in an intimate setting. I consider splitting sonic hair at this level of quality very subjective. To put it simply, this is a great audiophile speaker, and one could argue worth the money. Unlike others before it, it has enabled me to stop constantly thinking upgrade. In my modest sized room, Im pretty sure I can be real happy with these for a while.

See below.

Also see below.

My wife asked me to relate the following:
She handed me her Chistmas bonus and encouraged me to buy the 2.5s, which I did. It took me fully one year to choose speakers (I had over 11 different ones in my house during that time for audition) and I finally choose the 2.5s after hearing them only in the store (but with three different amplifiers).
The dealer (in fact the same guys who now run Audiogon.com) told me to make sure and break them in for at least 50-60 hours before even listening to them. This I, of course, did not do. I plugged them in, sat down, listened, and then was ready to cry or commit suicide. I'd just spent 3600.00 (the dealer got tired of me coming into the store to listen every week so he gave me a good deal) on a speaker that sounded diffuse, muddy on the low end, and undynamic.
It truly took 50-75 hours before the true worth of the 2.5s came to light. They kept improving for the first 200 hours and probably more. I kept a (neurotic audiophile) diary of time played up 'til 150 hrs. After that I just listened to music and have been happy ever since.

Mids, bass and design.

Sound stage "depth"

After dismissing Martin Logan, Dynaudio, Eggleston and Revel for various reasons. I narrowed my final 3 speaker options to the Sonus Faber Grand Pianos, B&W Naut 803 and the ProAc 2.5's. Then I was able to, and lucky enough to, have all these speakers in my home and, for a short time, all at the same time.

I owned a pair of the SF Concertos previously and loved them, so I suspected I might end up with the GP's. After all the GP's are Concertos just more and better. I also had owned B&W in the past and had some predilection for them. The ProAc's slipped in under the wire when a new dealer opened in the area very recently and towards the end of my search.

The SF's were wonderful, everything I expected and wanted. They possessed a deep, rich and compelling presence. And, had I not heard the ProAc's they would be in my home right now. The B&W's were good, if not a bit edgy and represented more of the recording then I really wanted to hear. As such, I found the B&W's fatiguing and lacking any emotion.

The ProAc's had, by far, the best mid-range: silky smooth and nothing short of a pleasure to listen to over long periods of time. The bass was everything you have read about: Deep, tight, controlled and very satisfying. The lack of bass in the SF's was to be expected and could I have lived with what they did offer, the B&W's on the other hand were flat by comparison.

The styling of the ProAc's are understated, sophisticated elegance. They look (and sound) much better with out the grilles.

Just a word on the ongoing debate on the value of the ProAc's, the SF's were "2.5" way and the B&W's were 3-way. Side-by-side I evaluated each one on their own merits without regard to price or "perceived value" and the ProAc's came out head and shoulders above the others. They were more dynamic, deeper and had attained the right nexus of midrange detail. To the posting below: Wouldn't we all be building our own speakers if we had the time, energy, tools and skills? And building our homes? And furniture? I bet even the Sonus Faber Amati Hommage have no more than $3000 in raw parts and materials in them and they retail for 20K.

Similar Products Used:

B&W, Sonus Faber.

Above average scores (8 out of 10) in all areas. Very easy to tame. Good 2nd hand deals around.

Only above average but not top scores in all areas! still needs top class equipments to bring out its very best.

The ProAc 2.5 has been one of the mostly owned and talked about speaker for quite some years. It’s voicing characters, which sweetened and smoothed out all the edge is somehow a bit dated by today’s trends. Also, by opting to smooth out all the grains means it has to sacrifice a bit of details and airs. A two-way design that shares mid-range and bass information with only a 7” driver means compromising in the departments of dynamics and inner depths details inevitable. The speaker also suffers from not being able to layer image depths clearly. Yet, it does create a near perfect image horizontally across the plane.

Well, with all these negative comments. You may think that I am trying to dissent this product. But on the contrary, I loved the 2.5 from day one of our marriage and our lovely relationship is still growing strong.

In this imperfect world of HIFI, when money is an objective! Best of most we could do is to spend our hard earned money on equipments that we can afford and match them to the best of our abilities.

While the 2.5 is not scoring a perfect 10 in all departments, it is not far behind! It has a very involving and passionate mid-range and a rich and musical bass. And its true strength lays in its ability to match up well with a lot of medium to low powered amplifies. It is very easy to tame and produce a well above average sounds.

Imagine an average man being able to marry a woman who has a body and look scoring 8 out of 10, who is always passionate, easy going and easy to tame. He should be spending his time enjoying life rather than looking still for the non-existence of the perfect one!

My assorted equipments:
CD - Meridian 506-24bit
Audio Research SL16
Audio Research VTM 120 (mono)110w
Gryphon reference line silver interconnect and speaker cables

Similar Products Used:

Theils 2.2, B&w 804,

I have owned a pair of ProAc Response 2.5 for 3 years. I have owned many speakers, usually switching forewards and backwards from bookshelve ones (no bass) to floor-standing ones (poor image) until I found the ProAc 2.5. They sound like bookshelve speakers with bass. They sound better in a bigger room, and they require very good electronics and cables to perform their best. With poor equipments they sound very harsh and you can't listen to them for very long time before it becomes painful. Right now I use EAD Ultradisc 2000 CD player, Pass Lab amps., and Nordost cables with these speakers in an 8x15 meters room. I can use a bit more bass-slam but the sound-stage and image is so good I'm not willing to sacrifice them.

I will call this as I heard it. I auditioned the Pro-ac Response 2.5s in an all Audio Research system consisting of tube pre-amp, power amp, and CD player. Sadly, these speakers possess an almost indescribably arid sound that I found lacking in warmth and humanity. It was the kind of sound that no amp, not even a tube amp, could rescue. With the exception of the lavish wood-work, I could find little to impress me about the Response 2.5s. Their sound-stage was flat and imaging was 2-dimensional. The treble sounded grainy, the mid-range dull and lifeless.
I believe that it is possible to do way better for less money. I do admit,however, that the freeze-dried and dessicated sound of Pro-ac Response 2.5s might be just the thing for some listener's.