The 2.5s are excellent speakers. I have 2 questions:
How can they generate so much bass from a pair 7-inch woofers?

Why do the speakers have to stand for a few hours at room temp of about 60F before getting any electrical signal?

Just to put in my two cents on the 2.5's...

I heard them a year back in an Indiana store with a Theta front-end and Jeff Rowland preamp and amp and was completely floored by the sound. I must say I've never heard anything better as far as my tastes go. There was a palpable, 3-D soundstage with the singer sitting right in front of me, singing to me alone. Wow!

At the time the dealer said that was nothing, I should come back later and listen to them with some Cary monoblocks.

Two weeks later I returned for another audition and the Rowland equipment was gone. The Theta front-end was still there but in place of the Rowland was a Celeste amp and some high-end preamp (don't remember the name now but it was high-dollar). The dealer was with another customer so I said what the heck and cranked up the system.

Blah! The soundstage was gone, 3-D gone to 2-D, bass was there but not really *there*, etc.

What worries me most about the 2.5's is not that they are so picky about upstream electronics but that they really have a huge preference (sorry for the anthropomorphication) for certain types and makes of upstream gear.

I can say with conviction that, with the right equipment, I don't know if they can be beat for what they can do. With the wrong equipment, no matter how nice it is, they just fall flat on their face.

4 stars given because they are so finicky
5+ stars if you get the right upstream gear... then it's nirvana.

Kind of reminds me of a girl I dated...

Shawn Harvey
sharve@acxiom.com

balance, bass, ease of driving, size

having to explain why a 2 driver speaker costs so much

I discovered these wonders at the NYC HiFi Show a couple of years ago. I was initially impressed by how few things they did WRONG i.e.-no grain, not too forward, not too laid back, reasonably transparant. Auditioning them at a dealer I was taken by their imaging and startling bass. I've had them in my home for two years and have never had a day of buyers remorse or the upgrade itch. They're set in a very difficult livingroom yet continue to exhibit imaging and soundstage depth I have not heard from many other speakers in ANY setting. I am still startled by their bass reproduction. I drive them with an Audio Research VT100 which seems to match up beautifully.

Similar Products Used:

JosephAudio RM20

I just purchased a pair of 3.8's. FYI I have a Rowland Consummate preamp, Rowland M5 amp, Krell SBP64X D/A and a Krell CD Transport(dont have the model in front of me)

I am amazed at the comments and barbs thrown around here. Actually i was reading the comments in order to get some advice as to which speakers to audition. The comments have truly been vague and unhelpful to me. All the flowery adjectives and egos involved only serve to get in the way of helpful messages.

Need we be reminded that stereos are only reproductions? Sadly, my system, in spite of the time and expense of putting it together is equivalent to looking at a reproduction of great work of art. A Tintoretto, when viewed in reproduction is flat and untrue to the real painting.

An audio system (analog or digital) is flat compared to what really matters guys (and maybe a girl or two)- All you can do is listen, listen, listen to as much live music (the real thing) and try to reproduce some of the aura back at home.

My last question. If you are a true audiophile does that mean you no longer listen to live music?

Bass extension, first class smooth & grainless mid-range, very clean & tight bass response, soundstage width, coherence & sweet sounding, ease of listening, can give you the detailed mid to deep bass information. Airy & attractive vocal.

expensive, can not play very loud, treble is sweet & soft but not realistic, treble a bit lacks of dynamic or transient response, texture in high frequency is not detailed enough. tune of treble does not sound like real when hitting the metalic music instrument.

Soundstage depth is not as good as Response 3

SPL is comparatively low compared with Response 3 & all other ProAc response series (except Response 4)

FOR ANYONE WHO IS LOOKING FOR THE TRUE & HUMBLE COMMENT ON THE PROAC 2.5 COMPARISION. YOU MUST READ !!!!

Yes, I purchased a brand new Thiel CS 2.3,used Focus Audio FS78, used Response 2 & 3 and brand new 2.5. & TAD TSM-300 studio monitor. My current gears are :

ARC SP15, world wide audio vp-3a ultimate
ARC Classic 60, Classic 150, Classic 30
Well-Tempered new Black classic
AudioTechnica ART-2000 MC
ALL kimber cables
Sonic Frontier SFCD-1, Sony XA7ES, Wadia etc.

I spent a lot of time to compare all the above mentioned speakers over & over again. Now I have my conclusion.

Thiel 2.3 - I can't live with its metalic vocal sounding, my tube gear could not even help (not even the break-in for 50 hours could help). sound stage on both depth & width are the best among the others. Bass is strong, tight & detailed. Mid is thin, high (especially in mid-high) is bright but not extended or airy. I bought 2.3 based on all the good comments heard, regret !

Focus FS-78 piano black - Thin sounding in mid, not enough dynamic overall, soundstage not as good as both Thiel & ProAc, Extension on both ends are not comparable, can't belive it would cost so much !

Response 3 - sensitive & beautiful high, sweet mid & vocal, bass is not as tight & dynamic & deep as Thiel & ProAc 2.5, but its overall spectrum enegry response thourgh out low to high are even & balanced. Soundstage is comparable to Theil 2.3. No question this is the most natural sounding one.

TAD TSM-300 - Overall very dynamic, Unbelivebly realistic mid to high reproduction, Transient response & tune from mid to ultra high are very precise making most of the musical instrument sound real! However, from the mid-bass to low end lacks of resolution, sound from Cello or double bass are really not comparable to Thiel & ProAc 2.5. Vocal & mid band are definetly first class. Easy to drive.

Proac 2.5 - As mentioned above, 2.5 gives you ease of listening, transparent mid (nearly comparable to ESP), tight, deep & dynamic bass response. I hereby would like to seek for comment on how to make its treble to react more lifely & dynamic ! The high freq. drive from SCAN seems to be the one used mostly in ProAc spks. by Sweart Tyler. The plus side is that it has sweet & soft treble sound but the negative side is that it would cover the realistic recording when the high freq. dynamic is needed. However, nowaday most of the home used speakers would go for this direction because the manufaturers will never want to have somebody's comment saying their speakers bright !

Among the above mentioned spks., ProAc 2.5 & TAD TSM-300 are my ultimate choices. In the end, I am going to keep TAD & 2.5. I am now posting the rest of my spks for sales ! Anyone instrested in Theil and Focus in Hong Kong may contact me for the good price !

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Just almost the same time I purchased a brand new Thiel 2.3, Focus Audio FS78, ProAc Response 2, 3 and 2.5, TAD TSM-300 monitor

excellent in all the aspects

nix

Hi,
I use them with Classe CAP80 integrated solid state amp - Tape recorder Nakamichi RX202 - Marantz CDR615 cd recorder.
Outstanding in the purity, wideness of the stereo scene, fabulous bass (didn't have that on the monitor ProAc studio 1), great details in mid-high range... All this with great natural sound and no boredom... What else can I say ?
I got them at a bargain price ($2100) and didn't have to "break" them...
Enjoy like Aloxe-Corton burgandy wine and Fourme d'Ambert cheese.

Similar Products Used:

ProAc-studio1-MK2

Yi,
Here a tweak for you and you system Yi:









Clean out your ears, Qtips every work well.

Your comment on the Response Series, completely inaccurate, I don't believe you Yi, I bet you have NEVER heard the 3.5's 4's or the 5's.

It seems the ProAc Response 2.5 can really stir up the emotions of many listeners here! IMHO, (and don't start lambasting me here for saying this please, i'm your regular friendly, objective reviewer)I feel that the anti-ProAc camp is very one-dimensional in its argument, as they make it seem like a Concerto GP vs 2-5 debate. The two speakers cannot be more different from each other, (well except maybe the drive units both come from Scanspeak), the ProAcs are leaner, sweeter and just a bit brighter, but musical and fast. The GPs probably love the warm rich sounds of valve amplification and should be used as such. To the Pro-Ac bashers, please do yourselves a favour and hear these magnificent speakers (with thunderous bass) driven properly with suitable high-end ancilliaries and run-in properly. The final effect is something beyond words can describe. Bose, my friends, is completely off the scale here!

Can't believe Buzz'a review, but that his opinion.I have heard every model of ProAc except the very large Fours and the new Fives. They are very good to great speakers depending on model.
I have a few questions to Buzz, where did you hear the ProAc 2.5, waht was used to demo them, and what speaker do you feel is good? Curious about what brand you feel is musical.

Just about everything. Beautiful sound, elegant appearance.

Price is high for the material aspect of the speaker.

Just my two cents worth as someone who has owned 2.5s for three years this month and used them with 2 s.s. amps and 3 tube amps:
These speakers take a long time to break in but once "ripe" they sound wonderful! I now use Cary 2a3 SETs (in a 10.5x13 room) and the music is the best I've heard anywhere. I am through checking out new stuff and will simply enjoy music from now on (or until Proac comes up with something better at the same cost and size).
I've used a Mesa Baron tube amp, Cary 572 SETs, a Muse Model 100 s.s. amp, and a 25 wt Accuphase s.s. amp. the 2.5s have sounded great with them all. This speaker is deceptive, it will seduce you into loving your music and will cause youto sometimes turn on the light, stare at them, and ask "how are you doing that?"
Non-audiphiles have listened to my system and literally let their jaws drop open. Two people have even told me they could never buy the 2.5s because they like background music while friends are over. They could not do this as everyone would distracted by the music, would ask that the volume be turned up, and the visit would turn into a music listening session. My own brother (who at first refused to believe the sounds were coming from the 2.5s) and his wife seriously told me this, they said the music would be to distracting to get much done around the house.
As you can tell, I love my 2.5s (and the Carys) and am through with audiofiledom for probably quite some time.

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Alon, Platinum Audio, Coincident Tech, Hales