3D Sound Stage, lack of coloration, finish

could be cheaper

I spent about four months researching and auditioning speakers in the $500-$2000 price range. I was originally sold on the Magnepan 1.6's, but they are too power-hungry for my budget and rank a zero on ease of placement and decor-friendliness. The sound is pretty awesome, though.

Then I heard a pair of Acoustic Energy Aegis One's that at a riduculously cheap $300/pair immediately brought me back into the realm of dynamic drivers. An awesome bargain, but my budget allowed for more.

I also heard the B&W 302's, DM601 S2's, DM602 S2's, CDM 1SE's and Nautilus 805's. This exercise taught me one very important lesson; trust your ears, not the reviews! I was ready to be blown away by the 302's after the comments from Stereophile. Major disappointment! The Aegis One's and both 600 series' are light years better in every category. I was very impressed with both of the 600's with the 602 being marginally better than the 601. Both had a full and accurate sound across the whole spectrum minus the very low end. I was looking for much more in terms of fit and finish, however. You get what you pay for. I was turned off by the goofy styling of the CDM 1SE and to my ear they sounded more colored than the 602's and were far less superior to the Proac's. The 805's were both visually and sonically stunning. Three things held me back:

1. Price: diminishing returns kick in big after $1000-1500, in my humble opinion.
2. Compadibility: The seam between the tweeter and mid/bass was very apparent. It seems that the technology/accuracy/speed of the tweeter far outshines that of the mid/bass driver.
3. Transparency: That Nautilus tweeter is almost too good for its own good. Unless you can afford the really, really good stuff on the front end, these things will be very unpleasant with poor recordings.

Next up were the Response 1SC's, Tablette 2000's, Linn Tukan's and Ruark Epilogue's. The Response 1SC's were just like the Tablette's but had that extra dimension of detail retrieval and timbral accuracy. But with my modest electronics (Denon, to be upgraded later) and Pop/Rock listening habits, they were simply too much speaker for too much money. I was wanting to fall in love with the Ruark's for half the price of the Tablette's, but one listen and it was over in an instant. Basically, the Tablette's reminded me of the Magnepan's with their enormous sound stage, deep bass and disappearing act. The Epilogue's reminded me of the 302's, it sounded like I was listening to a small economical speaker, not music. The Linn's fell somewhere in the middle, much better than the Ruark's, much less than the Tablette's. Finish on all three were impeccable.

For me, it comes down to this, does a particular piece of equipment (especially speakers) sound like a piece of equipment or does it sound like a musical performance. In this regard, the Tablette 2000's far exceeded my expectations and continue to do so every time I fire 'em up.

Price independent ranking: 4 stars (yes, the five digit speakers are much better, but who the hell can buy them!)
Value Rating: 5 stars
Overall Rating: 5 stars

???

has commercial base, you know what I mean.

It is a shame that ProAc introduced the new Tablette 2000. It does not have the same characteristics of its predecessor at all.

I had a chance to audition Tablette 2000 and JM Lab Cobalt 806 side by side during the holidays. After the initial "shock" the soundstage and unpure tone dissappoited me, I realized its not Tablette 50 but 2000 version. The sound from it likes what you hear from a Paradigm at $500CDN. In many aspects, JM lab Cobalt806 delivers a pure and precise sound. The human voice is better defined than Tablette2000. Tablette 2000 has somewhat of the width of soundstage. However, there is no depth at all. I felt the voice and instruments were from a flat panel. The tonality is also biased from the original Tablettes (50, 50sig, or II).

It was put on sale for $1150 CDN at the fraction price of its MSRP at $1500 CDN. Cobalt806 sells at the same price. I reluctantly give it 2 stars, because I believe it has some resale value due to the brand - "ProAc".

Avoid it if you look for a quality small monitor. JM Lab, Soliloquy, Totem, and even other ProAc monitors are superior to this.

Similar Products Used:

Soliloquy, Linn Katan, JM Lab Cobalt806, Paradigm Titan

The brand new ProAc Tablette 200s are one of the most talanted speakers in the price range of ~1000-1300$ They are way better sounding speakers than B&WCDM1SE with my Musical Fidelity X-A1. However, these speakers require a looooong
break-in : ~1 month, and they are sensitive to speaker cable quality.
Other than that, a really enjoyable ProAc for all kinds of music: both light rock and classical. They are especially strong with the instruments, and have quite a good bass for their size.

Nice looking and solid cabinets, nice binding posts, "big" sound, clear mids and deep bass

not too many just yet--the highs are a bit rolled off

I just picked up a pair of the Tablette 2000's at a close out and put them in my second *(music + HT) system. I have the ProAc 3.8's in my main system and have become quite familiar with the Pro Ac sound. IMO these are a great speaker for the $700 I paid (but in all honesty did not put them head to head with speaskers in the $1100 MSRP). I am surprised to have read some of the below reviews claiming these speakers did not go deep in bass-----in my set up, with both music and movies the bass was quite extened---if anything I would say that I've experienced the hi's not being as full and clear as the 3.8's and the mids, while nice and clean--smooth and true, also miss some of the detail of the 3.8's. Overall this is a solid speaker.

Hardware:
Classe ssp-25
ATI 1505
Sony 7700 DVD (doubled as music transport)
nht center one
nht super qero's for rears

Software:
TJ Kirk "If four was one"
Frank Zapa "Strictly Genteel"
Steve Vai "Passion and Warfare"
Lenny Kravitz "5"
Any Given Sunday
Gladiator

Similar Products Used:

nht 1.5, focus audio,

A good monitor with smooth high and good bass, reasonable price

Not found for the time being

I was looking for a book shelf with good bass and smooth high for a long time. I found that the B&W CDM1NT and the ProAc Tablette 2000 suit me very much. Both of them are very good and are of similar standard. Since the B&W CDM 1NT is USD370 more expensive than the ProAc Tablette 2000, I chose the ProAc eventually. I hook up the ProAc to my Arcam 8R with the Tara Labs cables, I found that the soundstage is really incredible. The imaging is very good. The sound can extend to very high and is smooth not harsh at all. The bass is good and I regard it as very good for a book shelf speaker. The ProAc is good for jazz and instruments such as violin and cello. I play it with Kenny G CD (Jazz) , Vennesa Mae's Violin CD and Yo Yo Ma's cello CD, it can perform very well. It can play a wide range of music well. A very good monitor at reasonable price, so I will give 5 stars to values and performance.

Similar Products Used:

B&W CDM 1NT

Great tonal balance. Treble is detailed while not harsh.

Bass could be more taut. Midrange could be more detailed.

Setup: I play classical music; chamber, symphonic, operatic. HK FL 8550 cd player -> Rotel RA-972 stereo integrated transistor amp -> 2 Proac Tablette 2000 speakers 8" from one wall of a 15x15x8' high room. The speakers are 6' apart and aimed at a point toward the opposite side of the room.

The Tablette 2000s are less forward and, in my opinion, more listenable than the Signature model. In particular, less trebly. The resulting balance is warm (midrange emphasis). Slightly more mushiness (loss of detail) than the Signature. For example, violins have _less_ texture (they still have realistic texture), but by the same token less stridency and graininess.

Surprisingly realistic soundstage (subject to decent placement) for small speakers. No problem filling this room.

Sensitive to walls: Closer to walls (I compared 4" to 8") they produce more (and slightly boomy) bass.

Similar Products Used:

"bookshelf" speakers: Proac Tablette 2000 Signature, Rega $500 model, B&W $1100 model

Warm and wide open sound

lacks deep bass

I recently purchased a demo pair from a NY dealer. For the price they can not be beat from what I have heard. Easy to drive and sound is wide open, warm and realistic. If you love floor shacking bass needs a subwoofer. Best buy for about $1000 US.

Rega planet CD, Arcam alpha 8R amp and JPS/NBS cables

Similar Products Used:

JMlab, B&W, NHt and Audio Physic

Neutral, Good overall performance

None to me

The improvement from this upgrade (from Mission 771e) is quite significant. The sound is clear, very clear, and it accurately presents the music coming from violin and cello (this is what I like to hear!) Female singers have their voices extended; highs are high but not harsh.

I also use them for AV purpose, but I do not pay much attention on its performance on movies. Rather, the center speaker plays a more important role from my viewpoint.

This pair of speakers already satisfies what I want to hear. I expect a better performance when I upgrade my CD player in the near future. Well, people said the the Tab 2000 Signature is even better, but, sadly, it costs too much too me, and I did not audition it.

a very nice mid range and deep extended bass for such a small speaker. the sound is involving and really draws you into the music. even in a room 26' x 14' they fill room with music. they seem pretty efficient (im using a Naim 45 wpc amp.)with respect to workmanship these speakers are very well built with very good attention to detail. Mine are finished in Mahagony and are really beautilful to look at.

if i had to name one it would be the high end seems to roll off a little but it seems slight.

i m really impressed with the sound of Pro Ac Tab 2000 (non-signatures) they are very musical and involving. And if your budget permits it im sure the Signature versions are even better. (i paid $800 for pair that were bought but never used, the Sigs retail for about $1700). these speakers have an excellent, rich mid-range and reproduce bass very effectively, i was quite surprissed at how low they can go and withou sounding muddy. the only knock i would make is at the very high end, they seem to roll off a bit early for my tastes.
I cant imagine there is a better sounding speaker in this price range. and i cant see paying $2000 for Totem Model 1's or Tabu's at $3000 to achieve the same sound.
i have them paired with Naim Amp and pre-amp, naim cd 3.5 with separate power supply and a Magum Dyanlab FT11 tuner. t
i would have no provblem recomending these speakers and if your in the market for a monitor you owe it to yourself to listen to a pair.

Similar Products Used:

totem model one signatures.