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After nearly 20 years, I left Magnepan and went ProAc

Listened to proac d48r's a few weeks ago and fell in love at first listen. After a couple of days I got my wife to sign my "permission slip" and took the plunge and they now reside where my 1.6 once stood.  You see, I've never heard a speaker literally mesmerize me and engage me like this before.  Sure the Maggie's have a huge image and soundstage and transparency, but these Proacs simply sound more like a real event, with dynamics and palpability, with a more refined and true sound.  The images are much more dense.   

I only have 48 hours on them so they are nowhere near their final voice, but they are breaking in nicely.  The manual says they require a lengthy break in.  I pulled out my old marantz cd-5000 to do the break in honors and will run these straight for a week or two and then taper off with normal listening.   

One thing I dont care for are the spikes. They have these little slits that aid in tightening, but no tool to go around them, so I can't get a good tightening with just my fingers.......so the spikes jiggle.  When I check  I can hear the spike and lock but chatter, and   this is not helping my  stability or sound.  Any sugesstions to tighten them right would be helpful. Thanks.  Cheers to a new chapter!   Wanted to share my excitement with you.  So grateful and never thought I would have speakers like This.  It feels like a dream!

audiolover718
gnostalgick
88 posts
 
Congratulations!
One of my dream speakers.
audiolover718 OP
132 posts
 
Gnostalgick-

Thanks. They will need some finessing to harness the sound from them. I’m using a an arc ds450 with them, and it is immensely powerful with a 90db efficient speaker. 550 wpc into 4 ohms-I needed it for the Maggies, not so sure it’s necessary with the proacs. It’s hard being patient, but I can hear the glimmer or greatness peaking through. With 3 days on them, they aren’t cooked at all. They don’t sound anywhere near as good as the dealer setup, and that is my ultimate goal. It’s a whole new endeavour now, but one I’m excited to partake in.
jperry
2,453 posts
 
Audiolover718,

Many say that Proac speakers sound best with tubes, and they certainly do sound great. I have used my current and past Proac speakers with a variety of tube amplifiers and a few solid state amps as well. IME the best sounding amp I have used with mine is the Aesthetix Atlas, which is a hybrid amp consisting of a tube front end and solid state output devices. I think the ability of the solid state output to control and power the bass is a big plus. I would guess that your system sounds great with the ARC amplifier.

Let them break in for a while and have fun optimizing your system.

Best Regards,

Jim Perry
sbrownnw
705 posts
 
I love my ProAc Studio 148s and experience the same realness that you mention, especially with double reeds and strings.

Try some Soundocity SEV9 outriggers.  Is what I use under my 148s.  Better stability and you use a bolt and washer to mount the outrigger to the factory spike location so a gentle socket tighten is a perfect way to make sure everything is tight (but not too tight).  Plus, with the "from the top" adjustable spike design of the SEV9 outriggers, placement is easy and then just screw in the spikes.

You can see pictures of this setup and my system details on my system page.
sfall
346 posts
 
" Any sugesstions to tighten them right would be helpful. "

Get an assortment of rubber O rings from an auto parts store. If they're not sure what kind, tell them to give you the ones that go on A/C lines.

Pick a size that best fits your feet and use it like you would a washer. Having the rubber o ring in between the 2 hard metal surfaces will allow you to get a much tighter fit by hand. It works the same way the o ring on an oil filter does.
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