ProAC 2.5 users please share experience on amp

Thanks all for the inputs. Hi, Dean, do you think SS + Tube Pre is a good match for proAC 2.5 ?? this option could mostly likly be done within my budget. But now, it seemd that everyone agree with that ARC is good match~~ ...

Any more comments, discussion~

Thanks,

Hi Derick, so far my personal preference for driving the three ProAc speakers I own has been with a tube preamp/solid state amp combo. But I should say that I have never tried an all tube set up, and I am very curious about this idea.

There are so many great tube amps out there, but some of the ones I've considered are all over the spectrum such as the Wright Sound Mono 10s or WPA3.5s, Bruce Moore Dual 70, VAC Standard 105/105 or Avatar Super, etc...

I have heard ARC amps paired with ProAc speakers once. It was at the 2003 CES show at Alexis Park. A pair of ARC VTM200s were driving ProAc D80s. The sound was organic, and the speakers disappeared, but I thought some spark was missing from the music. It lacked some life. It really isn't fair to make concrete judges of equipment at shows like this, but it's my only experience with this combo.

Which combo were you thinking of getting?

Maybe something like an ARC LS7 mated to a McCormack DNA.5 could be a great place to start. Both pieces for about $1300-1400 total. With your budget maybe you could go to the DNA1 or try something else.

I think the key question is, what kind of sonic presentation are you currently getting with the Cary and what were you hoping to improve?

Contrary to what some have tried to say here, the Proac tweeters are not "glarey" (sic). They only sound harsh with crappy equipment upstream. (CD, pre, amp or cables) I have heard them sound great with the proper electronics, including transistors.

However, as others have said, Proacs are power hungry, so if you want to use a tube amp, it should have some good power, especially if you want to listen to them loud.

I did not comment on the tweeters, just two particular models which I had in my house for audition - Tablette Sig. and 1SC. Both had an inner hardness, glare, that I could not ameliorate with positioning, different amp, etc. The Tablettes drove my wife (who is no audiophile but has superb ears for good music making) from the room. She said the 1SCs were least bad with nice transparency but many instruments sounded hard. I auditioned the 1SCs long after buying the 2.5s which never ever once sounded hard or "glarey".

I don't think the tweeters are the problem, I think it's something in the crossover btw woofer and tweeter, or the woofer itself, or something in the cabinet. But I first, way back in 1996, auditioned the Response 2S at home which was anything but hard or lean. One night my wife and I came home from the ballet and I told her I had to listen to the speakers because they were going back in a couple days. She sat down with me and we listened to two full ballets. Next thing we knew it was 2:00am. The 2Ss seemed to put a golden glow in music that was addictive but I couldn't get them to rock so back they went.

I ended up with the 2.5s after hearing them with everything from 300Bs and 20wt SS (Accuphase) to 150wt tubes. They were superb and played all types of music, at least to my ears, wonderfully. My wife also loved them and they never, not once, glared or honked at me. I didn't find them power hungry at all but then I use a small room.

Not surprised about detecting a lack of life with ARC gear as that has been my experience with their stuff for 20 years. Back then I was a C-J person as most of us were one or the other, sort of like 40 years ago being either a Beatles or Stones fan.

That's really interesting Tomryan.

Your system must be much more revealing than mine because I perceive smaller differences between the three speakers.

In my rig, the Tab 50 Sigs were definitely the "wild" guys of the three. The 1SCs more mature. And the 2.5s add the bottom end both monitors lack. When I first hooked up the 2.5s I felt they were like the 1SCs, but with more bottom end. I didn't perceive any of them to be offensive, but it could be because my system is biased towards the darker side of neutral. And strangely, I felt the floorstanders disappeared better than the 1SCs.

It must be all the loose clothes lying around. The Acoustic Slop Factor.