yes Cellorover, the controversy begins
actually, no, were kinda from the same camp :) As good at the 1SC is, I could understand falling out of love with this speaker without a sub. And I have heard comments that the 1SC is better than other speakers up the Response line. What I found, and I had the 1SC, 1.5 and 2.5 all at the same time, was that room and equipment had a lot to do with getting the best from these. In a nutshell, the 1SC does do better than the 2.5 in my smaller room on average equipment. But put in a larger space, on better equipment, there really is no comparison. Its just my opinion, but I would go so far as to say the 2.5 is one of the finest two way speaker systems ever built. They do, however, require a fairly decent commitment in ancillary equipment otherwise they just wont show their capability. Your comment about the bass I also understand. Some people (including myself), hear too much at times. But this speaker is just too good in so many other ways to abandon it for something that can be easily worked around (traps or placement or choice of music). ProAcs are not perfect, but they are non compromising, and what they do well, they do well magically. BTW, I found the 1.5 to be outrageous on vocals, but like the bookshelf, it ultimately needed a sub. Because the 1SC is better on the top end, you might as well have that with the sub. It was no surprise to me that ProAc changed this model to address a lean bottom end. As a former close to full retail payer of new Meadowlark speakers, I have only appreciation for their stuff, and never once had any purchase regrets. But I must say that no Meadowlarks that Ive ever listened to sound as good as the 1SCs properly subbed. Of course youre looking at around $2200 used (speakers, sub, and dont forget the stands). With the price of used Kestrels and Sheerwaters being what they are, I can fully understand that buying a pair of these is somewhat of a no brainer.
