The bass control is better with the Aesthetix Atlas, but they sound great with tubes. It really depends on the type of music you select. For small jazz, female vocals, folk music, etc the Quicksilver amps are tough to beat.
ProAc sound with SS vs tubes
Folks
I am close to buying a Proac D20R. I listened to them at the dealership yesterday, driven by a low power PrimaLuna tube amp, and was totally gobsmacked by the glorious midrange. When I get them, I will be driving them with something very similar - an EL34 powered 40w/ch tube amp. So I have a feeling they will perform close to how they sounded at the dealership!
The one caveat was that at the demo, when I played a bass-heavy electronic track and pulled the volume up, the bass started to get flabby and the port started "huffing". I don’t know if that is the technical term, but it felt like the speaker was losing grip on the bass and starting to lose control of the lowest frequencies with the synthesized bass jabs losing their timing. The track was Algae & Fungi, Part I - by Biosphere from the album Cirque, in case anyone is interested.
Based on that, my question is: is this something that is inherent to the speaker? I plan to switch my tube amp to a SS of significantly higher wattage soon. I am thinking either Ayre-V5xe, or the Hegel H-20 or one maybe even a Plinius-SA102 or SA-103 if I can find one at a reasonable price.
Can any Proac owners tell me if the bass response will tighten up with more power and a SS amp behind the speakers? Or is this a limitation of the D20R’s design that it’s bass response will not be well controlled with tracks that are bass heavy and highly rhythmic?
Thank you so much!
I am close to buying a Proac D20R. I listened to them at the dealership yesterday, driven by a low power PrimaLuna tube amp, and was totally gobsmacked by the glorious midrange. When I get them, I will be driving them with something very similar - an EL34 powered 40w/ch tube amp. So I have a feeling they will perform close to how they sounded at the dealership!
The one caveat was that at the demo, when I played a bass-heavy electronic track and pulled the volume up, the bass started to get flabby and the port started "huffing". I don’t know if that is the technical term, but it felt like the speaker was losing grip on the bass and starting to lose control of the lowest frequencies with the synthesized bass jabs losing their timing. The track was Algae & Fungi, Part I - by Biosphere from the album Cirque, in case anyone is interested.
Based on that, my question is: is this something that is inherent to the speaker? I plan to switch my tube amp to a SS of significantly higher wattage soon. I am thinking either Ayre-V5xe, or the Hegel H-20 or one maybe even a Plinius-SA102 or SA-103 if I can find one at a reasonable price.
Can any Proac owners tell me if the bass response will tighten up with more power and a SS amp behind the speakers? Or is this a limitation of the D20R’s design that it’s bass response will not be well controlled with tracks that are bass heavy and highly rhythmic?
Thank you so much!
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- 20 posts total
@badri, I would recommend the following setup, which I am using with my Studio 148s,
to possibly help tighten up the bass you are concerned about: Soundocity SEV9 outriggers: http://www.soundocity.com/economical_products.html I like them as they are easy to level the speakers as the spikes adjust from the top. Use them under the supplied ProAc plinth and do not use the supplied ProAc spikes. Some speaker spike floor protectors like the discs shown here (unfortunate they do not sell just the protectors separately: http://www.amazon.com/Sewell-Speaker-Spikes-4-Pack/dp/B0080JCMS6 8 hockey pucks from a sporting goods store (I got mine from Sports Authority). The hockey pucks rest on my carpet with the metal speaker spike protectors on top of the hockey pucks and then the Soundocity SEV9 rest on the floor protectors. Easy to level and I really think this setup lets the downward firing port breathe and have the right distance between the floor and the port flare. |
I know I'm a little late to this thread, but I wanted to throw in my 2 cents worth. I owned the D20r's and experienced the same issue with the bass using both tube and ss amps. The midrange and imaging are amazing, but I was able to move up to the D30r's in the last couple months and it's in another league sonically than the 20's. It's a more refined speaker all around and absolutely no issues with the bass. Very tight, deep and clean. It's definitely a big step up in my opinion and doesn't lose any of the midrange or imaging Magic Proacs are known for. |
- 20 posts total