Driving ProAc Response 2 With Solid State

I have had Response 2 for a couple years. Was happy using Krell KST-100 or ARC D-100B driving them until switching to tube. Maybe it's personal bias, I feel that solid state amp is no comparison to tube in driving ProAc. I didn't know what I missed until I got ARC VT-100 and 300B SET mono's.

R2's are not difficult to drive so don't waste money on high wattage solid state. I've heard low priced musical fidelity doing quite decent job. I also suggest that you search tube amp within the same price range. My bias again, I feel that tube beats solid state and SET beats push-pull. Price tag is not the dominate factor for getting good sound.

I happen to have Response 2, 1.5, 2.5 and super tablette in my living room now. With the amps I mentioned above, I feel that 1.5 is better than 2 (playing all kinds of classical and some jazz). You may want to try 1.5 in case you haven't got your 2.

I have a pair of Response 2's that I have driven with both an OCM/Belles 300 solid state amp with a Classe 30 pre-amp and later with an Aragon 2007 (7 x 200 watts) with the Aragon Stage One AV pre-amp.

They sound great with either.

I bought the Aragon's for a surround system with Monitor Audio Gold Reference 20's in front--GR10's as surrounds and the GR center channel with a HSU VTF-3 subwoofer.

Makes for a great surround system--but I still love listening to the ProAc Response 2's in stereo more than anything. And my wife says I should get rid of them along with the OCM and Classe. I think I will cry --the Response 2's are still my fave speakers so I will probably have to sell them, along with the OCM and the Classe to shut her up.

She doesn't want me to put them in the master bedroom. Go figure.

I probably should have bought a surround system with the ProAc's--but my wife will probably commit me if I do that after just buying the Monitor Audio's which she says make her happy--as she likes watching surround sound movies all the time.

G-Man at allchemie@aol.com

The Response 2's have incredible bass, particularly when placed on those incredibly expensive Target stands. I have played them in 2 different rooms--one a huge living room that is 20feet x 30 feet and drove them with the OCM amp with Classe 30 pre-amp and they sounded--still sound--incredible.

My brother would always come over (he's a violinist and a dentist--I'm a cellist) and play a Lindsay Buckingham album with incredible acoustic guitar picking. He'd freak out, swearing that the guitar was just hanging there in mid-air. He'd sit there for hours, much to his wifes dismay, totally transfixed by whatever he put on--be it rock, classical-(everything sounds great, but chamber music is ungodly--sounds like the quartet or quintet came over to play).Other friends would come by and ask--"Where are you hiding the subwoofer"? I got him ProAc Supertablettes years ago--he likes them alot, but they aren't in the same league. Of course, the Supertablettes cost a heckuva lot less and his don't have that beautiful rosewood finish.

I don't know if the speakers are just plain great, or that the combination of them sitting on the Target stands with Blu-Tak made them ethereal.