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Proac Studio 125s

I am considering buying these little guys because I love the Proac sound, but cannot afford to move up to the Response series. However, I have not really had a chance to compare them with much of competition. I am concerned that at this price point, I probably have a lot of very good options of which I may not be aware.

The question is: At their price point, do the 125s offer enough of the Proac sound to be good value, or are there other speakers out there that offer more of the strengths of the higher level Proacs at the same or lesser cost?

As a sidenote, the Proacs do have the advantage of high WAF. My wife likes the ebony veneers as much as I like the way they sound. So please avoid suggesting aesthetically challenged alternatives :-)

Thanks for your input.
curbach
sfar's avatar
sfar
1,773 posts
 

The Studio 150's are driven by all-McCormack electronics, SST-1 transport, DAC-1, TLC-1 and DNA 0.5 Deluxe.

It would be tough to pick just three recordings. A few of the ones that sound great to me are; Talking Timbuktu - Ali Farka Toure and Ry Cooder, Temptations - Holly Cole, Breaking Silence - Janis Ian, Wicked Grin - John Hammond.
curbach OP
84 posts
 
Thanks for the suggestions. Sadly, the 150s seem to be rather scarce and none of the 1.5 sellers are taking credit cards/paypal (don't really want to plunk down that kind of cash--makes me feel naked). I may yet end up with the 125s--that way I can still get my choice of veneer. If you're going to spend that much money, you may as well get the veneer you want, eh? I'll try to hold out and monitor the various on-line sales a bit longer, but the money is starting to burn a hole in my pocket.

By the way, a related question for the Proac afficionados here: why don't British reviewers ever seem to like Proacs? American and Asian reviews are always glowing, but the Brits always seem to find fault. I also understand Proacs sell much better on this (the U.S.) side of the Atlantic. Any theories on this phenomena?
gumbydammit
186 posts
 
Good question on the reviews. This is the first time I have been informed of this since I never read reviews.

Why do you read reviews?
gunbei
2,327 posts
 
Interesting. I never knew that British reviews of ProAcs weren't as positive as in the US. Is it because they like the B&W sound more as a whole? I guess the warm, romantic sound is more to the liking of us Yanks.
gumbydammit
186 posts
 
Warm? Romantic? Hmmm
I find the stuff from B&W to be a bit rolled of actually, while the Tabs in my living room are certainly "all there".
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