Proac Original Response 2 VS Response 3

I have heard that the Proac's excell with tubes...but here we go again another upgrade and alot more $ 2-3K for a good tube amp.

I have some older gear which I feel is very good value in audio like the R2. Front End- Goldmund/Meta Research Laser 1 & Convert 1 Xport/Dac, Pre- First Sound Reference II passive, Amp- Eagle 2C SS, Cables-Cardas Quadlink 5C, Digital Cable-Goldmund Lineal, Amp PC-Cardas Golden Power.
I'm not one to join the speaker of the month club but man I wish I could I would buy the 75K kharma's for sale here on the Gon Driven by Tube Research Labs and then Wadia for source. Nothing wrong with dreaming right....

I owned both Respone 2s and 3s. The 3s were a significant upgrade and lost NOTHING in terms of imaging or anything else. They won't give you a really exended low end, but the bass is substantially better than the 2. Both are great speakers. I've seen the 3s for around $2K, which is a real bargain IMO.

I've owned the ProAc 2, 3.5, 3.8, and now the D80. You will find that Audio Research tubed amps sound fabulous with ProAcs and an excellent match. The ProAc 2 is a wonderful speaker but care must be made when matching it to one's system. I found that both cable and amplifier choice really make a difference in the sound. If you are interested in better bass I would pass up the 3 and the 3.5 over the 3.8. I found the 3.8s bass to be significally better than that of the 3.5.

Both the Rseponse 2 and 3 work fabulously well with tubes, IME. My old pair of 2s is now being driven to great success by a friend's 6-watt SET monoblocks. I wouldn't have believed it either. This same amp sounded great with my 3s as well.

RLF;
My friend is trading his 3.8,s for D-80,s and i'm trading my 3.5,s for his 3.8's. any thoughts? Just how good are the new D-80,s?
Thanks, Mike