Sounder10 Posted March 20 Author Posted March 20 38 minutes ago, andyr said: A mate of mine has some ProAc standmounts. He found they needed an amp which was able to drive 4 ohm spkrs well - he's currently using a pair of AKSA 'Soraya' monoblocs (100w into 8 ohms / 190w into 4 ohms). Hugh's latest equivalent amp - the 'Titan' - should be equivalent; both of these require a preamp. A new amp which should also drive your ProAcs well is the (Australian-made) March Audio P282 ... although you would also need to buy a preamp. Mark ( @mwhouston ) should be able to build you one for not a lot. Or used ... if you can find a used Musical Fidelity M5Si, it should also drive them well. Given your suggestions, it seems like it's current that matters in an amp. Would that be correct?
andyr Posted March 20 Posted March 20 5 minutes ago, Sounder10 said: Given your suggestions, it seems like it's current that matters in an amp. Would that be correct? For ProAc stand-mounts, yes! (A current-full amp can generally double down - or nearly so - into 4 ohms.)
buddyev Posted March 20 Posted March 20 I am proac owner Andy mentioned. I’ve owned several Proac standmounts - 1s, 1 sc and db1. theyre really not that fussy or hard to drive, but they are high quality speakers which definitely reward better amplification. Id say don’t worry too much about loads of power but definitely don’t skimp on quality. As Andy said, I’m using Aksa monos and an primaLuna pre and they’re brilliant. I also have 2 svs subs - I mainly listen to jazz and acoustic music but they really add a lot. the proacs also sound great on my Weston topaz kt120 valve amp. 2
Sounder10 Posted Thursday at 12:34 PM Author Posted Thursday at 12:34 PM 3 hours ago, buddyev said: I am proac owner Andy mentioned. I’ve owned several Proac standmounts - 1s, 1 sc and db1. theyre really not that fussy or hard to drive, but they are high quality speakers which definitely reward better amplification. Id say don’t worry too much about loads of power but definitely don’t skimp on quality. As Andy said, I’m using Aksa monos and an primaLuna pre and they’re brilliant. I also have 2 svs subs - I mainly listen to jazz and acoustic music but they really add a lot. the proacs also sound great on my Weston topaz kt120 valve amp. That's interesting. Which svs in particular? I was considering a pair of Rel T/7x
buddyev Posted Thursday at 11:48 PM Posted Thursday at 11:48 PM 10 hours ago, Sounder10 said: That's interesting. Which svs in particular? I was considering a pair of Rel T/7x My study is a similar size to yours - 4.5x 3.5 m. I listen mainly to acoustic music: a lot of jazz, classical music - more piano and string quartet than big symphonic. I rarely play loud. I'm not familiar with your speakers but those older Proacs are classics and worth taking care of. I have Proac DB1 standmounts combined with 2 SVS sb1000 - they provide pretty much the best sound I've had in this situation - tone, micro dynamics, staging - musicality over grunt. The subs aren't subterranean but they will pump it out if I want them to. They are a relative bargain and TBH I think anything bigger in this size of space would be overkill. As for dacs, thats a minefield of differing opinions. My two cents worth is don't go over the top with a dac - the amp is where you should put your money. The difference in dacs - assuming they're doing what they're supposed to do and not junk, of course - is subtle. I have a Holo Spring 3 in my main system - it's excellent and exxy. I also have a Topping D50 (a few hundred bucks)) going usb direct from my laptop. It's simple, works beautifully and sounds very good. Comparing the two dacs back to back in the same system its really not night and day. The other massive improvement you can make if you're streaming is to use the convolution software in Roon, if you use it. You'll get better results than trebling your dac cost. Others will have quite different views, but this is my conclusion in my system after 10 years or so of fiddling and gradual improvement.
Sounder10 Posted Thursday at 11:56 PM Author Posted Thursday at 11:56 PM 4 minutes ago, buddyev said: My study is a similar size to yours - 4.5x 3.5 m. I listen mainly to acoustic music: a lot of jazz, classical music - more piano and string quartet than big symphonic. I rarely play loud. I'm not familiar with your speakers but those older Proacs are classics and worth taking care of. I have Proac DB1 standmounts combined with 2 SVS sb1000 - they provide pretty much the best sound I've had in this situation - tone, micro dynamics, staging - musicality over grunt. The subs aren't subterranean but they will pump it out if I want them to. They are a relative bargain and TBH I think anything bigger in this size of space would be overkill. As for dacs, thats a minefield of differing opinions. My two cents worth is don't go over the top with a dac - the amp is where you should put your money. The difference in dacs - assuming they're doing what they're supposed to do and not junk, of course - is subtle. I have a Holo Spring 3 in my main system - it's excellent and exxy. I also have a Topping D50 (a few hundred bucks)) going usb direct from my laptop. It's simple, works beautifully and sounds very good. Comparing the two dacs back to back in the same system its really not night and day. The other massive improvement you can make if you're streaming is to use the convolution software in Roon, if you use it. You'll get better results than trebling your dac cost. Others will have quite different views, but this is my conclusion in my system after 10 years or so of fiddling and gradual improvement. I will audition these subs, thank you. Have you seen a British Audiophile on Youtube. He's had the Proac 1SCs for 20 years. I notice there is a Luxman M-06 for sale here. Do think that amp would complement a Proac speaker for listening to a variety of genres? (weighted towards vocals an instruments)
buddyev Posted Friday at 03:24 AM Posted Friday at 03:24 AM (edited) 3 hours ago, Sounder10 said: I will audition these subs, thank you. Have you seen a British Audiophile on Youtube. He's had the Proac 1SCs for 20 years. I notice there is a Luxman M-06 for sale here. Do think that amp would complement a Proac speaker for listening to a variety of genres? (weighted towards vocals an instruments) Yes, he loves his Proacs. I'm also a proac fanboy - particularly the small standmounts. I had the 1s followed by the 1sc. I now have the 1db. The midlevel proac floorstanders are nice but they lack that incredible imaging, and the bass is a little woofy. Small speakers with the bass laid off to subs is a winner for me every time. For a couple of years I had a pair of B&W 805d3 which replaced the 1sc. Last year for fun I invited my hifi brainstrust around to compare the 1sc - which i'd relegated to TV duties - with the B&W. Would a 20 year speaker match it with a new design?. The B&W is considerably bigger and probably a better speaker objectively. It was certainly capable of going louder without distortion and it was more dynamic - but we all preferred the musicality and amazing imaging of the Proacs. It was a quite unexpected result. I lived with both for few months to confirm my impressions - I ended up selling the B&Ws. Sorry, I don't know the Luxman. As I said, I think any quality amp is going to do a nice job but Class A or valve amps have different flavours and might reinforce the slower and less dynamic elements of the older proacs. That may or not be to your taste. If I was going to replace my current ampification without spending a motza I'd buy something like this https://marchaudio.com/product/p482-stereo-power-amplifier/ and (as long as you only need a digital source) a combined dac/preamp. They're quite industrial and maybe not as sexy looking but these new class D amps are very very good. I had one in my system for a while to compare with an Elektra and a Sanders Magtech - I preferred the Magtech (new $12K and my absolute favourite amp) - but the gap was small and I could happily live with the March. And they're relatively future proofed - they'll drive any future speaker (your proacs are pretty old and won't last forever) and there won't be expensive repairs. Edited Friday at 03:31 AM by buddyev 1
Cafad Posted Sunday at 11:46 AM Posted Sunday at 11:46 AM (edited) Your listening plan seems to be very near field, your speakers about 70cm from you if I'm reading things right, and not loud at 50db. Are you sure you need subs? (only my opinion of course) https://www.stereophile.com/content/proac-response-two-loudspeaker-measurements Those Proacs seem easy to drive but not very sensitive. Probably a good combination for low volume listening, for high volume you would need some serious current but if you are going to use a sub anyway then you will be removing at least most of the "need for serious current" from whatever amp you choose. That should leave you with a lot of choice. If I were you I'd be borrowing an amp from someone who lives nearby and giving it a run, then let us know what you thought and what you would like improved. That way we will all have a baseline to work with. Edited Sunday at 11:47 AM by Cafad stoopid tippos
Sounder10 Posted Sunday at 12:01 PM Author Posted Sunday at 12:01 PM 7 minutes ago, Cafad said: Your listening plan seems to be very near field, your speakers about 70cm from you if I'm reading things right, and not loud at 50db. Are you sure you need subs? (only my opinion of course) https://www.stereophile.com/content/proac-response-two-loudspeaker-measurements Those Proacs seem easy to drive but not very sensitive. Probably a good combination for low volume listening, for high volume you would need some serious current but if you are going to use a sub anyway then you will be removing at least most of the "need for serious current" from whatever amp you choose. That should leave you with a lot of choice. If I were you I'd be borrowing an amp from someone who lives nearby and giving it a run, then let us know what you thought and what you would like improved. That way we will all have a baseline to work with. Hello, thank you for the advice. The first amp I have tested is the Nilai500DIY x 2 monoblocks. Using an old Motu M2 interface from PC using XLR cables. Sounds great. These are the first speakers that don't trigger massive bass issues in my room. Perhaps it's the heavy steel stands and dense cabinet. I have pushed everything back to get better separation. 120cm away now. I'm thinking I should pay-up for a pre-amp DAC as well. The Gustard R26 comes recommended from the fellow who sold me the amps.
Sounder10 Posted Sunday at 12:02 PM Author Posted Sunday at 12:02 PM 1 minute ago, Sounder10 said: Hello, thank you for the advice. The first amp I have tested is the Nilai500DIY x 2 monoblocks. Using an old Motu M2 interface from PC using XLR cables. Sounds great. These are the first speakers that don't trigger massive bass issues in my room. Perhaps it's the heavy steel stands and dense cabinet. I have pushed everything back to get better separation. 120cm away now. I'm thinking I should pay-up for a pre-amp DAC as well. The Gustard R26 comes recommended from the fellow who sold me the amps. Another really nice feature is the clarity and warmth at very low levels.
075Congo Posted Sunday at 08:31 PM Posted Sunday at 08:31 PM Looking through the SNA Classifieds my suggestion is the PS AUDIO Stellar Strata Integrated (built in DAC) for $2400......PS Audio make excellent audio gear and with 150 watts per channel will really make any speaker sing. Cheers
andyr Posted Sunday at 10:06 PM Posted Sunday at 10:06 PM 10 hours ago, Cafad said: ... but if you are going to use a sub anyway then you will be removing at least most of the "need for serious current" from whatever amp you choose. That should leave you with a lot of choice. That's if you do it properly and apply a HP filter to the signal going to the amp driving the 'mains'. I suspect many (at least 50%?) people with sub(s) run their mains full-range, with the sub(s) merely augmenting the lowest frequencies.
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