New ProAc D30 speaker - a leak?

SpursGator

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I was just perusing the Audio Affair site and I saw that there is a major change to the ProAc Reponse range coming. Funny thing is, there is no mention of it on the ProAc site. Was there an announcement that I missed? Audio Affair has published details of the speaker and photos but did they jump the gun? A Google search turns up nothing but a reference to the 'newly announced' D30s in March.

They look like replacements, at long last, for the D28s. The setup looks roughly the same as the D40 except with only one midbass driver, and an identical choice of ribbon or dome tweeters. The midbass looks the same as the cabon-fibre D40 driver except the description says that it has a polypropylene coating on the back of the cone. MSRP is a cool 4500 quid - over a grand higher than the D28. Wow.
 

SpursGator

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David@FrankHarvey said:
D28's are not being discontinued - they're currently one of ProAc's most popular speakers!

I know, but they are also the member of the Response range that have gone the longest since the last refresh. If the D28s stay in the range, there will be three '6+1' floorstanders in the range. I see how the D18 is very different from the D28 but it's hard to see both a D28 and a D30 in the same lineup. And the numbering would seem to indicate it as well (they didn't keep the D25 when the D28 was released, or keep the D15 after the D18 was released).

David, can you share anymore info about this product release? Has ProAc announced anything?
 

Frank Harvey

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The D28 does continue.

The D30 and D30R (ribbon tweeter) will be available from mid June. The D30 will be £4500, and the D30R will be £4750 (standard finishes).

After the D40 was released, we sold off our D28's expecting those to change too, and over a year later we got them back in, as we we're (repeatedly) told they weren't going to change (we didn't believe them!). I'm glad we did get them back in, as they're a great sounding speaker.

So there you go :)
 

SpursGator

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Thanks for the info David - it is very interesting. They have always had three floorstanders in the Response range so I assumed they wouldn't go to four. But they have staked out a price point well north of the D28 so looks like this is the plan.

The 2.5 / 25 / 28 is a bit of a classic. Surely there will continue to be a market for it.

Since this thread probably will attract people looking for ProAcs, I have another question for you. I demoed the D18 and the D28 at the same time in my home - I kept them for three weeks and in the end chose the D18s. My impression was that the D28 had better bass, obviously, but that the D18's midrange was quite a bit better. I think that a lot of people view the D28 as a D18 with better bass, but as you know this is not the case at all - the speakers have very different personalities. Not only did I prefer the overall voicing of the D18 but I didn't really like the 'better' bass of the D28s - the low notes were loud but they suffered from a very boomy character - I felt like I could hear too much of the bass-reflex port. This is more down to my listening setup than any real problem with the speakers - I was sitting too close to them. Even the WHF review notes that they need quite a bit of space to work well and I don't have enough. the D18s, in other words, worked better for my room.

The question: To your ears, is the D40's character more comparable to either of its little brothers, or is it completely different? I'm sure that the bass is another level due to the 2.5-way design, but what about the midrange? Is it better than the D18? I am very curious as to what the D30 can bring to the table that the D18/D28 does not. Clearly they think it's a grand better; I have my doubts simply due to the limitations of the 2-way design. What are you expecting from the D30 that might get your customers to part with an additional thousand quid?
 

Frank Harvey

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ISAC69 said:
David@FrankHarvey said:
The D28 does continue. The D30 and D30R (ribbon tweeter) will be available from mid June. The D30 will be £4500, and the D30R will be £4750 (standard finishes). After the D40 was released, we sold off our D28's expecting those to change too, and over a year later we got them back in, as we we're (repeatedly) told they weren't going to change (we didn't believe them!). I'm glad we did get them back in, as they're a great sounding speaker.So there you go :)

Hi David

Is ther much difference between the Studio 140 mk2 to the Response  D18 and between the D18 to D28 ? 

There is. The Studio 140's seem to follow the more recent move towards a faster, more exciting sound compared to older ProAc models. Listen to the 140's and you'll hear more of an 'immediate' sound to them, rather than the richer, warmer presentation of the likes of the D18's. Again, the D28's are part of the 'older' sound, so more like the D18's, but there is quite a difference in bass presence between the two. I think most people expect the D18 and D28 to be fairly similar, just a "bit more", seeing as the D28's are a little bigger, but they're almost an entirely different speaker.
 

Frank Harvey

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SpursGator said:
Thanks for the info David - it is very interesting. They have always had three floorstanders in the Response range so I assumed they wouldn't go to four. But they have staked out a price point well north of the D28 so looks like this is the plan.

The 2.5 / 25 / 28 is a bit of a classic. Surely there will continue to be a market for it.

Since this thread probably will attract people looking for ProAcs, I have another question for you. I demoed the D18 and the D28 at the same time in my home - I kept them for three weeks and in the end chose the D18s. My impression was that the D28 had better bass, obviously, but that the D18's midrange was quite a bit better. I think that a lot of people view the D28 as a D18 with better bass, but as you know this is not the case at all - the speakers have very different personalities. Not only did I prefer the overall voicing of the D18 but I didn't really like the 'better' bass of the D28s - the low notes were loud but they suffered from a very boomy character - I felt like I could hear too much of the bass-reflex port. This is more down to my listening setup than any real problem with the speakers - I was sitting too close to them. Even the WHF review notes that they need quite a bit of space to work well and I don't have enough. the D18s, in other words, worked better for my room.

Most people will have a personal preference when it comes to speakers, and some will prefer what they've been used to. While there will always be benefits with the next model up - whether technical or not - some may actually prefer the 'lesser' model. As an example, I prefer the balance of the KEF Reference 201/2's over the Reference 203/2's - the 203/2's will be technically better, but my preference says otherwise. It has always been the case and always will that some people may prefer the model that is supposedly inferior.

The question: To your ears, is the D40's character more comparable to either of its little brothers, or is it completely different? I'm sure that the bass is another level due to the 2.5-way design, but what about the midrange? Is it better than the D18? I am very curious as to what the D30 can bring to the table that the D18/D28 does not. Clearly they think it's a grand better; I have my doubts simply due to the limitations of the 2-way design. What are you expecting from the D30 that might get your customers to part with an additional thousand quid?

The ribbon tweeter really does sweeten things up in comparison to the dome tweeters used in the other models, which has a 'bit of an edge' to it - some will prefer this, some won't. As this is not an option on the D28, this in itself might be enough so sway some people, but with the extra mid/bass driver you're halving the work that one driver has to deal with as well as reducing distortion, reducing driver travel and in doing so producing a tighter bass, and you also get the benefits of the d'Appolito style driver arrangement. You also have the more recently developed carbon fibre mid/bass drivers, and the same style bass loading as the D40, which is different to the D18 and D28. On top of that you also have whatever other small changes ProAc have made to this specific model.

Obviously we've yet to hear them, but seeing as the D30's have more in common with the D40's than the D28's, there should be a worthwhile difference between them. We'll see when they land in store :)
 

matt49

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I had a very quick listen to the Proac D30Rs this morning, when I was at my local dealer's on other business. I thought they sounded gorgeous, very smooth and silky, with a lovely sweet tone. What I'd call 'grown-up' speakers, with no in-yer-face brightness. Admittedly it was only a couple of minutes, and the dealer said they were still running in, but I'll certainly be giving them a proper audition once I've decided on my amp.

Matt
 
matt49 said:
I had a very quick listen to the Proac D30Rs this morning, when I was at my local dealer's on other business. I thought they sounded gorgeous, very smooth and silky, with a lovely sweet tone. What I'd call 'grown-up' speakers, with no in-yer-face brightness. Admittedly it was only a couple of minutes, and the dealer said they were still running in, but I'll certainly be giving them a proper audition once I've decided on my amp.

Matt

Hi Matt

Nice one
smiley-smile.gif


Btw, what electronics did you hear the D30R's with please?

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft
 

igloo audio

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Hi Matt,

Very good description of its sound.

The ProAc rep visited us with the D30R last week. We were using a Stello Ai700 integrated amplfier @ £4.5k and they sounded stunning, especially when using a Mac Mini/Auralic DSD DAC.

It's a dream upgrade over the D18!

Peter
 

ErikM

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Hi new user here.. I just ordered the D30R to replace my D2.. I'm currently using an Ayon Spirit MKIII .. It's 60 watts in pentode and 30 watts in triode. I can say that in pentode it could drive the D2 to very loud and clean levels, sounding much like the 200 watt Plinus it replaced. I'm hoping it will drive the D30R's ok.. any thoughts or opinions?
 

CnoEvil

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ErikM said:
Hi new user here.. I just ordered the D30R to replace my D2.. I'm currently using an Ayon Spirit MKIII .. It's 60 watts in pentode and 30 watts in triode. I can say that in pentode it could drive the D2 to very loud and clean levels, sounding much like the 200 watt Plinus it replaced. I'm hoping it will drive the D30R's ok.. any thoughts or opinions?

I think you will be fine, and very fine it should sound too........so you tell us when you have all set up.

BTW. Welcome to the forum.
 

ErikM

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Thanks all...The Ayon is a great amp.. and it's really nice to have the two different modes. In triode it's wonderfully open and airy sounding, great for jazz and vocals. In pentode it's dynamic and punchy but still very musical.

I'll be glad to post my impressions of the D30R's. I've just ordered them and unfortunatly I'll most likley have to wait until the end of August or early September to recieve them since I wanted the maple finish and have to wait for them to arrive from the UK.. (i'm in the US)
 

ISAC69

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David@FrankHarvey said:
The D28 does continue.

The D30 and D30R (ribbon tweeter) will be available from mid June. The D30 will be £4500, and the D30R will be £4750 (standard finishes).

After the D40 was released, we sold off our D28's expecting those to change too, and over a year later we got them back in, as we we're (repeatedly) told they weren't going to change (we didn't believe them!). I'm glad we did get them back in, as they're a great sounding speaker.

So there you go :)

Hi David

Is there big difference between the Studio 140 mk2 to the Response D18 and between the D18 to the D28 ?
 

ErikM

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Well after an extremely long wait I finally got my D30R.. and simply put these speakers are amazing.. If you're heard any of the Proac's that use the dome tweeter or the older non carbon fibre woofers you are in for a treat because these are simply in another league. I'm sure the lucky few who have the D40R or K6 or Carbon series know what I mean. The ribbon is ravashing, it's detailed but sweet the utter lack of grain and glare and apparent blackness are astonding.. the whole speaker just seems much quieter music coming from this organic blackness.. Midrange is all Proac magic . Images just float free from the speakers hell eveything just seems to emerge.. it's like there's just no speaker there.. focus, speed all the good stuff but it's utterly natural just so easy to listen to.. I can't really comment on the bass yet I only have about 25 hours on them and I've been told the carbon fibre woofer need a good 200 hours to really come on song, but frankley if the speakers never got any better I'd be thrilled. I've owned numerous Proac's . The original reponse 2, 3, 3.5, tabletts, studio 100, D25 and most recently D2.. these are far and away the best I've owned.. If you are a Proac fan you owe it to your self to go for a listen.. and try and hear them with tubes or pure class A, you won't be disappointed...
 

ISAC69

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ErikM said:
Well after an extremely long wait I finally got my D30R.. and simply put these speakers are amazing.. If you're heard any of the Proac's that use the dome tweeter or the older non carbon fibre woofers you are in for a treat because these are simply in another league. I'm sure the lucky few who have the D40R or K6 or Carbon series know what I mean. The ribbon is ravashing, it's detailed but sweet the utter lack of grain and glare and apparent blackness are astonding.. the whole speaker just seems much quieter music coming from this organic blackness.. Midrange is all Proac magic . Images just float free from the speakers hell eveything just seems to emerge.. it's like there's just no speaker there.. focus, speed all the good stuff but it's utterly natural just so easy to listen to.. I can't really comment on the bass yet I only have about 25 hours on them and I've been told the carbon fibre woofer need a good 200 hours to really come on song, but frankley if the speakers never got any better I'd be thrilled. I've owned numerous Proac's . The original reponse 2, 3, 3.5, tabletts, studio 100, D25 and most recently D2.. these are far and away the best I've owned.. If you are a Proac fan you owe it to your self to go for a listen.. and try and hear them with tubes or pure class A, you won't be disappointed...

Glad you liked them !

what amplification you use for them ?
 

floyd droid

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Who cares as there is a far more important questions to raise. Whats the difference between 'apparent blackness' and 'organic blackness' .

Or did the OP hear/notice , lol , an apparent organic blackness ?.
 

DocG

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floyd droid said:
Who cares as there is a far more important questions to raise. Whats the difference between 'apparent blackness' and 'organic blackness' .

Or did the OP hear/notice , lol , an apparent organic blackness ?.

Not into poetry, are you, Floyd? ;)
 

ErikM

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Amp Is an Ayon Spirit MKIII, speaker cables are Audioquest Oak BiWire.. And I'm so glad you enjoyed my prose Floyd.. I certainly enjoyed your sarcasm..
 

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