Proac speakers ignored by What Hi Fi ?

ISAC69

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I was very surprised to find out that What Hi Fi didn't make any reviews in the past year for this wonderful company although they came up with some interesting new speakers that I am interesting in :Response D20, Response D48, Tablet 10, Studio SM100, Studio 148,Response DB1,Response D30S.
Can someone explain why Proac have been almost completely ignored?
 

ID.

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Seeing as WHF pretty relies on manufacturers submitting products for review, perhaps it's the other way around. Proac have been ignoring WHF.
 
ID. said:
Seeing as WHF pretty relies on manufacturers submitting products for review, perhaps it's the other way around. Proac have been ignoring WHF.

+1

WHFSAV can only review items that are sent to them for review. If the OP really must read some as opposed to going to listen to some for himself, which ultimately he is going to do anyway, then I don't see much point to his post. If necessary I suggest he tries some other publications.
 

Paulq

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Agree with the other posters in that WHF can only comment upon what's made available. There have been some very favourable reviews of the D30r for example so not sure where the statement that they ignore ProAc comes from.

However, I'd agree that they are not a brand which attracts a lot of attention in the press. I was looking for reviews on the D20r recently and found them hard to come by. I was lucky enough to be able to get a home demo and loved them.

I'm now deciding whether to get a pair of those or whether to push the boat out and get the D30r as a 'lifer' speaker.

Slightly OT but can anyone comment on whether they D30r is worth the premium over the D20r?

My first experience with ProAc and am impressed.
 
ISAC69 said:
I was very surprised to find out that What Hi Fi didn't make any reviews in the past year for this wonderful company although they came up with some interesting new speakers that I am interesting in :Response D20, Response D48, Tablet 10, Studio SM100, Studio 148,Response DB1,Response D30S. Can someone explain why Proac have been almost completely ignored?

Agree with the others. It's true ProAc reviews are thin on the ground, although last year WHFI reviewed these.
 

NSA_watch_my_toilet

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I tryed the D18r out and the D30.

I really believe that the ProAC D18r is one of the worst sounding hifi speaker in the world.

The D30 are much better in my opinon. So a "correct" sounding box. But she's quite expensive for the given performance.
 

ISAC69

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The D18 is no longer in production only the D20.

If you can push your budget there is a new version coming out the D30S which use the new driver of its bigger brother the D48R.

I am considering to upgrade
my Studio 140MK2 to the D48R unfortunately I can't make a demo in my country and found only one review of this speakers at the American magazine Tone Audio which was very enthusiastic about them.

Proac are one of the rare speakers that sound "correct" :neutral, natural and punchy as you are in a live event. They deserve more attention from the press !
 

Paulq

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ISAC69 said:
Proac are one of the rare speakers that sound "correct" :neutral, natural and punchy as you are in a live event. They deserve more attention from the press !
Based on my (very) recent experience I would probably agree with you but speakers are such a personal thing, IMO the hardest part of a system to get right, that not everyone would concur. Some will love them, some will not and some won't even have heard of them. I only stumbled upon them by accident when demoing the Kudos I currently have.

There's also a bit of self help needed from ProAc if they want to play with the big boys. In a world where information is at everyone's fingertips their website is woeful and they are hardly the last word in Marketing.
 
Paulq said:
ISAC69 said:
Proac are one of the rare speakers that sound "correct" :neutral, natural and punchy as you are in a live event. They deserve more attention from the press !
Based on my (very) recent experience I would probably agree with you but speakers are such a personal thing, IMO the hardest part of a system to get right, that not everyone would concur. Some will love them, some will not and some won't even have heard of them. I only stumbled upon them by accident when demoing the Kudos I currently have.

There's also a bit of self help needed from ProAc if they want to play with the big boys. In a world where information is at everyone's fingertips their website is woeful and they are hardly the last word in Marketing.
I'm sure you are right there. But I'd rejoice that they have never obviously followed fashion, and have outlived many brands who blow a huge sum on marketing and promotion, and probably offer better value as a consequence. I'm pretty sure their roots are in the studio side of things. That makes them an interesting contrast to PMC who've recently gone for volume, with (I'm told on good authority, big dealer margins and hence) lots of profit for their dealers.

There are still two Proac model in the WHF Best Buy tables, which is pretty good going. KEF have been recent casualties with the LS50 now absent.
 

Paulq

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nopiano said:
I'm sure you are right there. But I'd rejoice that they have never obviously followed fashion, and have outlived many brands who blow a huge sum on marketing and promotion, and probably offer better value as a consequence. I'm pretty sure their roots are in the studio side of things. That makes them an interesting contrast to PMC who've recently gone for volume, with (I'm told on good authority, big dealer margins and hence) lots of profit for their dealers.

There are still two Proac model in the WHF Best Buy tables, which is pretty good going. KEF have been recent casualties with the LS50 now absent.

That's a very good point - if their 'absence' from mainstream is deliberate and intended to ensure they dedicate resources to product quality then hats off to them. They have certainly done that.

PS: Am still after views on D20r vs D30r if anyone has any? It's Christmas and I need to tell the Mrs which ones to buy me.

(if only......*biggrin*)
 

macdiddy

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doesn't have flash graphics, streaming videos etc does not make it "woeful", in fact I like the simple layout with easy to find sections on their current product range with some nice photos to go with the descriptions. The front page may not be up to date but it does include all reviews of their current range.

as for you saying "if they want to play with the big boys" I think they are already there as one of their speakers is still being produced after 25 years, this wouldn't happen if no one knew about them.

Maybe Proac does not want to become a mainstream/well known to the masses brand (so then it gets brought out by some chinese company like many other companies that used to make speakers in the UK), maybe its proud to be low key.
 

steve_1979

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macdiddy said:
Maybe Proac does not want to become a mainstream/well known to the masses brand (so then it gets brought out by some chinese company like many other companies that used to make speakers in the UK), maybe its proud to be low key.

+1

Buisness success isn't always measured in terms of units sold. Different people have different needs. If ProAc are turning a comfortabe profit they may well be happy where there they are already without wanting to expand further.
 
Paulq said:
nopiano said:
I'm sure you are right there. But I'd rejoice that they have never obviously followed fashion, and have outlived many brands who blow a huge sum on marketing and promotion, and probably offer better value as a consequence. I'm pretty sure their roots are in the studio side of things. That makes them an interesting contrast to PMC who've recently gone for volume, with (I'm told on good authority, big dealer margins and hence) lots of profit for their dealers.

There are still two Proac model in the WHF Best Buy tables, which is pretty good going. KEF have been recent casualties with the LS50 now absent.

That's a very good point - if their 'absence' from mainstream is deliberate and intended to ensure they dedicate resources to product quality then hats off to them. They have certainly done that.

PS: Am still after views on D20r vs D30r if anyone has any? It's Christmas and I need to tell the Mrs which ones to buy me.

(if only......*biggrin*)

Whilst I must confess I have not heard a Spendor speaker for some time I would suggest if you can afford the D30r and, more importantly, they are not too big for your room, then I would get them. You might end up worrying about 'should I have got them' if you don't. There may not be a huge difference between them but the extra money has been spent somewhere in their design and more often than not it is a false economy to save a bit of money, particularly when it comes to speakers.
 

ISAC69

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Paulq said:
nopiano said:
I'm sure you are right there.  But I'd rejoice that they have never obviously followed fashion, and have outlived many brands who blow a huge sum on marketing and promotion, and probably offer better value as a consequence.   I'm pretty sure their roots are in the studio side of things. That makes them an interesting contrast to PMC who've recently gone for volume, with (I'm told on good authority, big dealer margins and hence) lots of profit for their dealers.  

There are still two Proac model in the WHF Best Buy tables, which is pretty good going.  KEF have been recent casualties with the LS50 now absent. 

That's a very good point - if their 'absence' from mainstream is deliberate and intended to ensure they dedicate resources to product quality then hats off to them. They have certainly done that.

PS:  Am still after views on D20r vs D30r if anyone has any?  It's Christmas and I need to tell the Mrs which ones to buy me.

(if only......*biggrin*)

Don't think twice buy the D30 ! I heard the D20 found them wonderfully sweet and engaging but "bass shine"
maybe they can sparkle in small rooms I don't know...
The D30 are better and do worth the extra cost.
 

steve_1979

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Paulq said:
PS: Am still after views on D20r vs D30r if anyone has any?

Really you need to arrange a demo at your home to see how the bass 'works' in your own listening room. Anything else would be a guess and you never know, if it's a small to medium sized room, the D20r could well end up sounding better than the D30r.
 

pyrrhon

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ISAC69 said:
I was very surprised to find out that What Hi Fi didn't make any reviews in the past year for this wonderful company although they came up with some interesting new speakers that I am interesting in :Response D20, Response D48, Tablet 10, Studio SM100, Studio 148,Response DB1,Response D30S. Can someone explain why Proac have been almost completely ignored?

Spent more then an hour going from d18 to d20r. When I could make a difference I preferred the 18. Otherwise they where so close. Another thing is the bass at low volume clearly lacks and I found myself using the volume as an equalizer for bass. Not good! I prefered 148 and would have taken the 30 if I had the budget. I'm happy with my 148 for almost 2 years. They are great ! But if you can d30. Check that : https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/proac-sound-with-ss-vs-tubes

It basically say d20 has problem with bass and d30 is a much better speaker. Yours to decide but try 148 too!
 

ISAC69

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pyrrhon said:
ISAC69 said:
I was very surprised to find out that What Hi Fi didn't make any reviews in the past year for this wonderful company although they came up with some interesting new speakers that I am interesting in :Response D20, Response D48, Tablet 10, Studio SM100, Studio 148,Response DB1,Response D30S. Can someone explain why Proac have been almost completely ignored?

Spent more then an hour going from d18 to d20r. When I could make a difference I preferred the 18. Otherwise they where so close. Another thing is the bass at low volume clearly lacks and I found myself using the volume as an equalizer for bass. Not good! I prefered 148 and would have taken the 30 if I had the budget. I'm happy with my 148 for almost 2 years. They are great ! But if you can d30. Check that : https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/proac-sound-with-ss-vs-tubes

It basically say d20 has problem with bass and d30 is a much better speaker. Yours to decide but try 148 too!

I agree the Studio 148 is better overall than the D18/D20 .The D20 is more detailed and deeper but the 148 has better bass and dynamics and bigger soundstage .
However The D30 is better than both of them if the budget can be strech.
 

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