Wife was away so after months reading others reviews i finally got a 3+ hour speaker demo in with a fairly local dealer to compare speakers to my Epos M5's (same amp and cd player as i own). I always like to read others opinions so here is what i found......
Proac Tablette Signature Reference 8 (£825)
This is the speaker i most wanted to hear and to be honest buy. So it was first up. First impressions was 'wow' this was so clear and detailed and sounded almost as if it was coming for you. I was initially very impressed and had my wallet at the ready. But after a few tracks i did begin to find the soundstage a little disconcerting - the vocals seemed like they came from quite high up and was also slightly over sharp and bright at times. In the end i would call it slightly bright and fatiguing to listen to - albeit an impressive and very bold presentation.
PMC DB1i (£825)
Pretty much a direct competitor was next up and offered to me as a very different soundstage. I agreed, the bass was more emphasised and the soundstage slightly more squashed vertically but better horizontally and actually i found i prefered this to the Proac sound. Its presentation was very nice and i also liked the cabinet style more as well. I felt a little better with this speaker although it was not quite as sharp and detailed as the Proac it was more rounded but the midrange wasnt quite so prominent compared to what i was used to.
Proac Response 1SC (£1250)
Ok the dealer was pushing the boat out here (thats his job) as this was beyond my original budget but was worth a comparison to see what the extra cash would buy. Right off this really did sound a higher quality - great balance and silky smooth vocals, no sharpness like the Signature 8 and a great overall soundstage shape. I really did enjoy this one across all the music tried out but was it really worth over a third more on the price? Long term probably yes it could be, but i would be waiting a long time for these.
Neat Motive 3 (£725)
Ok these were not even on my shortlist but the dealer thought i would like them from my comments so far to him. And how right he was. This had a lot of the smoothness of the Proac 1SC but was also detailed and dynamic and the bass came across as really punchy and tight, and arguably was the best delivered percussion of them all. The soundstage here was closer again to PMC and the 1SC and felt just about right to me. Female vocals were excellent - no sharpness here just a smooth sound. Really very good indeed and nothing i didnt really like.
Spendor SA1 (£1100)
I had demod these before but thought a reminder would be nice. This is a quality speaker but so different in its presentation to the others. Here the midrange is much more prominent revealing new details over other speakers but at a cost that it wasnt quite as rounded as the others and lost some of the higher treble and bass depth seemed to dissappear beneath the midrange. I can see this being a great speaker for certain music styles but it wasnt quite the all rounder i was looking for.
Epos M5 (£350 - although mine were bought for £250)
I thought i would compare to my own speakers against all that i had just heard. Coming back to them i was actually quite impressed with how well they held up given they are more than half the price. In fact i started to think twice about the relative worth of the new outlay. But that said the Epos are not quite as clear cut or as prominent in the bass as others on show, and although its midrange stands its ground very well indeed - it can be beaten overall by the smoothness of some of the others. For many peoples budget though i am sure this speaker would be more than sufficient - it does a great job and is great value.
Conclusions
1. The budget Epos are much better than i expected in direct competition with those twice its cost.
2. Paying a lot more for the Proac Response 1SC would be a great long term investment if you can afford it - but it wasnt so great a jump that i wasnt going to be more than happy with a £700-£800 speaker.
3. The Proac Signature 8 was in the end the most surprising - i wanted and expected it to be the best but found its soundstage presentation a bit disconcerting and the vocals a little too much.
4. PMC / Neat / Spendor all do different things well and i now understand some of the comments made about them much better.
My decision was that i simply couldnt resist the Neat Motive 3 for many reasons - the smoothness of the vocals, the presentation of the overall soundstage was the best, the bass was punchy and clear and again alongside the PMC was the best of them, the cabinet came in natural oak which would please my wife, the cost was suprisingly the lowest of the lot (i got them at £700 after a short haggle) which shows that you dont necessarily need to spend the most to get one you like best. These were the smoothest in the price bracket and my 2nd place went to the PMC which are also great sounding speakers and highly recommended.
So i have new speakers to enjoy and have had a very enjoyable day out as well ! I will be selling my Epos now on ebay.
I hope you enjoy the read - these are of course my opinions only and relate to music i like.
Proac Tablette Signature Reference 8 (£825)
This is the speaker i most wanted to hear and to be honest buy. So it was first up. First impressions was 'wow' this was so clear and detailed and sounded almost as if it was coming for you. I was initially very impressed and had my wallet at the ready. But after a few tracks i did begin to find the soundstage a little disconcerting - the vocals seemed like they came from quite high up and was also slightly over sharp and bright at times. In the end i would call it slightly bright and fatiguing to listen to - albeit an impressive and very bold presentation.
PMC DB1i (£825)
Pretty much a direct competitor was next up and offered to me as a very different soundstage. I agreed, the bass was more emphasised and the soundstage slightly more squashed vertically but better horizontally and actually i found i prefered this to the Proac sound. Its presentation was very nice and i also liked the cabinet style more as well. I felt a little better with this speaker although it was not quite as sharp and detailed as the Proac it was more rounded but the midrange wasnt quite so prominent compared to what i was used to.
Proac Response 1SC (£1250)
Ok the dealer was pushing the boat out here (thats his job) as this was beyond my original budget but was worth a comparison to see what the extra cash would buy. Right off this really did sound a higher quality - great balance and silky smooth vocals, no sharpness like the Signature 8 and a great overall soundstage shape. I really did enjoy this one across all the music tried out but was it really worth over a third more on the price? Long term probably yes it could be, but i would be waiting a long time for these.
Neat Motive 3 (£725)
Ok these were not even on my shortlist but the dealer thought i would like them from my comments so far to him. And how right he was. This had a lot of the smoothness of the Proac 1SC but was also detailed and dynamic and the bass came across as really punchy and tight, and arguably was the best delivered percussion of them all. The soundstage here was closer again to PMC and the 1SC and felt just about right to me. Female vocals were excellent - no sharpness here just a smooth sound. Really very good indeed and nothing i didnt really like.
Spendor SA1 (£1100)
I had demod these before but thought a reminder would be nice. This is a quality speaker but so different in its presentation to the others. Here the midrange is much more prominent revealing new details over other speakers but at a cost that it wasnt quite as rounded as the others and lost some of the higher treble and bass depth seemed to dissappear beneath the midrange. I can see this being a great speaker for certain music styles but it wasnt quite the all rounder i was looking for.
Epos M5 (£350 - although mine were bought for £250)
I thought i would compare to my own speakers against all that i had just heard. Coming back to them i was actually quite impressed with how well they held up given they are more than half the price. In fact i started to think twice about the relative worth of the new outlay. But that said the Epos are not quite as clear cut or as prominent in the bass as others on show, and although its midrange stands its ground very well indeed - it can be beaten overall by the smoothness of some of the others. For many peoples budget though i am sure this speaker would be more than sufficient - it does a great job and is great value.
Conclusions
1. The budget Epos are much better than i expected in direct competition with those twice its cost.
2. Paying a lot more for the Proac Response 1SC would be a great long term investment if you can afford it - but it wasnt so great a jump that i wasnt going to be more than happy with a £700-£800 speaker.
3. The Proac Signature 8 was in the end the most surprising - i wanted and expected it to be the best but found its soundstage presentation a bit disconcerting and the vocals a little too much.
4. PMC / Neat / Spendor all do different things well and i now understand some of the comments made about them much better.
My decision was that i simply couldnt resist the Neat Motive 3 for many reasons - the smoothness of the vocals, the presentation of the overall soundstage was the best, the bass was punchy and clear and again alongside the PMC was the best of them, the cabinet came in natural oak which would please my wife, the cost was suprisingly the lowest of the lot (i got them at £700 after a short haggle) which shows that you dont necessarily need to spend the most to get one you like best. These were the smoothest in the price bracket and my 2nd place went to the PMC which are also great sounding speakers and highly recommended.
So i have new speakers to enjoy and have had a very enjoyable day out as well ! I will be selling my Epos now on ebay.
I hope you enjoy the read - these are of course my opinions only and relate to music i like.
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