It’s the Dbls for me. They have come a long way. I had them passive with one 500 for over ten years before I went active. I love their bold appearance their delicate surface and their big and effortless presentation. also the rosewood finish is particularly appealing. With my latest and sure most significant upgrade the S1 pre they are absolutely no weak link or limitation in my game but opened up much further painting a huge huge delicate and intimate musical picture. my system now is at balance and synergy unmatched before where everything seems just right. I absolutely don’t lust for full statement and very much enjoy what my active rig does. Id do everything to keep my beloved dbls up to specs for the next decades to come 
5 Likes
In addition to the Dali Menuet, I have also had Zensor and Lektor, and, as always, as you climb the range things improve, always with a certain firm or signature of the house, also in ProAcs.
As for the Dali-ProAC comparison, it’s complicated, because I haven’t tested them with the same electronics. The Dalis sound is good, the more you climb the range, obviously, and, despite their size, the Menuet are exceptional. However, ProAc is on another level, even on the SM100s, and from then on.
Compared to Dali, the ProAc have a typical “English” sound, with the mids a little ahead or advanced; in addition, the ProAc’s sound signature is a very transparent, very articulated and very organic sound, always with great soundstage. But if there’s one thing that characterizes ProAc, it’s its sheer “musicality”.
Perhaps the most obvious comparison is Menuet-Tablette 10 SE; I have the first ones with Wadia PowerDAC mini and the Tablettes with Marantz HD AMP1. It must be said that the Wadia is class AB while the Marantz is class D, albeit with a very valve like “air”. I like more the Tablettes, they are more articulated than Menuets and very organic sound, make you feel closer to the performances and more immersed in music. Somehow, the K6, in the upper range of ProAc, is as if they were Tablettes in large, with more of everything, more soundstage, more articulation and a more organic sound if possible, but maintaining the ProAc “musicality”. The K6, hooked to the Musical Fidelity NuVista 600 and fed by the NDX2 are the speakers that represent the most true live performances of all that I have been able to enjoy.
I wouldn’t change any of the systems, they’re all in their real sweet spot.
Cheers.
3 Likes
What amps are you using for your active DBLs?
Without a doubt “til death do us part”, my Quad ESL-63 Electrostatic Speakers. I read a review of them in Opera News about 1985 saying they were perfect for opera lovers. I went to considerable trouble to import them to California from the US. Quad was not very willing to give me the names of some London dealers, though eventually they did. Then the dealers wouldn’t sell unless I set foot in their store. Luckily all this coincided with a business trip my brother made to England and that made it all happen. I also bought a Quad amp and preamp, the total of which was less than the speakers alone were priced in the US.
I had the speakers rebuilt three years ago and they sound better than new. I’ll never willingly part with them, though I’ve heard the Harbeth 41s sound very close. But I can’t afford them anyway.
13 Likes
Well I’ve just had a count up …as you asked the question..
And I’m (just) on my 7th pair of speakers ever
Which must sound a lot to some…but that’s since 1973
So I’d say on average…no… probably got another pair in me before I finally shuffle off this mortal coil
Kudos S20
4 Likes
Owned from new in late 70s and restored about 10 years ago. I think by now I’ve accepted them as keepers 
9 Likes
My last speakers were a pair of Epos 14s that I bought in the mid '80s. These were replaced last year with a pair of Sonus Faber Olympica IIs. If I keep the SF’s as long as the Epos 14 I will be touching a 100 years old. I think at that age an upgrade is off the table. Yep, for me, my last pair of speakers…unless I get a lottery win soon!
I remember seeing those, way back. Nice looking.
What are they?
Gale 401A
1 Like
Audiovector S1 avantgarde on Dynaudio stand 6 with a special made topplade to fit the shape of S1
They were lovely speakers. My first introduction to proper HiFi in the 1970s was at Russ Andrews in Edinburgh, when I listened to a number of systems. One of those was Quad electrostatics driven by Naim 250. At the same visit I listened to Isobariks with 3 NAP 250s (preamp was Naim, but not sure what). The Quads were really good in the treble and mid. The bass was good down to where it disappeared (not very deep bass, though), but then it didn’t even try to play the lower notes - which was good, I thought. So many other speakers would just lift all the lower bass up to the bottom of their range and shove it in there.
The Isobariks, though, were something else. I lusted over them. Ended up buying a pair of Naim speakers (601? 701? can’t remember for sure. Serial number was 2. Goodman’s Tweeter, Mordaunt short bass).
New pair every 6.7 years. Call it the 7 year itch.
1 Like
For me it’s slightly longer, but I just don’t play the upgrade game anymore. I just save up and get a whole new system every X years. Last system/speakers lasted me over 10 years.
Managed to get a pair of ProAc K3 just before lockdown started, to replace D30RS damaged by rainwater. Still running in, but simply stunning, can’t imagine I will own anything else.
4 Likes
I’ve owned my Sonus Faber Cremona Auditors for 15 years and have tried to better them a few times but with no success. I tried SF Olympica I’s and Kudos S20’s on extended home demos but found both to be too bright in the treble for me.
Last year I bought a pair of Auditor M’s as all the reviews said they were better than the originals. The M’s have a revised version of the Scanspeak Revelator ring tweeter but the mid / bass woofer is no longer a Revelator unit. The M’s are beautifully built and slightly bigger but I was a bit dissapointed as they are not quite up to the same standard as the originals, possibly a little bit of cost cutting going on.
I tried the M’s for a couple of weeks and they do sound more accurate but I didn’t feel as engaged with the music. I put the originals back in and they just have something magical about them so haven’t even thought about trying the M’s again.
In my eyes Franco Serblin was a master and could tune a speaker like few others for pure listening enjoyment. He wasn’t involved with the M versions so I think my only real upgrade would be a pair of Guarneri Memento’s but the stand / speaker combination is so high I doubt they’d work in my room.
It looks like I might have to stick with my little coloured speakers forever and stop reading bloody reviews 
3 Likes
What is it that you love about your SL2s? I’ve been looking for a replacement for my Epos ES12s (which I got with my first system - a 92/90 - back in 1996).
I’ve been really pleased with the ES12s, but recently have felt that they’re missing a bit of punch in the bass registers, and have seen a set of SL2s come up for sale here, setting off a flurry of Internet searches for now information about them.
I have a fairly wide range of music that will go through them - from electronic to rock, industrial, metal, modem classical, ambient, blues and choral. I’ll be running them with an NDX2/250DR/SuperUniti (as a pre amp with longer term plans for a 282)
Get that 282 sorted first! It should transform the bass performance of your system compared to the pre in the SU.
I’d be hesitant about running the SL2s with a SU pre. Really you’ll need to budget for a better pre amp to get anything near what these speakers are capable of. That said, if the opportunity is there to purchase the SL2s and the deal is good then I’d go for it in the knowledge that the preamp will need to follow. That way you are managing expectations. The 250DR will drive them fine. 300DR will make them really sing though…
1 Like
I do today. I might not tomorrow. Or next week, month, year.
It’s impossible to predict how a speaker will sound in the target listening room. Our current speakers took just over a year to find, audition and buy. We must have had a dozen pairs of speakers through the lounge before we landed on the ones that match the room perfectly for our tastes and expectations. They were not on our audition list. We weren’t interested. Our dealer kept pushing, until we auditioned them to shut him up.
Replacing them would be no easy task. It is unlikely to happen. But not impossible.
One never knows . . .