New Speakers: Proac DB3 or DB1

My old speakers from eons ago :slight_smile:

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I saw a pair on flea bay for the same price they were when new - £99. I got ten quid off and had to go and collect them. They were 500m from my house! They are a little battered externally, but sound really, really good with such a good source. They will go in the loft to be my railway room speakers.

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Railway room speakers?

Sounds familiar. I have enough amps and speakers to equip a railway room or two. I also have a large loft that is a bit cluttered at the moment. Part of that clutter is boxed model railway kit and a few Fremo modules waiting to be finished and used one day (probably when I am retired, or toys for boys, as my wife says disparagingly).

What music do you or would you play in your railway room?

Edit: I see from your profile that you are in Hertfordshire, which is also my home county.

Once a CD has been ripped to the Star, it goes up in the loft. I have a half built railway that I ‘play’ with rather than finish building it. I also do modifications and weathering of other peoples models, which leaves me little time for my own modelling. Although I have a few DCC sound locomotives, I always have music in the background. At the moment a twenty year old mini system supplies the music. I am planning to buy a CD/amp for the loft, the Coda’s will be used up there. I will probably phone TomTom Audio to see if they can sort me out some vintage gear for hundreds rather than thousands of pounds.
This loco was sent as a complete mess and took a week to get to the bare metal stage.
DSC_4189

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That’s a very good job !

Hello everyone!

Just an update. As I was ready to order the DB1, a Proac price drop was announced for Canada (improved currency exchange). Rather than just order the DB1 and be content, I decided to sell my turntable and raise my goal to the next model up. Funny hobby this is, always reaching for the next rung on the ladder :frowning: My turntable just sold last week and I can now choose either the D2 or the D2R. The distributor says the D2Rs are, by far, the more popular speaker in terms of sales. I do a lot of off axis listening, should I go with the soft dome version or would the ribbon be okay in this regard? Is the ribbon version as fussy with positioning as described in the reviews?

I auditioned both the D2s and D2Rs at home. I much prefer the D2Rs. Smoother and more detailed, better imaging and soundstage. I’m not aware of poor off axis performance as I always sit in my “hot seat”, I have however experimented with position and the rewards are better separation and imaging etc. They are now 26" away from the rear wall (measured from the tweeter) and toed in. I love them.

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It may be worth asking ProAc about this, particularly as you do a lot of off axis listening. They are very straightforward and I’m sure will give you honest advice. The D2s do look very nice, and make my little Tablette 10s look decidedly pint sized.

Fifty-Fifty, it sounds like you’re very pleased with them! I can, at most, position them with the same 26" distance from the rear wall and 6’ apart. I realize every room will be unique with regard to positioning. My late at night listening, at low levels, would be seated in the sweet spot. Just wondering, if I’m in the kitchen, 12’ off axis from the sweet spot, will the ribbon sound significantly worse than the soft dome would, i.e. is the ribbon only really suitable for listening when in the sweet spot?

I have mine also at 26" from the rear wall and about 7 feet apart. @anon4489532 is right about great advice from ProAc, they recommended toeing them in and a heavy stand. Very nice person I was corresponding with. I love the sweet spot and when I start listening to music I don’t want to move… :slight_smile:

D2R… it really is better!

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FWIW - I had a pair of the D2’s with the Dome and they sat about 22" from my rear wall. They were wonderful sounding speakers.

Today I have a pair of D30RS speakers and love them as well. They have the ribbons and sit the same distance from the rear wall.

You may want to check with your dealer. When ProAc went to ribbon in the D2 model the local dealer started to only stock the ribbon model. You could order the dome but had to wait for delivery from the UK. If cost is a consideration the dome model was set a lower price then the ribbon model.

If you can demo both that would be the perfect world. If they only have the ribbon model in the shop, hopefully you can give that a listen before you decide.

Good luck with your decision…

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Does anyone use Blutak to “fix” their Proacs to their stands. Does Bluetak work well with the Proac veneer over time, or is it a bad idea i.e. will it ruin the veneer?

Blutac is fine. In fact ProAc suggested I use it when I was thinking of Atacama stands. Just use a small amount - think small pea rather than marrowfat. Remove the speakers by twisting rather than trying to pull them off.

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Okay, thank you for the Blutak info.
I’m really waffling here as whether or not to order the D2R vs the D2. I thought I was ready to go with the ribbon version, then read a reply to my query on another site, they indicated that “the high frequencies disappear when you stand up”. I don’t think that is going to cut it for me. Half of my listening is done well off-axis, standing in the adjacent kitchen (open concept living space). Would be so nice to hear before buying, sigh…

Just to try to help, I’ve been on the phone to ProAc. Their view is that there are a lot of myths around in regard to ribbon tweeters, dome tweeters, etc etc. Their ribbon tweeters are just as good off axis as dome tweeters and both are very good. But they do differ in presentation and there is something in the back of their manual to guide buyers as to which might be best. Ribbons may be better for those who listen to strings, female vocals, jazz. The advice as always is to listen, and the dealer should be able to facilitate that. I forget where you are but if in the US, the dealer should be able to sort something out with ProAc to enable you to compare both directly. I did mention your point about standing up and they felt that was far more likely to be a room issue than something associated with the speaker per se.

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I love the ribbon tweeters on my K6 Sig’s. Sweet, detailed, never harsh. The dispersion is as good as any dome tweeter I’ve had in my home. There are lot’s of positive reviews out there for the D2R, I would not hesitate to purchase. My only note is the ribbon has a long run-in period. Mine are nearly a year old and are still progressing, in a good way.

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I’ve been looking at their brochure and it does say that ribbons have a lower dispersion and a more limited sweet spot. The dome is the same unit as in the Tablettes which do sound very good off axis, as well as very good generally of course. I’m sure either would be excellent.

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Thank you Hungryhalibut! I’m in Atlantic Canada, no Proac dealer for miles and miles! Demo is out of the question without getting on a plane, which I would do, but Covid prevents that. Don’t want to wait until travel is safe again but don’t want to spend $5k on the wrong speakers either.

I owned Studio 115s and am looking to move back to Proac from my current Totems.
Tablettes seem too small and D2 seems too big (and expensive) so I’m wondering if the DB1 would be a significant step up from the 115s.
I’m also in Canada where Proac has been poorly distributed for the last couple of years and there are no dealers in my immediate area which makes auditioning even more complicated.
BTW - in Canada Totem is much cheaper than in the UK while Proac is the opposite.