I think the Nova would’ve been deigned using NAC A5. It will be electrically compatible. The weak link on ProAc speakers is those bi-wire terminals.
FWIW - i don’t think the Nova is a weak link here. I’ve heard a Nova driving a pair of Focal Sopra 2 speakers and it sounded excellent. Much better than it had any right to. I’d try the speaker cables first, then play around with the speakers.
Sorry if this is a silly question but my knowledge of speakers isn’t huge, does the terminal set up on the back of the pro ac d2r mean you have to bi-wire them? I assumed you could still set them up like normal speakers. If those sorts of terminals are an issue I may take these off my speakers to audition in the future list.
No you don’t have to biwire them. They come with links in place so effectively there are just 2 terminals.
You just use links, dual terminals is not an issue or weakness as suggested above once good links are used - preferably matching your speaker cable, and make sure they’re correctly soldered blah blah……
The consensus here is seemingly divided on that one!
I really like the Nova, though one of my original reasons for buying it - that it would reduce my box count - has gone out of the window due to 5.1 additions. That said, I’d very much like to keep it in situ, least for now.
Elsewhere on this site, I’ve discussed my imminent purchase of an Innuos Zen or Zenith, so this and any speaker replacement, never mind NDX2/SN2 or 3 would be way beyond my £3-5K budget.
Buying and or swapping out multiple components is never a wise move, so I’ll have to focus on one area at a time.
Admittedly, though only one or two hours since I settled on the latest positioning of the D2Rs - just over 2m apart and toed-in so sides are scarcely visible - has added a clearer, more defined central vocal image. Though listening to hard panned early stereo Beatles might not be the best test tracks!
That said, my KEF KC62 sub now seems to be not quite right! One door opens . . .
At least that’s got gain and Hz settings to more readily tweak with.
Best to leave the sub out of the equation when setting up the speakers otherwise you’ll be chasing your tail!
I’ve had Proacs and they are fabulous speakers . I recommend Jim Smith Get Better Sound book It’s a lot of work to follow his recommendations but once everything has clicked into focus and you’ve found their final resting place you’ll never have to do it again If you’re still not happy at least you will know you have heard them at their best
I am perfectly happy with my SN2 and my ProAc D2R’s. One thing that might be causing your thoughts of something not being right is the listening position, the d2r’s tweeter is somehow very sensitive to this, I find them rather being a nearfield type monitor speaker, at least this is my normal position with them, roughly a 1,5m triangle is being formed. I haven’t tried them in a different placement, as this was exactly what I was looking for. With that being said, should you need to listen to them moving around the room, they might not be for you. I think the biwire terminals have no effect on the sound characteristics, I left the supplied rhodium links, but also tried naca5 speaker jumpers and there was no difference whatsoever bwtween both.
What I did find to affect the sound was the silver banana plugs I once tried, these made the Proacs slighly harsh in the top end. Later bought an alpha grade copper Furutech ones, and it was all gone, never touched anything else ever since. Dac V1 via WH Morgana IC into SN2 via Naca5, simple.
I would agree with @anon4489532 in his initial reply to this thread.
I run, very happily, ProAc DB1s (walnut!) & if my room were about a third larger would have liked your speakers, although admittedly, not in white. All the reviews I have seen for them suggest they are a speaker that performs well above what their price suggests they should.
As HH says, my feeling is that the route of your problem is that they are far to far apart. I also thought that your stands looked a little flimsy in your photo but you have assured us that this is not the case.
So, before throwing a considerable amount of money at trying to correct the problem I would try moving the speakers much closer together. Your dislike of the colour may also subconsciously contribute to your sound quality concerns so you may need to consider part exchanging your pair with a pair you actually like the look of.
Edit - I have just read some more posts in this thread & would add that, for my smallish room, I don’t find the base amount & quality lacking from my DB1s & would certainly feel you shouldn’t need a sub with your larger speakers, even in 20% or so larger room than mine. I would doubt it is doing the ProAcs any favours at all.
I sincerely hope you can get your issues solved based off the tremendously valuable information in this thread. It’s also noteworthy that there are quite a few Proac speakers used here.
I think most likely solution here will be using naca5 cable and setting up the speakers one last time.
I heard a nova with some pmc speakers and was amazed at what this system could do. I use proac speakers and have heard a few different models inc the d2 and liked them all with naim kit.
D2 (dome) here in a NDAC/82 HCDR/180 system … always engaging, lose out to large expensive floorstanders in the very bottom octaves, but never sound bass light in their own right. Cherry here but the whites look pretty smart too.
I’ve heard the D2s on several occasions being driven by Naim gear and tube amps and they always sounded good.
As strange as it may sound being tired of the look could be enough to affect your listening enjoyment.
I sold a pair of Proac Studio 115s dirt cheap because I was tired of the yellowed cherry finish which did not work well in my newly decorated flat.
As much as I like the Proac sound I do find that, other than the Tablettes and the DB3, their designs are rather clunky looking.
OP… you could get them wrapped… Black, Blue, brown Silver …just contact any good Auto store that does that sort of thing.
Yep, agree with the clunk look. Not great.
FWIW I recently put a set of Isoacoustic Gaias under my D2Rs (on Custom Design stands). Added extra depth & focus to the music, especially in the bass registers. Cheaper than a new pair of speakers!
What type of floor surface does the OP’s room have?
Interesting. I use their pucks between my speakers and the stands. I never thought about using the Gaias for the stand instead of spikes.
Hi,
What appeared with my previous ProAc D20R, is that the result of the ribbon tweeter is quite linked to the height of the listener. Sitting straight in the couch or more low, changes the listening result. Ribbon tweeter seems better for an homogenous horizontal dispersion, then for the vertical one. If you stand up, it’s even worse and more obvious. Never heard ProAc’s dome version unfortunately.
They are other English brands that are for more coherent and less coloured then ProAc. One woofer became defective on my ProAc, even if the speaker were still under warranty, I had to pay nearly 500€ to replace it, they couldn’t manage to provide the same looking woofer than the original one, a huge pain at the end for me and the shop which took in charge the second woofer… only the wood veneer is warrantied and may be the inner filter, which is quite a bad joke, never again.
Quite a thick carpet.
