I have Proac Response 1sc speakers sitting on two separate bookcases that are 25” high. The Proacs are rear ported and the backs of the speakers sit 7.5 inches from the rear wall. The speakers are prone to some boominess depending on the programming (I believe I read there may be a hump in the 60 Hz range). I’m wondering if placing them away from the wall on heavy stands would eliminate most of the boominess. The room is approximately 16’ x 12’ and the speakers are positioned on the long wall.
When I purchased the speakers I intended to purchase stands and place them away from the wall. I moved before purchasing the stands and the new space didn’t accommodate speaker placement very far from the walls. I’m in a new space again and will remain here for the foreseeable future. Given the size of the room I don’t think floor-standing speakers are an option. I would consider a closed back speaker but I wouldn’t know where to to start, and I assume I would still be looking at stands.
I’m considering purchasing some heavy Target or similar speaker stands. I just wondering if that’s the right direction as opposed to seeking out a speaker that might work better in my space.
Heavy stands would help and before replacing the illustrious 1scs with something else, you could try to fill the ports with long hair wool or light foam plugs.
I would expect your ProAcs to perform better if you could bring them out into the room by perhaps a couple of feet on some solid stands. Every room is different, and plenty of trial and error can be worthwhile. Try different spacing as well, as distance from the side walls can also make a big difference.
If you changed your speakers to Proac Tablette 10’s they would be very happy on a bookshelf close to a wall as they are sealed boxes. I had them in that position and they were great
Response 1SCs drag certain hump in the mid-bass (something that has been deeply reviewed in the news D1). Quality stands and a back and side walls separation of at least 15 inches would help quite a bit. As noted, Tablette 10 can be a perfect choice in the same current location in the bookcases.
Nothing wrong with floorstanders in a room that size. I once had large IMF RSPM speakers in a room almost the same, firing ‘down’ the room but well out from corners and with a bay window behind breaking up the shape - and they sounded good.
Stereophile doesn’t show a hump in your speakers at 60Hz, rather rolling off smoothly from about 80Hz. I think you could probably tame the issue by playing with both speaker and listening positions. I recommend getting a copy of REW software and a measuring microphone, then you can find out exactly what the issue is and find the best arrangement in the room. REW (Room Equalisation Wizard) is free software, and the mic they recommend (Mini DSP’s UMIK-1) is under £100, and can be bought secondhand - and resold - on eBay for quite a bit less).
I had a pair of ProAc 1SC’s on heavy Target stands placed about three feet from the back wall that gave me possibly the best sound I’ve ever achieved. There was a solid wall of bookshelves behind them. It was a medium sized room. I used Nordost SPM speaker cabling and an Audio Research CA-50 tube amplifier. Both of those things were important and the room was medium sized with a high ceiling. With all those conditions met, it was incredible.
I’ve heard 1scs as being compared to a thoroughbred race horse. Capable of amazing things, but challenging to find the performance.
They require high mass stands as already stated. They are often run on the end of some very expensive systems, often involving Class A and/or valve amps.
They will keep responding to higher quality sources and amps, and will tell you exactly how good , or otherwise, the rest of your system is. In the wrong set up they can sound bright and fierce.
I have had a pair for 20 years and done a fair bit of reading on them. Hope this is helpful.
Thank you for all the replies. I really don’t want to part with these speakers. I’ll invest in some heavy, fillable, stands. I can experiment with placement. I can always move some of the shelving to open up the space behind the speakers. I do have a 38 watt Line Magnetic integrated tube amp that I’ve tried with the Proacs, however, I’ve always come away with the impression that it doesn’t have quite enough power to handle the Proacs–my Nait 5i seems to do a much better job of controlling the bass. Of course, the need to control bass is often program dependent.
I’ve kept these speakers knowing I’ve never really made the effort to get them to sound their best. These have the Birdseye maple finish–I thought they were quite a find when I came across them.