I’m running a Supernait (1) with Proac D20R (Rosewood) and Uniti Core. I bought them in February after listening to Neat and then Kudos X3. It was almost immediate attraction and I have been very pleased with my purchase. I use Naim NAC A5 cable. The only (very minor) downsides are just aesthetics. While they are beautifully made and the veneer is excellent, the design is very ‘boxy’ (no chamfered edges or curves of any kind) and I’m not that keen on the black sockets on the front to anchor the grilles. When you remove the grilles (as I do) then they look a bit ugly whereas some other manufacturers (MA for one) use magnetic coupling. It is very minor and completely forgivable given the sound emanating from the Proacs most hours of the day! The bass in particular sold them to me. I heard detail and dynamics that I didn’t hear from the others I tried. The ribbon tweeter is amazing too - try ‘Entangled’ from A Trick of theTail by Genesis and get ready to be blown away!
Apparently Stewart Tyler (Mr ProAc) refuses to countenance magnets for the grill fixings, as he believes they have the potential for adversely affecting the sound! Any engineers care to comment?
That’s interesting thanks. I did wonder if that would be the reason. I’m no expert in the area but I am an electronics engineer (…or was, bit rusty now). It depends on separation (distance), magnets size/flux and shielding I suppose. I will put my trust in the Proac design engineers’ choice as the end product is testament to their expertise. Maybe some little rosewood-veneered caps to plug the holes? (kidding!)
I like things affixed firmly and I haven’t warmed up to magnetically attached grilles yet. I blame Dyson for this. They have a Pure Cool Me fan where remote control is attached face down on the unit. It doesn’t hold in place very firmly at all hence can “hang” there sideway, fall off and get lost. It is the only mean to control the fan (so why face down is beside me). Anyway, sorry, I am diverging. I don’t mind the sockets, they are reliable. I don’t want the grill to fall off and damage the cloth.
And yes, I have read similar complaints about magnetically attached speaker grilles.
You can always leave the grilles in place, as I do. I can detect no difference in sound whether on or off, and I prefer the clothed look!
I’m running ProAc Studio 140 Mk2s with Supernait 2, rega P6 - love them
I am another aficionado of the Naim ProAc combo; had Studio 130, D28 and have been having K3 for 18 months now. If one looks for life and expression in music and favors expression much over a very wide scene or a much structured scene, there is no equal combination.
I am running a pair of D20S (S=Silk dome) with my NDX2/SN3.
How do you like the K3’s? I’m eyeing them if I move from the D2R’s in a year or so.
Having auditioned a pair of D20Rs at home, I can say they are really good. They were perhaps just a bit much for my small room. The room’s only 12’x14’ and they put in too much bass energy, however the treble was sweet. I settled for D2Rs and I can say that they also do go deep but that they are perhaps more agile but retain that wonderful treble and midrange that gives solidity to voices. They suite the room better and deliver that ProAc magic. You need to get an audition methinks.
I went on a similar journey to Jean Michel, in my case Studio140 > D28 > D30RS > K3.
Compared to the D30RS I had expected the increase in scale, and they don’t disappoint, but what I hadn’t expected was the increase in clarity of the soundstage, the sweet mid range, or the fantastic dynamics. They are truly wonderful, but with a list price of circa £10k so they should be. Running takes a couple of hundred hours so if you listen to a pair make sure they are run in. The bass changes markedly during the first 50-60 hours.
They are not easy to demo, only a few dealers have them in UK, although I believe there are also a couple of pairs available among the dealer network which move around the country, so if you are not in a hurry I think it’s possible to book a home demo, but perhaps you are not in UK ?
Paul
Thanks @PBenny. I’m in North America and auditioning is very limited here. I had a hard enough time finding my D2’s here (Covid has made things worse). I’m still at the dreaming phase to be honest as I’ll likely have to upgrade to separates to get the most out of K3’s, or at the minimum add a XPS-DR to my nDAC. I just love the sound of ProAcs with my system.
Nice system @Fifty-Fifty! I can only imagine the D2R’s sing even better with a XPS-DR and Nap250. I’m running them with a SN3 and they are special (IMHO). I get goosebumps nightly…
Marcusman,
D2 a friend of mine has the silk dome tweeter version, I loved them.
What do the K3 bring?
I had a chance to listen to D48R and K3 within a reasonably tight timespan although not with the same Naim gear. D48R is nice: more detail, more finesse, more structure with the Proac sound signature. However, I found they were a bit round with less sharp edges than D28 and D38 and less “racy”. K3 are extremely precise, they give lots of detail; they can be smooth and razor sharp in the meantime. With the adequate Naim combination, you get the concert at home. They can be cruel with poorly mastered files/cds : it can lack bass or bass can boom depending upon the mastering and sound take. I consider them as perfectly balanced. They match my room size (slighlty more than 20 sqm) . They definitely deserve a future migration from NAC 282 to NAC 552.
Guess I better start dreaming again and saving a bunch of money 
Thanks for your reply! I agree the ProAc sound just seems to be right. Nothing fancy just right (In my humble opinion)
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