It’s good to have opinions, of course it is. The Forum has become rather over sanitised I sometimes feel. The concept of not saying anything anything that’s not nice can be taken too far; it stifles critical thinking and prevents people being honest. I wouldn’t care less if someone said my speakers were a pile of crap, but when I dared to say that certain speakers were not natural, over bright, etc etc, the wrath of God descended upon me. Many people don’t like Naim speakers, but I think most of them are just wonderful. I wasn’t keen on Alaes though, nor the Ovator 800. But SBL, SL2, IBL and nSats were excellent, though the latter only with their mate the nSub. Many modern speakers are to me too much boom-tizz, with far too much bass and stinging treble.
Catching up on the forum and just spotted this … excellent! I’m sure you’ll love them, looking forward to seeing your build
This sums up nicely what I think of Naim speakers and of modern designs in general, thanks.
Max, I owned the Naim Ovator S-400 and thought they were not only beautiful but sounded fantastic!
…after hearing the ProAC D30RS at a demo in-store and then at my house for a couple of weeks I traded in the Ovator’s for a pair of the ProAC D30’s in March 2020 just as the Covid pandemic settled in… and they are beautiful as well.
No regrets, and the system has been updated since then and moved down stairs.
Life is sweet!
Where are you hiding those lovely Proac’s?
You have a very nice system and wonderful speakers! What are the isolators you are using under the 30RS?
I use 8 of Herbie’s Giant Titanium Cone/Spike Decoupling Gliders The cost was $351.12 which included shipping. I also have 4 of the Herbie’s Giant Titanium Cone/Spike Decoupling Gliders under the Quadraspire Q4EVO Bamboo 4 Shelf Rack.
Do a search on “Herbie’s Audio Lab” or “Herbie’s Cone/Spike Decoupling Glider” and you should find the website. They come with a 30 day full money return if not satisfied. Minus any delivery charges.
They do have brass and steel gliders as well at different price levels.
I found them to be a very positive improvement in sound and it is very easy to move the speakers and rack when needed.
A number of members on the site use them and if you do a search you will find comments.
I am not into starting a debate whatsoever, I was just curious which model you were referring to, as you mentioned specific Harbeth and Naim models, but kind of generalised for Proac, thus my question. I respect people’s opinion when it’s based on real experience, not on general beliefs, listening at a dealer’s place is somewhere in between, I would not make a strong statement based just on spending a couple of hours in a room, electronics (and music) I am not familiar with, It might give me a slight clue, but that’s so far I would go.
I have been living with Proac in the past maybe 4-5 years, at first with Tablette 10 Sig and afterwards D2R, I found the tabs a bit bright, but not overly sharp, they just lack lower frequencies and maybe the top end is more pronounced because of that and easier to make sound perception sharper, but the Response is definitely not bright, sharpness is one of the characteristics I dislike the most, and in another words, I would not have kept the latter model for so long in case these were bright. The ribbon tweeter needs careful matching, and any “wrong” link or component will probably make it sound bright, but in my system it is very balanced and darker than anything I had previously.
Sorry for the thread drift, hopefully the image below will make up for it…
Thank you for your swift reply. I had somewhat recognized them but wanted to make sure. I have used some of the Herbie isolation products over the years to my satisfaction.
I have seen those Quadraspire Q Plus isolators but was skeptical whether they worked. Good to hear they seem to do what they advertise. I’ve also considered the Fern & Roby Isolation Feet.
They certainly work very well indeed on my Quadraspire SV rack. I’m reluctant to add any additional isolation to any rack because the results are totally unpredictable. I’ve found that often it improves some aspects of the sound whilst making others worse. Give and take.
However the Quadraspire Q Plus feet are a different proposition entirely, being made by the same people that make the rack. I’ve been using them now for a couple of years and there is no downside. They simply tighten everything up and this results in a more focussed and rhythmic sound.
I’m loving my new D20Rs. The tone is wonderful…
sea,
as far as my taste is concerned and nothing else, regarding my long post, I honestly think that your black&white pictures speak for themselves.
As friendly as ever,
Max
Awesome, thanks!!! They are my dream speakers… I love my D2R’s but the K3’s do it for me.
They look great. What have you got them mounted on? Are they isoacoustics? How are you finding them?
I assume your D20’s are sounding great! Wait until around the 6 month mark and they improve more. YMMV of course
Lovely herringbone floor. Wood? Glued or floating. Sorry but I’m a builder and am interested. Looks great!
They are sounding great… things have a got a bit complex because I’ve added a XPS DR and a Supercap DR in the last three weeks as well! Don’t all sounds brilliant, but everything is still settling in…
Oh wow. Little bit of a party foul changing so many things at once (Done it myself lol).
So yeah the XPS-DR also takes time to run in and I assume the same for the Supercap. Well worth the wait but I recall when I first added my XPSDr I was having some serious buyers remorse for the first week or so. I kept thinking this isn’t worth it at all(diminishing returns etc).
Anyway I’m sure you have had some moments of sheer delight followed by scratching your head some lol. Regardless, great system and speakers you have.