ProAc Response D2R loudspeaker

Between the mid-1980s and late 2000s, Stereophile published 14 reviews of loudspeakers from England's ProAc Limited. First came Dick Olsher's review of the ProAc Tablette in 1984. The latest—until now—was in 2010, when John Marks wrote about the ProAc Response D Two.

Then, in 2016, came the passing of US ProAc distributor Richard Gerberg, of Modern Audio Consultants, and for some time the company's products weren't available stateside.

"We lost our importer in the USA a few years ago, and it took a little while to find a replacement," wrote ProAc's founder, CEO, and head designer, Stewart Tyler, in an email. "It takes time to reestablish your place in the market. With our new importer"—the Sound Organisation, which specializes in UK imports—"and increased promotion in the press, we are gradually becoming a brand that is considered again when looking for good quality loudspeakers."

I've owned three pairs of ProAcs: the Response 1SC bookshelf monitors, which were reviewed in 1999 by the late, great Wes Phillips; after that, the larger Studio 100 standmounts; and then the floorstanding ProAc Response 2.5—the last loudspeakers I owned before I changed allegiance to DeVore Fidelity's Orangutan O/93.

A good description of ProAc's more recent sound can be had in the above-mentioned review of the Response D Two: To read it now is to almost believe he was describing the subject of this review, the ProAc Response D2R standmount ($4500/pair), which was introduced in 2019. Still, much has changed in the transition from D Two to D2R, including cabinet materials, tweeter design, crossover scheme, internal damping, and price.

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Design
Like the Response D Two, the Response D2R—which measures 17" high × 8" wide × 9.75" deep (with ½" grilles off)—is a two-way bass-reflex design. The new model retains the original's 6.5" SEAS/ProAc midrange/woofer with glass-fiber cone, rubber surround, copper phase plug, and Excel ceramic ring-magnet system. New to the D2R is a 2.75" ProAc ribbon tweeter—the reason for the R in its model name—which replaces the D Two's 1" silk dome. Despite this change, key specifications are the same: specified frequency range of 30Hz–30kHz; nominal 8 ohm impedance; sensitivity specified merely as "88.5dB."

Apart from its prominent 2.5" diameter, 5" deep plastic port, the D2R's front baffle is distinguished by the fact that its ribbon tweeter, like the dome tweeter on the previous model, is offset toward the inside of the cabinet's face.

"[T]weeters on the baffle are offset for a couple of reasons," Tyler explained. "Firstly, having them offset . . . helps to prevent phase anomalies; it also helps with the soundstage by reducing reflection from the side walls.

"The ribbon tweeters in the D2R are made by ProAc using parts sourced from several places," he continued. "The magnet is alnico; the ribbon is a 1" corrugated aluminum piece, which makes it very reliable and capable of handling a fair amount of power."

Much of the D2R's cabinet—as with the Response D Two—is constructed of marine plywood "which is heavily damped." Yet here, the front and back panels are comprised of high-density fiberboard; those panels are thicker than the cabinet's shell.

"This means that resonances in the cabinet are cancelled out by the use of the different types of wood used together," Tyler explained. "There is no internal bracing, as we do not agree with this type of design except in large bass cabinets. All our cabinets are made in the UK."

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My review pair of D2Rs arrived finished in Natural Oak. Stretchy black-fabric grilles were provided but not used. Two pairs of silver-nickel binding posts, connected by two silver-nickel rods/jumpers (for use with a single pair of speaker cables), are recessed, within a plastic molding, into the lower third of the D2R's back panel. The D2R doesn't include feet or cushioning pad(s); you'll need dabs of Blu-Tack if your speaker stands don't have rubberized pads on their top plates.

Setup
After trying several different angles and listening distances, I ended up with the ProAcs in the same area that has worked well for most bookshelf speakers in my room: with the speakers 37" from the back wall and 50" away from my listening seat, both distances measured from the D2R's front baffles. The speakers were 65" apart, measured from the inner side wall of each cabinet.

Tyler suggested toeing in the D2R to where its side walls were no longer visible. I opted for slightly less toe-in: The inner side walls were still visible, but barely. I listened with my ears just about level with the centers of the tweeters.

"We recommend that customers experiment with the positioning," Tyler wrote. "You can try both the long and short walls of the room, but ideally they are best placed as far away as possible from walls or corners. The ideal distance between the speakers also varies from room to room, but we suggest around 6–12' apart . . . toed in with the tweeters to the inside, neither cabinet wall visible. This is to achieve the sweet spot and improve the imaging."

I used both of my turntables when evaluating the ProAcs: the Kuzma Stabi R with 4Point tonearm and Hana ML cartridge, and the Thorens TD 124 Mk.II with Jelco 350S tonearm and Hana EL cartridge. These sent their signal to a Tavish Design Adagio phono stage. A one-meter pair of Shindo RCA interconnects connected phono stage to the RCA inputs of the Cary SLI-80HS and Schiit Ragnarok 2 integrated amplifiers. Auditorium 23 speaker cables joined the Cary to the speakers. I set the Cary's speaker-output toggles to the 4 ohm setting.

COMPANY INFO
ProAc Limited
US distributor: The Sound Organisation
1009 Oakmead Dr.
Arlington, TX 76011
(972) 234-0182
ARTICLE CONTENTS

COMMENTS
Bogolu Haranath's picture

KM could try the NAD M10 ($2,750, reviewed by Stereophile) with some of these bookshelf/stand-mount type of speakers ...... The built-in Dirac Live could improve the sound even further, for the already good sounding speakers :-) ........

georgehifi's picture

Is it me or does the older look the better in the tests

https://www.stereophile.com/content/proac-response-two-loudspeaker-measu...

Cheers George

Bogolu Haranath's picture

What measurements of Response Two look better to you? ......... Could you be more specific? ........ I'm just curious :-) .........

georgehifi's picture

A couple,
Frequency Fig3, new is tilted up quite a bit at both ends.
Vertical response Fig5.
Cumulative spectral-decay plots Fig8.

Main one to me would be the frequency +5db boost at 100hz and a rising response from 3khz to 20khz, sucked out between 900hz to 4khz, compared to a very flat +-2.5db from 50hz to 20khz on the old one. The new is typical of a bookshelf trying to be a floor stander, with compromises, where the old with that tweeter and with a sub would be far better proposition.

Cheers George

Bogolu Haranath's picture

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Bogolu Haranath's picture

You are right about the measurements of this new model Response D2R ....... In addition, FR from about 100 Hz to 20 kHz looks little bit like the 'Fletcher-Munson curve' ......... The dip you mention from about 900 Hz to 4 kHz is the famous 'BBC dip' in the presence region ....... There is a serrated FR from about 10 kHz to 20 kHz which could be perceived as treble harshness and hardness by some young listeners ........ This is seen as rippling of the FR from about 10 kHz to 20 kHz in Fig.6, also :-) ........

Bogolu Haranath's picture

Regarding the measurements of the old model Response Two, there are some problems there too ....... There are a couple of dips in the FR in the midrange from about 200 Hz to 1 kHz ....... There is also a 'BBC dip' in the presence region from 1 kHz to 3 kHz ........ There is also another dip in the FR from about 3 kHz to 10 kHz and another dip from 10 kHz to 20 kHz ....... Almost all of the treble region has somewhat serrated appearance in the FR in the old model ........ We can see this as rippling in the cumulative spectral decay plot, especially in the mid and upper treble region in Fig.8, in the old model ........
The KEF LS-50 has better measurements than either of these above mentioned ProAc models ......... However both the ProAc models have larger size mid/woofers, and can go lower in the bass frequencies ......

BTW ..... The name ProAc rhymes with the name Prozac :-) ........

Trevor_Bartram's picture

Many mini-monitors have the 3-6dB bass boost, it is intentional, in that if the bass drive unit is placed one quarter wavelength (at the boost frequency) from the room's rear wall (primary reflector), partial cancellation will occur in the region resulting in a smooth in room response. I don't believe the review mention bloated bass, so placement must have been correct.

Ortofan's picture

... a silk dome tweeter, would measure (and sound) in comparison?

Bogolu Haranath's picture

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Bogolu Haranath's picture

Some of these ribbon tweeters used in some of the various speaker models, seems to have similar problems like these ProAc D2R model ........ One good example is the GoldenEar speaker models reviewed by Stereophile :-) ........

JHL's picture

...is a ribbon, not an AMT.

Bogolu Haranath's picture

My comments were about ribbons :-) .........

JHL's picture

...you don't know the technology any more than why anyone would then jabber about it.

Bogolu Haranath's picture

I mentioned about RAAL ribbons ....... See, below :-) ........

JHL's picture

...none of that jabbering is even remotely relevant.

Bogolu Haranath's picture

There are distortions in some of the ribbons, like the ones used in ProAc and GoldenEar ......... RAAL ribbons are better with less distortions :-) ........

JHL's picture

...the GE doesn't have a ribbon, it has a small AMT. As for the RAAL, implementation is everything, which in the case of a small loose diaphragm is *really* everything.

Even so, this is irrelevant jabbering. So too is making unfounded assumptions about domes.

Bogolu Haranath's picture

Why is it irrelevant when we talk about distortion? :-) .......

JHL's picture

...if we're analyzing distortion and its audibility or if we're jabbering about technology without knowing what it really is and what it does.

Presumably this review goes to the relative success of this product at reconnecting a listener to an original musical event, not whether another product entirely has a "ribbon" in it when it does not. Same for domes when we make completely unfounded and irrelevant remarks about them. Nobody cares, nor should they.

Bogolu Haranath's picture

GoldenEar (GE) specs say 'High velocity folded ribbon (HVFR) tweeters' :-) .........

JHL's picture

...can also call it a ham sandwich. Nobody stopping us.

*Flat* drivers exist in at least four different technologies, ribbons being one and AMT's being another. They work differently, they're used differently, they measure differently, and they sound different.

Jabbering about them as a lump sum is irrelevant to the point of a review like this by a number of orders.

ChrisS's picture

...think "Sheldon".

Bogolu Haranath's picture

More specifically 'Sheldon Comics' may be? :-) .......

ChrisS's picture

....more like Sheldon in TBBT.

Endearingly.

Bogolu Haranath's picture

'Dunning-Kruger effect', (illusory superiority) may be? (see, Wikipedia) :-) ........

ChrisS's picture

...that either.

Bogolu Haranath's picture

BG/BGR 'Boy Genius :-) ......

ChrisS's picture

Other people need to understand what "Sheldon" is about.

Bogolu Haranath's picture

'Wunderkind' ....... May be like Mozart who started composing at the age 5 :-) ........

ChrisS's picture

...of Sheldon's.

Bogolu Haranath's picture

So, JHL is one of them? :-) .......

ChrisS's picture

Follow my posts.

Bogolu Haranath's picture

I think JHL is more like 'Patrick Star' :-) ........

ChrisS's picture

...fun!

That's all we need to know.

Bogolu Haranath's picture

Bart Simpson could also fit the description :-) ...........

Bogolu Haranath's picture

May be a little bit of Bugs Bunny too :-) .......

Bogolu Haranath's picture

Distortions about domes is also relevant topic for discussion ......... Unfortunately, your comments are incoherent :-) ........

JHL's picture

It just ... need they, moar cow bell ;o) ........

Bogolu Haranath's picture

Q: Why do cows wear bells? .....
A: Because their horns don't work :-) .........

Bogolu Haranath's picture

Wilson Audio uses silk dome tweeters in their top models Alexia2 and Alexx speakers ....... Those tweeters have some rippling problems too, in the mid and upper treble regions ....... See the Stereophile measurements :-) .......

Bogolu Haranath's picture

Wilson Audio all models reviewed by Stereophile use silk dome tweeters ....... All those tweeters have problems, especially in the mid and upper treble region, seen in the measurements :-) ......

Bogolu Haranath's picture

Revel Performa F208 ($5,000/pair) which has Aluminum dome tweeters has better measurements than some of the above mentioned tweeters :-) ........

Bogolu Haranath's picture

Also, KEF LS-50, which has Aluminum dome tweeters has better measurements :-) .......

Bogolu Haranath's picture

Alta Audio speakers (reviewed by Stereophile) use RAAL ribbon tweeters ........ The tweeter itself shows fairly clean measurements :-) .......

Another speaker reviewed by Stereophile, ADAM Audio speaker ribbon tweeters, also measure well :-) ........

Bogolu Haranath's picture

Recently reviewed Sonus Faber Olympica 1 uses 'damped-apex silk-dome tweeters' ........ Those tweeter measurements look very good, including clean spectral decay plot ......... May be Wilson could switch and use that type of tweeters :-) ........

JHL's picture

JA, instead of 'acoustical polarity', would it be more precise to refer to driver wiring as inverted or non-inverted 'DC polarity'? The acoustic or AC signal in the DUT show the drivers to be in-phase, however depending on design their DC wiring can take a number of forms...

Bogolu Haranath's picture

Like 'Optimus Prime', perhaps? :-) .......

JHL's picture

...can't stop yourself, can you.

Bogolu Haranath's picture

I got that 'can't stop virus' from you ...... It is 'contagious' :-) ........

ChrisS's picture

...engaging with "Sheldon".

He really can't help himself.

Bogolu Haranath's picture

I just don't want JHL to build a nuclear power plant with the DC wiring wrongly connected :-) ........

ChrisS's picture

...some people don't appreciate your humor or your comments and get annoyed at you.

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