Stand Loudspeaker Reviews

Sidebar 2: System

I used the ProAcs as my main speakers for three months; driven mostly by VTL Deluxe 225 amps, they also tangoed with the new Dynaco Stereo 70-II, Nobis Cantabile, and Muse Model One Hundred amps. The rest of the system included my buffered-passive preamp, an Audio Research SP-14's phono stage, and a Well-Tempered Record Player fitted with a Sumiko Blue Point cartridge. Digital sources were a Theta Data/Pro Basic II combo and the Proceed CD Library I'll be writing about next month.

Interconnects were Kimber KCAG throughout, except for AudioQuest Silver Lapis between the 'table and the SP-14. The ProAcs were bi-wired with two 8' pairs of Kimber 4AG, and all electronics were plugged into API Power Wedge AC line conditioners. While I drove the ProAcs full-range, the Muse Model 18 subwoofer I usually use with my Spica Angeluses (footnote 1) was moved out of my listening room into the adjacent living room, where it served admirably for a time as a big black wooden thing with no apparent purpose.

And of course, like all right-thinking Americans, I voted for the young Elvis stamp.—Corey Greenberg

---

Footnote 1: Spica has recently replaced a small inductor in the Angelus's crossover with a much larger unit; the result, on my Spicas, was less midrange congestion at high levels and a clearer sound overall. If your Angelus's serial number is 1400 or below, your Spica dealer can handle the modification; believe me, after dicking around with razor blades and a hot glue gun revamping mine, I tell you you'll be glad to let your dealer do it.