Forgive me father, it has been 6 years since my last upgrade

Hi,

I want to buy some new speakers. I have been happily using a pair of Proac Studio 100's for the last 6 years. These are driven biamped by a Sugden A21a and A21p (source = Sugden CD21, Pink Triangle LPT, OL-modded Rega 250 arm, Kontrapunkt B). Speaker cable is by MDM (called ACE I think, MDM are a swiss company that Sugden were recommending at the time). My Room is quite small at 9 x 12 feet (9 ft high).

Anyway, from nowhere I have been overcome with the desire to change the speakers (it is probably displacement activity). There are several speakers I have always admired and heard driven by the A21a (not in the same rooms though). These are:

Proac Response 1 sc
Proac Response 2.5
Proac Response 3.8
Proac Future 0.5
Living Voice Auditorium (and I suspect I'd like the Avatar).

I was thinking of taking a punt on one of these when something reasonable came up on ebay. This may sound like a ridiculous thing to do and you may think that there's a lot of fun to be had in auditioning but last time (Studio 100s vs LV Auditoriums) I spent far too long agonizing over the decision and this time I'd like to take a considered gamble.

Leaving aside the proverb of a fool and his money etc, any words of advice or caution on these possible amp speaker pairings? I'm most drawn to the 1sc's or the Future 0.5's. Thanks

 

Never heard a bad pair of living voice speakers. Saying that i have only heard them with valves though...

 

Proac Studio 100s are rather good though so do you really need to change them or are you just scratching an itch?

Sounds like you have a well balanced system.
If you are looking to change speakers I'd be inclined to go for something much larger but with good bass control.
My experience tells me that running small-medium ported stand mounts in a small room is often a problem as the bass alignment and port tuning are right in the area of the room modes. You get plenty of thump and weight but poor definition and the balance is all wrong.

So, do look at the LVs, perhaps some of the Audio Note designs or investigate some horns

 

Thanks for the comments. I'm definitely scratching an itch.

If I remember correctly the LV Auditoriums lost out to the 100's in terms of bass control in that particular room. At the time my dealer was saying that the Avatars would sort that out while keeping the 'musicality' of the Auditoriums. Avatars where too expensive then but maybe not now...

 

Yup, I'd go for the LV's. I had the Proacs and upgraded to the Auditoriums via a pair of Impulse H2. These were somewaht woolly in the bass so the LV's sounded tighter. They also seemed to have more air than the rather tight sound of the Proacs. The IBX's I now run do have a far tighter bass than the Auditoriums, as do the Avatars.
Get a listen to them, maybe up at Kevin's in Notts.
He often has ex-dem pairs for sale, so worth a trip

 

The LV's are very nice but do try and hear these - http://www.wlm-loudspeakers.com/indexengl.html (the Diva is the comparable model) No idea how much £ they go for in the UK ? Select Audio in Cumbria is the UK distributor. Speakers are obviously highly subjective but basically I traded in my Avatars for them.

 

The only ProAcs that I've heard regularly (a pair of Response CC2s - ProAc themselves rather like them used this way) need winding up a fair bit to come to life, and they're quite insensitive. Wouldn't be my first choice to drive with the A21s. I use Monarchy SM70 power amps (similar solid state class A), and have certainly found that you'd do well to use a more sensitive speaker. With my own speakers (Meadowlark Kestrel 2) I reaped big benefits by bridging with a pair of SM70s - a single one struggled.

 

Thanks for the input and the WLM tip off. I will look harder at the LVs and may well make a trip to Notts. I was trying to avoid dealers this time as I am simply putty in their hands. With every single purchase that I've made I have spent much more than I wanted to but I guess I am not going to be alone there.

 

I'm lucky enough to have owned every one of the speakers you mention, but with loudspeakers judgements are so subjective and room dependent.

I would say, the Response 2.5 needs power, as does the 3.8. Indeed the 3.8 needs power and a lot of room - it's bottom end was definately tuned for the US market. The D38 however is a killer with lower powered amps IME.

The Future Point 5 is a bit of a curate's egg. It sounds superb with some music and disappointing with others. Of all the Futures it has the best integration, but to my ears still never quite gelled like some of ST's better designs.

The Living Voice is more lively and more coloured. It can sound very entertaining but very different to most Proacs - the newer Studio 130/140 sounding closer than the Response series.

That leaves the 1sc. I still love this speaker and retain a pair to this day. It's simply right in so many ways, easy to integrate into rooms, and when fed properly can give world class midrange resolution. Whether it's a step up from the 100 I can't say. It certainly is in terms of sophistication and resolution, but whether that translates into worthwhile gains for you is another matter.

 

Never got on with the living voice speakers. Always found them flat and lifeless. They were the worse sound at the April Heathrow show earlier this year. It sounded like a blanket had been thrown over them.

 

Stereo Mic, thanks, that's a really useful run through my initial list.

The D38s are too expensive for me. I will keep my eyes open for some LV Avatars but it sounds like picking up a second-hand pair of Response 1sc's would be relatively risk free way of proceeding for now. If they don't work for me I can always sell them on.