I love the soundstage. Nice imaging. I also have a subwoofer but it is used only to bring up the deeper bass that cannot be heard in the smaller speakers (60hz). Of course, the smaller diameters add to the dispersion and soundstage. The sub just fills in the bottom. It is pointed sideways to give the long wavelengths some room. Not sure of the year purchased.

no problems here

Natural sound. Even bass is not disappointing. I too played that Jurassic scene and it did shake my couch. It has a great finish -Birds eye maple I think it is called- with invisible seems (how do they do that???) It is heavy built to reduce cabinet resonance. In fact is has been reduced to zero, I cannot detect any. The tweeter even survived a collision with a toy plane my niece threw at it. I am not even going to say they are too expensive, because they are not. I have heard some more expensive speakers sounding less then these.

Eeerrr, let me think hard now. None!

Before buying this masterpiece I listened to several other loudspeakers. I intended to buy a couple of "big ones" thinking the bigger the better. But none of the systems really appealed to me. They eiter sounded muffled, dull, extremely bassy etc.Then they demonstrated the ProAc 2000 Tablette Signature hoping to sell me at least a decent pair of loudspeakers. I would have never thought that such small speakers could sound so good! In comparison with the others the ProAc sounded very natural, without any coloration of the sound, no resonance abnormalities that the bigger speakers did have (you can sometimes hear the box it's made out of). Well, I decided to take them home and give them a try. Luckily the dealer advised to take a few good stands with it otherwise I might have returned them. I agree with the reviews above. You need a pair of high mass stands, and also placement of the set is vital. It should be placed a good 30 or 40 cm's of a wall, as recommended in the manual. Needless to say I kept them and I am extremely happy with them. I can see no drawbacks in this product. It has perfect sound and perfect finish as well. And of course you need a good amp to run them. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. I now run them over a NAD T752 A/V receiver. I will not need anything else the next 15 years or so.

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Not worthy of mentioning...

Deap tunefull bass; clear smooth treble; fantastic imaging

Thin midrange; not too exuberant

The Proac Response 1sc arrived in my system a little over two weeks ago. Out of the box, the speaker struck me as the most well made audio product I had ever seen. Proac dresses their smallest speaker in real wood veneers on all sides, save the back. Upon close, CLOSE inspection, the finish is totally without flaw. The veneer joints are tight and straight, and the wood glows with a deep, dark tonality. My pair came in natural oak (which looks a hell of lot like the upscale Yew finish (200 extra on this model, I believe). If you like Yew, save the money and go for the natural oak. My dealer says that the oak will continue to darken over time. Packing is sufficient, but not luxurious. Proac's smallest came packed in a single box, which, although sparse, appeared to provide ample protection of the speakers. I nice touch is the "Sealed by Proac" stickers which hold the packing bags closed. Despite much effort, I could not open the bags without obliterating this sticker. You can assume that a pair which looks sealed, most certainly is sealed. My only complaint is the instruction manual, which is not drafted for this speaker in particular, but which covers the full line. If you are an idiot, there is just enough information in there to get you up and running. But for this price, (and with a speaker as fussy as this one is--as I will come to) I expected more in terms of placement advice, wire selection, and other reading material to get you through the waiting period. A thoughtful instruction manual is an asset as far as I am concerned.
Out of the box, two things became immediately apparent: First, these need at least a solid week to break in, and perhaps two. Secondly, you will have flushed 2100 good dollars down the toilet if you don't take that last extra step and invest in a good pair of high mass stands. I first fired these babies up on a pair of light-weight steel tubular stands--the kind Linn recommends for their Kan and Tukan loudspeakers. Immediately something was clearly wrong. I had never heard such bass boominess in all my life. All notes below 200 cycles were the same note, and they seemed to resonate the whole room. My wife described ever low notes as if it was being followed by a "swoosh" sound. Initially, I concluded that the woofers were exciting the rear firing ports something fierce, but even plugging these up helped only slightly. This was a speaker whose bass was WAY out of control. My heart sunk when I started to read some of the reviews on this forum, which complained of boomy bass from this speaker. Maybe I would have to live with it. A quick call to the distributor solved this problem post haste.
It was suggested to me that I try some other cable, but when I explained what stands I was using, I was told to forget the cable, and get a decent pair of stands. I borrowed a pair of sound anchors, and it was a different speaker after that. On a good pair of high mass stands, the response 1sc produced, deep, tight, and tuneful bass. Room resonance all but disappeared, and there was nary a "port noise" in the place. I assure you that I was AMAZED that a speaker stand could so fundamentally change the way a speaker could sound--but it did. The moral of the story is: these speakers are all but unlistenable on lightweight stands. DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT."
As I said, the speaker needs to be broken in a bit. Initially the treble will be raspy and strident. But if you play them non-stop for a few days, both drivers will settle in, and things will get a lot better.
Rob Doorack of Listener Magazine suggests that the midrange from the 1sc is its "crowning glory". In some ways he's right, but I think there needs to be more said here. True in fact, the 1sc's midrange is as clear and uncolored as I have ever heard. Even proac's more expensive offerings put several more layers of "cloth" between the listener and the event. Compared to the 1sc, midrange from other speakers seem hopelessly colored, as if every instrument were projected through cupped hands. But this clearness comes at a substantial price in my opinion. It may very well be that the clearness proac has been able to evoke from the 1sc's midrange leads to the ultimate fatigue one starts to get from listening to the speaker too long. I would suggest to you that, at least with my naim gear, the midrange is a little strident and lacks body. Although ruthlessly clear, instruments appear substantially thinner and more sibilant that they ought to be. For instance, on the wonderful Columbia reissue of Miles Davis's "Kind of Blue", the opening horns on "So What" just don't take up enough space. It's as if the jazzmen have traded in their regular instruments for ones that are 25% smaller. I found this theme recurring over and over again on horns, piano, and voice. It isn't as if this infirmity has anything to do with the 1sc's ability to throw a convincing left-right sound-stage---believe me they can--- it's just that even though, say, Joni Mitchel's voice in "all I want" fills the acoustical space nicely, it's just more "thin" that I think it ought to be. The midrange lacks a sense of body and warmth which may not suit your taste.
One could carelessly attribute this "thinness" to an over-all appreciation of "thinness" in the speaker as a whole--no doubt brought about by their diminutive dimensions. But this would be a huge mistake. The proacs, though small, are quite full and satisfying. Were they thin generally, bass would be lacking; high frequencies would fail to fill the acoustic space. This is not the case at all. Both at the top and bottom, this speaker is full and well rounded. Bass notes are satisfying and deep. They can extend both to the side, in-front of, and behind the speakers at will. Treble is full and smooth, and is thrown all over the room when the music calls for it. It is only in the middle, (where most of the music is--I submit) where the speaker thins out, and which leads this listener to have a less than ultimate experience.
Thus far, I have spoken of a tonality thinness which affects the midrange. But also the 1sc is not (at least in my system) capable of imbuing in that midrange much excitement either. Two conditions might lead to this. First, in stark contrast to the rest of the speaker, the little proacs in my room simply refuse to project instruments out into the room. In the midrange, the sound-stage is always recessed and contained either between the speakers, or actually "inside" one of both of them. Horns, voices, and piano simply would not break free from this invisible confine. They appeared to be locked behind a glass wall, and would not come out until the volume was pushed way up. Don't get me wrong, they are clear and uncolored, but in my system, I could not get them to break free from the speakers and pull me into the music. What am I getting at here? Recall when at the end of a song, the music starts to fade away, and then the song ends. This fading is more than just in volume. All the music seems to funnel itself into a tiny ball and drain away into an imaginary "drain" located between the two speakers. With the small proac 1sc's, I always feel like the song is about to end. Every note seems like it might "just" be the first one leading the phase-out of the whole tune. As if each note is the beginning of the end of the tune.
Ultimately, these issues have caused me to exchange my proac response 1sc's for a pair of the related Tablette 2000 sigs, which it is reported, are supposed to address the very concerns I have suggested here. I am told with these new speakers, the midrange is more even and full bodied (though only slightly less clear and uncolored). Further, the tab sigs are supposed to be able to project notes out into the room more, which will no doubt lend a level of excitement in this region the 1sc's simply do not seem to have. I'll let you know what I think.

system used here:
Naim nap 180
Naim nac 82
Naim hicap
CAL Icon MKII HDCD
Spica TC 50's.

judd

musicality, fit and finish, resale value

no deep bass yet

My previous experience was with floor standing KEF Q90 speakers. They produced a magical bass wavefront and were precise, tight, strong and clear. Hendix and Marley fans take note: if you like drive and dynamics they are great. But over the years my tastes gravitated to more acoustic music, jazz mostly. The powerful sounding KEF's were giving me alot of the details but something was missing. This sense of unease led me to seek a remedy and at the same time expand my horizons.

From what I could glean from ProAc's website, here was a chance to get the renowned ProAc tweeter, the Michell binding posts and a woofer and cabinet larger than the well received 1SC; in short, the Response Series specification but at a lower price. A no brainer? Only problem: the dealer didn't stock the Signatures. Listening to the garden variety Tablette 2000's and the floorstanding 1.5's provided a clue. Over the Tablettes, Cecilia Bartoli sounded fine. Over the 1.5's she sounded fine AND was standing in front of the piano. Delivery of the Signatures took five weeks.

It's cool that the Signatures only come in premium finishes. You don't have to rationalize opting for less than the best on offer. The dealer said most people order the ebony because it's the most expensive when it's an option. Go figure. I chose rosewood for its understated elegance even though it meant adding another three weeks to the delivery time.

While I waited I ordered Target HR60/2 24" stands. These are well finished, one piece welded, two column units that weigh about 20 pounds apiece. Filled with Sakrete Contruction Grade Fine sand from Home Depot, each stand took about 16 pounds to completely fill. They keep this sand inside the Depot so it was dry, uniform and easy to funnel into the stands. Figuring in the weight of the Signatures, now we're talking over 54 pounds a side.

When the ProAcs arrived I balanced the speakers to the stands' top plates and biwired 'em with 8'runs of original Monster to a Threshold S300/II. My first impression was a sense of openness. After two, maybe three weeks, the imaging detached completely from the speakers. In one word these ProAcs are musical. Compared to the KEF's the soundstage is somewhat deeper. Another plus, I can spread the ProAcs farther apart with no problem. But the best bit is the listenability. These speakers convey the expressive performance of the music. With the KEF's I used to sit in judgement as I analysed the sounds of the various instruments presented to me. Now I hear more of the artistic intent and energy of the players. Wonderful! Is this is the "warm yet detailed" sound Stereophile reviewers use as a benchmark? Could be. These speakers are certainly smooth yet revealing.

Minutiae: The amp runs cooler. Cymbals and snare drum sound realistic, never like white noise. Female vocals are sublime. Low bass is a bit MIA but i'm still hopeful as time passes. Blue tacking the speakers to the stands helped a little but not much; I only put it on the corners. The HR60/2 stands have some lateral spring with the speakers on top. The four column Target R4's no doubt alleviate this and cost twice as much. The spikes sink gently into my wood floor, leaving holes.

In a nutshell, through the KEF's the sound of CD was marvelously detailed. While fascinating in its own way, this led to a compulsion to listen to the details instead of the music. Every CD became a kind of stereo demonstration record. However, the KEF's did do LP's justice - Joni Mitchell was in the room. With the ProAcs, CD's featuring voice and acoustic instruments sound natural, the emotional content comes through, you just relax and listen, but vinyl sounds more rolled off. Put another way, if you dig rock at high levels, these aren't for you. If you favor virtuosic performance, expressiveness, musicality or whatever you want to call it, you won't be disappointed.

Similar Products Used:

none

The ProAC 2000 Signature speakers have precise imaging qualities, great mid-range and treble responses, wide and deep sound-staging dimensions. One gets musically and emotionally involved. Very versatile in reproducing music works of either Jazz, solo music instruments, chamber and orchestral pieces. Very musical and supports pleasant listening on extended hours of hi-fi reproduction.

Adequate bass but can be better with depth.
Needs a longer time to break-in.

Excellent value for hi-fi realm of enjoyment. My sense is that it is extremely compatible with valve amplification equipments. It's soundstaging realism is commendable and on the system I used, the speakers fade way from physical placement revealing a wide and deep soundstage.There is body and mass to the music it reproduces.
Highly recommended for music lovers who appreciate musicality and not analytical focus,who enjoys longer periods of relaxation without listener fatigue.

Similar Products Used:

ProAc Tablette 50
Advent Prodigy

ProAc manufacturer claimed that the volume for these speaker is 50% larger than Tablette 50 signature.Yes,the bass it produce is deeper and stronger.Mid-range is clear and well projected.Treble is sweet,open and transparency.Stereo focus is sharp and accuracy. Bear in mind that these speaker is not so easy to drive if compare to Tablette 50 signature.It has sensitivity of 87dB,8 ohm whereas Tablette 50 signature has 89dB,8 ohm.
I strongly recommended you to use Tablette 50 signature if you owned LOW POWER push-pull/S.E.T tube amp.You need high power amp to make Tablette 2000 signature sing if you want to hear its full potential.

natural, musical, easy to drive

lack deep bass, need good amplifier

I picked a pair of ProAc Tablette 2000 Signature and the YBA Integre integrated amplifier to replace my stolen B&W Matrix 805 and Arcam Alpha 9. Since it took me almost two months to have the equipment replaced, I cannot compare the two combination directly.

The insurance company originally listed B&W Nautilus 805 and Arcam Alpha 9 as the replacement, but when I first heard the combination at HiFi Center in Vancouver, I found the new B&W a bit bright and forward for me. I am not sure if it was due to lack of break-in. Then I tried the ProAc Tablette 2000. It was quite a difference - very listenable and not bright at all. The next speaker was the ProAc Tablette 50 Signature. The 50 Signature, though lacking in bass compared with the 2000, was much more open and natural sounding, especially with vocal. The dealer told me it just ordered a pair of 2000 signature, so I decided to wait.

When the 2000 signature arrived, the 50 signature was already sold, so I could not compare them directly. Since the 50 signature is less expensive than the B&W Nautilus 805, I decided to switch to a better amplifier, the YBA Integre.

The 2000 signature combines the strengths of the 2000 and the 50 signature - i.e. very open and natural, with a satisfying amount of bass, though it doesn't go very deep. To me the speaker/amplifier combination seems to be able to convey the recording venue better than my old equipment. The combination ended up in my home.

The 2000 signature does very well with jazz and classical music, and even TV broadcast. However, you may find the bass to be somewhat lacking with big orchestral pieces or movie soundtrack. For example, in Jurassic Park, the scene in which the dinosaur foot steps cause ripples in a water puddle, you will not feel the vibration from this speaker; a subwoofer is definitely required.

For a few weeks, the YBA was returned for repair (a channel imbalance problem) so I borrowed my cousin's Sony ES pro-logic receiver. The sound from this combination was very different - bass became weaker, voices lacked warmth, and overall the sound was more fatiguing. So make sure you use good amplification with this speaker.

Similar Products Used:

B&W Matrix 805, B&W Nautilus 805

Gorgeous open midrange and treble

Bass

Running a Bryston 3B NRB, and fairly good (finally) digital front end, these small speakers have amazing mid and treble clarity. Better dynamics than I've heard elsewhere. I think that if others hear something weird, it's their equipment. These are not inherently bright or harsh in any way but can certainly reveal any of that in your equipment. But, the only note of warning is a less imposing bottom end. Although the Signatures beat out my current very old Infinity box speakers in almost every area, they are lacking in the kind of bass heft that really satifies. (Yes, *even* with jazz). The lack of a few deeper notes that I do hear through my Infinities is not the real caution here, it's more the affecting of overall balance. *BUT* these are really special for their ability to involve and engage you, for their open dynamic midrange, and Proacs are a must-hear for anyone who has never experienced them.

Similar Products Used:

Thiel .5, Infinity "QE", many bargain B&W

Treble, Imaging, Finish/Build

Mid-bass? Takes a long time to run in.

After listening to many different brands of speakers, none really stood out and said 'take me!'
Being rather desperate for something I liked, I decided to try out this speaker with an integrated amp that I'd been eyeing up for a while (Plinius 8150).
Out of the box, the finish cried out 'eat me', and the quality of build was as good as they get.
Apparently the amp takes a few hours/days to warm up, and I had heard the speakers would take 3-6 months.
First day out, sound wasn't all that bad. Bass was as expected (rather dry and cold).
However, now that I've run them in for 4 months, they sound terrific. I mainly listen to jazz, vocals, classical, hip-hop, and trance. My system sounds a little too clinical (too precise) for the likes of my Snoop or Gatecrasher, but with the rest, it is the sound I like the best. I agree with many others, in that the treble and midrange is hard to beat. Some will complain about the bass, but I have not had that problem. This system runs in my bedroom which is about 5x5m. I have mounted them on large concrete blocks instead of stands till I can afford something more worthy (which is likely to cost a bundle for the best). My bedroom windows are the 'pane', as I am having trouble trying to stop them from rattling when the volume is at a reasonable level. Put on anything like Massive, and the whole top floor of the house rumbles. (Not quite as good as a coffee-table-sized sub though). So my bedroom doesn't need large speakers to produce bass. I find most systems at friends places are often too bassy for my likings. This speaker suits my bedroom perfectly.
Unfortunately, I have fallen for this arrangement, and can't see replacing any of these for a long time.
If you are spending this kind of money on speakers, I think you should consider. Do make sure you have enough power to run these though. My Plinius did more than enough. I don't know what these speakers sound like with other amps.

Similar Products Used:

Various stand-mounters