Proac Response D1 or D2?

Rick? David? Anyone?

I have owned the D2 and tested the D1 on 3 occasions. 

The d2 has a warmer, more full bodied sound, and the D1 sounds a bit faster and has a bit more 'snap'. My room is 4x4m and the d2 seemed a little bassy for my liking. Also the d2 seemed to dip in the mid range a bit due to the lift on the bottom and top frequencies. However, both had good detail. I thought the d1 would be excellent as revealing monitor speakers. 

In my room, I would say the d1 would have been best suited, in hindsight. But, in a slightly larger room, maybe the d2. 

However, I preferred the Harbeth P3, C7 and M30 to the proac d1, d2 and d18 respectively. I opted for the M30. 

Westerniser, thanks so much for the input. Would you mind sharing even more in detail?

It seems that I'm going in reverse of your previous experience.

I currently have the Harbeth 7es3's and wanted to get the Proac's for their strengths in imaging and openness.

Just how much bass extension will I miss in the D1's? Bass volume was never my priority, clarity is, and that was certainly not one of the strengths with the Harbeth's. I wonder if they sound anything like the Tablette's which I didn't like very much.

It's interesting that you chose the M30's over the other Harbeth's as they seem to be the least popular, but, to me they are the most accurate.

I'm sure I replied to this yesterday....

Response D1 was yesterday, today's Response is D2. (that was bad, even for me!)

You did David. The forum pixies must be paying up again...

For a 5x7m room, I'd be plumping for the D2's.

Sure, no problem...

I started this comparison with a demo at home of the Proac D2, D18, Spendor A5 (owned these already) and Harbeth M30; I chose the Harbeth. However, over time I reviewed my choice as my Harbeths weren't sounding quite open enough for me.

I then tried the other Harbeths (C7 and P3) for several months, buying them second hand, and it's clear they all have their own qualities. The C7 had a little more brightness but were less revealling and the brightness wasn't as natural as the M30, the M30 has a better, soft dome tweeter. The P3 are excellent, but would love these for more nearfield listening. Absolutely incredible for their size though. Really musical too. 

After several months, the M30 proved to have a more sophisticated level of openness and realism, but they may not impress in the showroom as they aren't quite as bassy or bright. During these three months I also revisted the Proac D2 ( I actually bought some!) and demo'd the D1 also. 

Every time I switched to the Proac D2 at home, I liked the clarity of the upper frequencies and the smooth mid range. However, over a few days I would start to notice vocals and mids becoming wispy and a little unrealistic. They are still lovely speakers and will suit more complex and loud music better (heavy rock for example) as they are knocked back a little in the mids, but going back to the Harbeths I would really enjoy the music all over again, natural, smooth, accurate etc. 

It sounds like you won't like the D1 if you don't like the Tablette. For me, they were in between the D2 and Tablettes in sound style. D1s were harder and punchier than the D2, but with good clarity, and smoother than the Tablettes, which were too clinical for me, without authority or warmth. The harbeth P3 had more weight, warmth and realism than the D1 and tablette. 

After some changes to my system - Added the Naim DAC to the Supernait, changed the Naim cable to tellurium Q Black, a good Wireworld optical lead, new Mac Mini (with low jitter) and stopped playing Mp3, and played FLAC instead, my Harbeth M30 came alive. I was basically suffering from a poor source and not ideally matched intermediates. 

I'd be careful changing to the Proac, but horses for courses. Can you do a home demo? They are great in the showroom but I ended missing the Harbeth qualities. FWIW, even though my fave Harbeth is the M30 (after the Super HL5 which is too big for my room sadly) the P3 was my next favourite. They had amazing clarity, like the D1 but more music. It's because they are a sealed box and have a light bass, which helps them come to life in the upper frequencies, compared to the C7. Also, I would double check your C7 have room to breathe, otherwise you will lose the clairty and detail in bass and mids. Open frame stands, away from walls, decent listening height etc, I'm sure you're aware! Also, have you removed the covers? They open up a little, but depends on whether they suit your space like that. I like to hear them bare, but prefer the look of the covers on.

Hope that's useful and good luck with your choice. Will aim to check the post agaon soon, see how you get on! 

Thanks so much for your detailed post, Westerniser. This is incredibly helpful.

For me, the strengths of the 7e3's that I fell in love with initially, let me know what I'd really like to hear.

During the ownership of these speakers I bought more jazz music than ever, and would sit infront of the speakers in awe and appreciation. There is no speaker that could approach the Harbeth's when listening to female vocals.

However, my main library, consisting of classical music, mostly orchestral, got neglected and left unselected. Chamber music and piano music fared better, but even then, the sound never became open enough. It was as if I was looking into a deep, beautifully resonant well.

Now I'm looking at P3, Proac D1, and D2.

I've heard the P3's recently, and for me, it was better than the 7es3's, because of the exact reason you mentioned, as having less and probably tight bass.

The D2's I heard handled orchestral music so well, and solo instruments soared high with vividness. This might turn many people off, but not me.

My only concern is if the jazz vocals I've come to enjoy, because of the Harbeth's, might get buried this time. Or the D2's might be too much in the direction I'm heading. Or the D1's can't handle complex orchestral music well.

I assume that you've tried all those speakers with your Naim amplifier, so I have to take that into consideration as well. From my experience, higher model Naim works incredibly well with Harbeth, not so with Proac.

So much for me to think about, but very excited to get new speakers!

Did you make any further progress with the speakers? 

I'm considering moving to the Harbeth P3 from the Monitor 30 due to neighbour issues. Saying that, I would still keep hold of the M30 for the next home.

I haven't made much progress forward only because I've decided to take things slow and enjoy the process.

I will be able to demo the P3's at home for a couple of days. This will be very telling of such small speakers being able to fill the space of 12ft x 16ft, which will open doors to other options such as the Proac D1 and Tablette Anniversary. It will also be the final word on whether it's the tonality of the 7es3's or the Harbeth's in general that I can't agree with.

I've set a couple of rules for myself in this search:

1. Speakers must be able to perform well reasonably close to the wall - Speakers well into the room just because they need a breathing room, forcing a nearfield setup of less than 5 feet, are probably not the most efficient set of headphones.

2. Don't spend any more than necessary - For me, the point of diminishing return is actually in the beautiful cabinetry of some speakers. I'm buying musical transducers, not Italian furniture.

3. Don't be afraid of "brightness" - When I started looking around for speakers some time ago, I kept reading about "brightness" or lack thereof and its negative connotation especially when listened to in long term. My experience tells me that live music sounds bright when listened to in close proximity, and I certainly don't have time to listen to my system for "hours."

I'm not sure if the P3's will be more neighbor-friendly than your M30's are. In fact, the P3's might need to be played louder to sound good due to impedance and sensitivity. If I were you, I would go with a cheaper option that will sound good at low volume with higher sensitivity. I have that option open for myself as well.

It sounds like Proac D1 might strike the right balance for you. They are fairly bright, but have a smoother sound too. 

I have added some P3esr SE to my kit, and will receive them next week. Can't wait. 

Eventually they will be for a second system in a new home, but will try them on the main system for a while. Plus a change of layout at home will accommodate the P3 better than the larger M30. Will report. 

Looking forward to it, westerniser. My in-home demo of the P3's starts in an hour! I'm so excited! I will probably report by tomorrow.

I'm also looking into the Studio 115's as well. I don't know how much difference it would make from the Response series, but it also seems to be newer technology. As far as I know, the Studio 140mkII's are killing the sales of the Response D18's.

I've realized that it's silly to try to reproduce a full-scale ochestra in my small living room. That would be so tiring to listen to!

As long as I get holographic imaging with vocals, upfront soundstaging of orchestra, and emotional directness of solo instruments, I will be a happy man. :smile:" src="http://images.cdn.whathifi.com/sites/all/modules/smileys/packs/Roving/smile.png" alt=":)" width="19" height="19" />

BTW, I'm glad to be running along the same track with you, westerniser. This is really helpful!

I agree. I know it's personal preference, but I just don't find smooth sounding systems that enjoyable. I like my music with an edge, and many instruments do have an edge to them when played 'live'. I think man people mistake brightness for harshness, which are two totally different things.

Right. Have you ever stood in front of a Wagner soprano? Sure clears up your sinus.