Driving ProAc Response 2 With Solid State

I am driving the newer ProAc Response D15 with the Rowland Concentra II and the combo IMO is excellent. Superb midrange, clarity, great with vocals, jazz, instrumentals sound really good. Of course, if you're looking headbanging, heavy rock music, ProAc's may not be the right way to go.

I bought a pair of Response 2 speakers (don't know about an "s" version) 10 years ago and fell in love with their speed and transparency. While I changed over to Martin Logans for my main rig, I still use the Response 2s in my office system and continue to be impressed. The only time I ever ran them with a SS amp was with an Adcom 555--bad idea, the high end was enough to give you a headache. I switched to Quicksilver Silver Edn mono amps, which, if anything, erred slightly on the dark end. I finally swapped the Quickies out for a VT100, and have enjoyed that combination for quite some time--I seriously urge you to listen to the ProAc/ARC combination. I believe that ProAc used ARC gear to voice its speakers.

I'd also beg to differ slightly with Dtanclim in that I found the ProAcs quite satisfying for rock music. The ProAcs had some slam and impact that my MLs are missing. OK, so they may not be ideal in the sense that they are mini-monitors and there is no far bottom end, but what is there is accurate and has punch.

Vox, I've been a happy ProAc monitor [both Response 1SC and Tablette 50 Signature] owner for two years now. I'm using a Blue Circle BC21 tube preamp mated to a BAT VK200 solid state amp and I really like the results.

The VK200 has the reputation of being on the dark side of the spectrum for a solid state amp so that may be one of the reasons I've found success, but I also think having a tube DAC and tube preamp in front of it helps as well.

Although I've never heard it, I understand that the Response 2 has excellent bass for a monitor, and I have no doubt they'll disappear if set up properly. ProAcs are known to do that, even the floorstanders. I heard the ProAc D80s powered by an all ARC set up and those big boys were invisible.

I've had success driving my ProAcs with solid state amps such as the Blue Circle BC22, Pass Aleph 3 and BAT VK200. If you're into acoustic guitar the Aleph 3 is something special.

Good luck!

I have had Response 2 for a couple years. Was happy using Krell KST-100 or ARC D-100B driving them until switching to tube. Maybe it's personal bias, I feel that solid state amp is no comparison to tube in driving ProAc. I didn't know what I missed until I got ARC VT-100 and 300B SET mono's.

R2's are not difficult to drive so don't waste money on high wattage solid state. I've heard low priced musical fidelity doing quite decent job. I also suggest that you search tube amp within the same price range. My bias again, I feel that tube beats solid state and SET beats push-pull. Price tag is not the dominate factor for getting good sound.

I happen to have Response 2, 1.5, 2.5 and super tablette in my living room now. With the amps I mentioned above, I feel that 1.5 is better than 2 (playing all kinds of classical and some jazz). You may want to try 1.5 in case you haven't got your 2.

I have a pair of Response 2's that I have driven with both an OCM/Belles 300 solid state amp with a Classe 30 pre-amp and later with an Aragon 2007 (7 x 200 watts) with the Aragon Stage One AV pre-amp.

They sound great with either.

I bought the Aragon's for a surround system with Monitor Audio Gold Reference 20's in front--GR10's as surrounds and the GR center channel with a HSU VTF-3 subwoofer.

Makes for a great surround system--but I still love listening to the ProAc Response 2's in stereo more than anything. And my wife says I should get rid of them along with the OCM and Classe. I think I will cry --the Response 2's are still my fave speakers so I will probably have to sell them, along with the OCM and the Classe to shut her up.

She doesn't want me to put them in the master bedroom. Go figure.

I probably should have bought a surround system with the ProAc's--but my wife will probably commit me if I do that after just buying the Monitor Audio's which she says make her happy--as she likes watching surround sound movies all the time.

G-Man at allchemie@aol.com

The Response 2's have incredible bass, particularly when placed on those incredibly expensive Target stands. I have played them in 2 different rooms--one a huge living room that is 20feet x 30 feet and drove them with the OCM amp with Classe 30 pre-amp and they sounded--still sound--incredible.

My brother would always come over (he's a violinist and a dentist--I'm a cellist) and play a Lindsay Buckingham album with incredible acoustic guitar picking. He'd freak out, swearing that the guitar was just hanging there in mid-air. He'd sit there for hours, much to his wifes dismay, totally transfixed by whatever he put on--be it rock, classical-(everything sounds great, but chamber music is ungodly--sounds like the quartet or quintet came over to play).Other friends would come by and ask--"Where are you hiding the subwoofer"? I got him ProAc Supertablettes years ago--he likes them alot, but they aren't in the same league. Of course, the Supertablettes cost a heckuva lot less and his don't have that beautiful rosewood finish.

I don't know if the speakers are just plain great, or that the combination of them sitting on the Target stands with Blu-Tak made them ethereal.