Proac Original Response 2 VS Response 3

i used to own Response 2, and now own 3.5.
I agree with Krell that the 3.5 are a bit bass shy, however so are the R2 which is why i moved to the 3.5. the 3.5 however, I feel an all around good performer, bass is adequate, the positives outweigh any minute shyness in the bass. I am using a JC Verdier Audio Bloc 2 to drive the Proacs 3.5 which is a 20 watt tube amp. the results are amazing.

I say give it a go, while i too love what a gr8 pair of quality monitors can do, you cannot replace the fullness that a floorstander offers.

A little off topic, but I upgraded from ProAc 1SC's to 2.5's. I lost a lot of what I loved in the 1SC's, imaging was a big one, so if you love the way the 2's image I don't think you will get that from one of the bigger ProAc Speakers, althogh good for a bigger speaker, they are a bigger speaker. I think if you where to give us some info on what else you have in your system you would get better advice. Your sourcemay be bright, cables, amps? I tryed many CD players in my system and many of the "highly rated players I tryed where VERY VERY bright to my ears.

I have heard that the Proac's excell with tubes...but here we go again another upgrade and alot more $ 2-3K for a good tube amp.

I have some older gear which I feel is very good value in audio like the R2. Front End- Goldmund/Meta Research Laser 1 & Convert 1 Xport/Dac, Pre- First Sound Reference II passive, Amp- Eagle 2C SS, Cables-Cardas Quadlink 5C, Digital Cable-Goldmund Lineal, Amp PC-Cardas Golden Power.
I'm not one to join the speaker of the month club but man I wish I could I would buy the 75K kharma's for sale here on the Gon Driven by Tube Research Labs and then Wadia for source. Nothing wrong with dreaming right....

I owned both Respone 2s and 3s. The 3s were a significant upgrade and lost NOTHING in terms of imaging or anything else. They won't give you a really exended low end, but the bass is substantially better than the 2. Both are great speakers. I've seen the 3s for around $2K, which is a real bargain IMO.

I've owned the ProAc 2, 3.5, 3.8, and now the D80. You will find that Audio Research tubed amps sound fabulous with ProAcs and an excellent match. The ProAc 2 is a wonderful speaker but care must be made when matching it to one's system. I found that both cable and amplifier choice really make a difference in the sound. If you are interested in better bass I would pass up the 3 and the 3.5 over the 3.8. I found the 3.8s bass to be significally better than that of the 3.5.