I can't give you precisely the comparison you're interested in but you might find some of this useful. I've got a McCormack 0.5 Deluxe and the transport, DAC and pre-amp are McCormack, as well. I'm driving a pair of Proac Studio 150's, similar in physical size to the Response 1.5 but not quite up to the Response line in quality. I auditioned a pair of Response 2s's for awhile and got a good sense of how they sound.
My previous speakers were Thiel 2.2's. Assuming you can broadly generalize about the Thiel sound and the Proac sound, there is a clear choice in character between the two.
The Thiels had lots of impact, better bass and were very accurate in revealing the quality of the original recording, sometimes brutally so. The Proacs image better and have a wonderful, natural mid-range and high-end compared to the Thiels.
Both sounded great with the amp and which pair you prefer will be absolutely, entirely based on what thrills you. I like the Proacs a lot better, they engage me in a way the Thiels never did, and there is no listener fatigue. The best part is that they always sound better than I expect them to, I'm constantly hearing things in the music I haven't heard before. The Thiels always sounded as I expected them to, which isn't bad, they're wonderful speakers, but not nearly as engaging for me.
If I listened exclusively to rock and roll and/or big orchestral music the Thiels might have been my choice but for everything else the Proacs do it better. Listen to both with music you know well and you won't go wrong.
My previous speakers were Thiel 2.2's. Assuming you can broadly generalize about the Thiel sound and the Proac sound, there is a clear choice in character between the two.
The Thiels had lots of impact, better bass and were very accurate in revealing the quality of the original recording, sometimes brutally so. The Proacs image better and have a wonderful, natural mid-range and high-end compared to the Thiels.
Both sounded great with the amp and which pair you prefer will be absolutely, entirely based on what thrills you. I like the Proacs a lot better, they engage me in a way the Thiels never did, and there is no listener fatigue. The best part is that they always sound better than I expect them to, I'm constantly hearing things in the music I haven't heard before. The Thiels always sounded as I expected them to, which isn't bad, they're wonderful speakers, but not nearly as engaging for me.
If I listened exclusively to rock and roll and/or big orchestral music the Thiels might have been my choice but for everything else the Proacs do it better. Listen to both with music you know well and you won't go wrong.