Will ARC VT-100 Mk. II drive ProAc 3.8's.

I currently own ProAc 3.8s and run them with a single VT-100 MKII. You will find that the VT-100 has more than enough power. The sound is fabulous with excellent bass, life-like midrange, and extended highs. Believe me this is a great sonic match.

The VT-100 is not at all the same as the VT-100 MKII. I've not heard the VT-100 MKIII (can't say I have read of anyone blown away by the III - generally it seems the MKII is the winner.) I had my VT-100 MKI upgraded to the II. Like a V6 to a V8!

But the real question is what is loud to you? If you really pump them up, I wonder if 100wpc is enough? FWIW, and completely ignorant of the taper on the volume pot, my VT100MKIII into 93db sensitivity/Watt/meter speakers at 9 O'Clock on knob puts out about 85db at my listening seat, in a big room, about 9 feet away. 10 o'clock would likely hit 90db with a recent (compressed and loud) CD. 90db is loud.

The diff between speaker sensitivities of 88 and 93 is not subtle. Let someone do the math.

I have a chord 600 (130 wpc) and when I am rockin out I feel as though I need more power for my 3.8s -- I guess you can't have TOO much power.

I drive my 3.5s with atmasphere MA 1,s They are a very easy load. What really blew me away, when I took my little quad stack, for the fun of it and hooked it to the proacs. the quad, 40 watts played the proacs to levels way beyond what the sonas fabor concerto,s plays. You don't need much power in my opinion.
Mike

One of the best systems I have heard was at a friend house who was driving ProAc 3.8's w/ one ARC VT-100 Mk. II directly connected to a Wadia 860x (balanced) all Cardas Golden Reference. The room was similar to your dimensions. I like the system so much that it inspired me to purchase an ARC VT-50 (baby brother to the VT-100) for my ProAc 1SC monitors. My room is smaller so I didn't need all the power the VT-100 offered. Personally, I really like the synergy of the ARC amps w/ ProAc speakers. I have heard that ProAc actually voices their speaker to ARC gear....not sure how true this is though. Godd luck....

That is what I am using and I am truly happy with the combination. I was using a Bryston 4B-ST that is rated 250 watts at 8 ohms. I don't miss the extra power that the bryston had. What I gain was a smoother amplifier that does wonders with vocals. So my answer to your question is grab the Audio Research VT 100 MK II, you will be very happy with it. Now I am not playing music that loud though but the sound does fill the room.

VT-100 is magic with 3.8 -In fact, Proac uses ARC to "voice" their speakers...

I love my ProAc 3.8s. They are natural, nuetral yet very revealing. They are not 'in your face' at all. I was using a Rogue 66 (60wpc) and the sound was great. However, it ran out of steam a louder volume levels. I traded it in and got an Accuphase P-450 (200+wpc) and now have no problem driving them to any reasonable volume level. I miss the tube sound however. In your room, I would recommend you go with one VT-100. If you need more power, you might get another one later and go dual mono. The VT-100 should have significantly more balls than the Rogue 66 I was using in a similar room.