$20K to spend on speakers…. . wait! There’s a catch!

ProAcs are known for their synergy with tubes, plus look and sound amazing.  There is a beautiful rosewood D48 with the ribbon tweeters brand new on ebay for $12000 with free shipping and 14 day return policy.  Unfortunately, ProAcs take a long time to break in, but once they do, the sound of string and double reed instruments will blow you away.  I like to use Soundocity SEV9 with my ProAc Studio 148s (a smaller and slimmer tower version).  Check my system page for details.

Check out milpai's posts.  He searched for two years, travelled to a bunch of places, and eventually settled on the D48R.  *That* is a recommendation.

Or you could possibly call Sound Organization in Texas.  They are the ProAc importers for the US.  They might be able to setup a listening session for you or an extended return window?

@phusis > Funny thread. Would active speakers be granted access to this experiment?

Blindjim > it is unconditional …. Any sort.. any tech… its about tactics not about types.

Albeit, mentioning brands and models has its value too. Especially if it/they coincide with the idea being demonstrated herein.

ATC, Meridian, Focus Aries, etc. would then all come in under the buy it new prospect I suppose. Albeit not at much of a discount.

Being more general seemed the best path as I try to put up threads that could help more than just myself.
Thanks.

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@salectric > I like JOND's suggestion too. A set of custom high efficiency speakers

Blindjim > Hmmm. I missed that, or misread it. Thanks for the reminder.

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@sbrownnw > the sound of string and double reed instruments will blow you away…. D48 with the ribbon tweeters brand new on ebay for $12000

> you could possibly call Sound Organization in Texas. They are the ProAc importers


Blindjim > Cool. I thought these 48s were more pricey than 12K. I might have misunderstood. Looking for a review I could not find one readily available online.

I’m guessing the R = same tower but with Ribbon tweet?

Wanna check out a special tweet, check out the Lanch 7 review in TAS from a while back. Whoa.
Thanks again.

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@twoleftears > Check out milpai's posts.

Blindjim > is that the one with the talk about a few other Pros? 30, 40, 48R etc.? it had 50+ posts. I read that earlier today or when I posted here last. The one I read made mention of various power options and I think was fairly recent too.

I’ve never run across any PROAC dealer in my state. Which is not a deal breaker as was said.

This thread of course, is really about how one would go about buying some pretty costly speakers in the semi dark.
Thanks.

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So far, the best “all in’ plan seems the buy used getting as much ‘built in’ value to performance ratio as is possible. Then blend accordingly..

Shaken. Not stirred.lol

Two more outlines are as interesting.
1 Get a kicking amp. Garnish to taste. An attractive direction especially given my ideas on audio. Although, its not germain and can’t be a true option for purposes of this topic’s thrust. Crap.

Of course, one can always rush out and use that as your own template. Nobody is gonna tell on you. lol

2 My own orig concept when first starting out here years back. Jump into the mix somewhere and step up accordingly, when appropriate. This one however has to be dis qualified as it doesn’t meet this thread’s focus.

Super. When was the last time you disqualified yourself? Lovely. Freakin’ lovely. Lol


To regain focus, where are you gonna pitch your 20K speaker buying bundle, and why?.

I don't see myself ever spending 20k on speakers but I do think there's a time to buy blind.  It's when you are confident that you're getting something more for your money than you'll get otherwise.  I bought a pair of ATC 110 ASLs a few years back for 5k.  They were custom made and don't look like the standard version but still aren't something many people would find attractive.  They were only two or three years old.  I had heard some small active ATCs in the past and knew I really liked the house sound and also knew they were a brand known for a very consistent sound from one model to the next. 

It was a no brainer for me and I immediately began the process of making the transaction.  Knowing what I do of audiophiles I wouldn't be surprised if I'm the only person on earth who wanted these.  Cosmetics are a deal breaker for almost all audiophiles.  Performance isn't even relevant if the look isn't what they want.  For those people it makes more sense to spend the 5k on something that sounds as good as possible and has the look they like.  Good luck finding a pair of 5k speakers with an impressive finish that will do anything close to what these can do.  I naturally tend to get off knowing I got something that is pretty close to the best at any price without even taking a big financial hit. 

25% off for new speakers isn't enough to buy them unheard at any significant price, let alone 20k.  You could almost certainly find a dealer to give you a discount, maybe not 25% but enough to make it more than worth it to have a knowledgeable person to talk to.  If you can swing 75% of retail you should swing 85% for the advantage of dealer support.  I guess if there is no dealer within hundreds of miles maybe it makes sense.