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Thinking of upgrading speakers from ProAc 3.8 I have enjoyed in my system for 23 years.

I am likely to buy slightly used. I have read the newer ProAcs have tighter base and are easier to place in your room due to down facing port. Are the ribbon tweeters that much better? I am concerned about durability of the ribbons, as there have been a few threads by people who have had ribbon failure. I would consider D48R or K6 if I can find a nice used pair. Do the newer ProAcs lose any of the magic of the older models? Another speaker that interests me is the Sonus Faber SarafinoG2. 

System is Accuphase E406, Nottingham Spacedeck, Allnic H5500

jsbail
larryi
3,739 posts
 

The new ProAcs are very good and retain the warm, smooth and natural sound of older models.  They are very good at integrating the ribbon tweeter with the other drivers, something that cannot be said of most speakers employing ribbon tweeters.  I don’t know about durability, but, it should not be hard to replace a tweeter if it did blow.  These days, that kind of failure is not that common unless the speakers are pushed really hard.

jjss49's avatar
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jjss49
6,610 posts
 

proacs remain among the very finest dynamic speakers out there, imo

they magically balance the contrary notions of see-through clarity and musicality, with an open, vivid yet still warm and human presentation - they have always sounded just right to me (which is why i still have 4 pair in house 😂)

the ribbon tweets are easily replaced if one does something stupid and damages one

spendors, harbeths, vandys, buchardts, audio notes, spatials, focals, klipsches, kefs, totems, decwares, shun mooks, grahams, sonus fabers, dynaudios, have all come and gone over the years, but the proacs have stayed in the fold

jsbail OP
368 posts
 

For people familiar with D48R and 3.8, is it worth the upgrade , or do I need to go to K6 for it to be worth it. 

roxy54's avatar
roxy54
7,702 posts
 

I wonder what their future will be. Stuart Tyler was brilliant at designing as well as voicing speakers.

jperry
2,432 posts
 

To echo what others have said the newer Proac models with ribbon tweeter retain all of the qualities you like in your 3.8 models and sound better with improved imaging and transparency.

I have the Proac D-40r, and have owned them since I purchased from the local dealer as demo speakers. I traded in the Proac 2.5 which sounded great, but were less efficient and more veiled (which I didn't realize until I tried the new speakers.

There have been no issues with any of the drivers, ribbon or conventional.

During my time in this hoppy/obsession I have owned a lot of different speakers, but I have owned more Proac speakers than any other brand.

I haven't heard the D-48r or the K-6 so I can't help you with that question.

My system is posted if you want to look. 

Jim Perry

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