Anyone had experience with the ProAc Studio 1 MkII?

[RochaCullen]

Hi All,

Just wondering if anyone had any opinions of the ProAc Studio 1 MkII. I've been thinking of changing. I wanted to get my hands on a nice set of three way speakers, but getting a nice second hand set in Ireland is proving difficult. I've always heard good things about ProAcs, and I was wondering if anyone had any definite opinions on these 2-way speakers, as there is not too much info about them on the web.

Regards,

Nathan

[hifi_dave]

Sold dozens of them back in the day.

Good speakers and far better than the floor standers based on the same two drivers. A bit coloured but produce far more bass than you'd expect.

If they are at a good price, why not. Though beware, the early ones had foam surrounds.

[RochaCullen]

Hi Dave,

What did they sell for back in the day, and what would you consider a good price now. I have been informed that the mid/bass driver has been replaced with the correct scanspeak driver, so there should be no worries about foam rot.


Sold dozens of them back in the day.

Good speakers and far better than the floor standers based on the same two drivers. A bit coloured but produce far more bass than you'd expect.

If they are at a good price, why not. Though beware, the early ones had foam surrounds.

[hifi_dave]

I think we need to wait for DSJR to quote the old retail price as my memory for prices isn't very good. Were they £499 ?

If you can get them for £400 or less, that should be OK.

[nat8808]

Hopefully what the seller means is that the foam surrounds have been replaced rather than the whole driver..

ProAc supposedly had a driver made to their own spec based on the ScanSpeak - whether this is true or whether the difference in spec was just the paper sticker on it and "ProAc" printed dust cap, I don't know!

Would be much cheaper for someone to get the foams replaced rather than a whole new driver..

The Response 2 (next larger in the range) was something like £1200 originally (bit of vague recollection..) and currently sell for around £650 secondhand in restored condition (driver foams).

[diceman]

I moved from Super Tablettes to Studio 1 Mk2 in the early 90s.

Both are nice speakers but very different IMHO. The bass on the Studio 1s was its strongest point, a nice balanced sound but with a bit of extra bass heft, (as indicated above) more than expected from a small driver/box. They were much better than the original version with the metal tweeter IMHO but never matched the sweetness of the tablette in the top end & mid.

IIRC they were around £600 new with about £125-£150 for special wood finishes. Mount on Target R series stands for best bass quality.

Personally I have revisited (bought another pair recently) the Super Tablette and they are still a very nice pair of speakers and as good as I remember. I wouldn't go back to the Studio 1 Mk2 though, whilst good they were not special and I would seek out a response 2.5 or similar over them.

If you are looking for a 3-way then I assume that the mid is important to you and IMHO the mid was the weakest area of the Studio 1 Mk2. With your limited choices they are a pretty good speaker and at £400 there is probably not much I could suggest as an alternative apart from a pair of tablettes and a couple of subs (which may blow the budget). I found they are similar to Ruark Talisman 2s in sound (which sell for much less for some reason even though they were similar price new).

[walpurgis]

Hey J.P.

As a total aside.

Why are you called 'diceman'?

Is it after the Luke Rhinehart novel of the same name? One of my favourite books of all time!

Geoff.

[RochaCullen]

Hi JP,

Yes, midrange is very important to me. Thanks for posting your reply, its helped me make up my mind. I think I'll sit tight till a nice set of three ways come along to tickle my fancy.

Nathan

[hifi_dave]

If you want natural mid-band, I would recommend Harbeth. Something they do better than most.

[diceman]

Hey J.P.

As a total aside.

Why are you called 'diceman'?

Is it after the Luke Rhinehart novel of the same name? One of my favourite books of all time!

Geoff.

Yes, and a miss-spent youth trying a dice-life. (with limits!). It was many years ago that I started using a forum name in it has just kinda stuck.

[RochaCullen]

If you want natural mid-band, I would recommend Harbeth. Something they do better than most.

Hi Dave,

Harbeth are a little bit out of my league at the moment price-wise. I'll have to wait a little while before investing that kind of money.

Nathan

[hifi_dave]

It was just a thought.

[RochaCullen]

It was just a thought.

And it was a good thought. I'd love a set of Harbeth SHL5 speakers.

[walpurgis]

Yes, and a miss-spent youth trying a dice-life. (with limits!). It was many years ago that I started using a forum name in it has just kinda stuck.

Ah, another one who tried the dice-life! I also tried it and also within limits, with interesting results. That was also during a miss-spent youth, which I'm now trying to relive, having retired early.

[ListeningEar]

ProAc supposedly had a driver made to their own spec based on the ScanSpeak - whether this is true or whether the difference in spec was just the paper sticker on it and "ProAc" printed dust cap, I don't know!

Would be much cheaper for someone to get the foams replaced rather than a whole new driver..


Yes that's a myth. I buy Scan-Speak trade and official word from Scan-speak on this web myth goes along the lines of...
...ProAc never asked us to redesign the 18W/8542-00 drivers, for one thing the cost of doing this would have been far too prohibitive at the price point of the speakers ProAc were selling.

The only difference is merely the stenciled ProAc name on the dust cover.

I think ProAc asks approx. £190 each for the 18W/8542-00 driver but you can source them for less from Scan-Speak authorized re-sellers. Falcon Acoustics in the UK are very helpful for not only ProAc but many speaker lines if you are trying to refurbish them (I am not affiliated with ProAc, Scan-Speak or Falcon btw).

Hope that helps ;)

[Reffc]

Hi Nathan

if its good mid band you want and you don't want to spend a fortune then don't worry, you don't have to!

A used set of Spendors or better still, Snell J's would tick the boxes for you. Snells can be picked up very cheaply used, and they're very good indeed. The Snell J/K models are similar in voicing to the Audionote J/k's but far cheaper and more affordable. Certainly cheaper than Harbeths.

All speakers are coloured so don't believe anyone who says they're not; it's just finding a set which do it for you. The Snell J's are not a very large box, but their bass is pretty good, their mid range is very natural and they don't have the steely treble that so many new speakers do.

I've owned a fair few sets of proacs, and the "Response" series aside, they were pretty horrible things. Tuned for an aggressive bass hump at between 40 to 60Hz (tunelass and thumpy) with a treble that would make your ears bleed. The response series are where it's at really so if you can get a set of response 1.5's or 2.5's used for reasonable money, they'd be ok.

There's also speakers like Castle which have a great mid range. The Castle Severn isn't much money used and is a fabulous speaker, as is the Howard S3 if you have the room.

Others to consider are a good used pair of Celestion Dittons, and of course vintage Tannoys do the mid range thing really well, and you can buy into them for reasonable money of you choose carefully (cheviots, chatsworths, mansfields, Devons).

You don't need to spend a fortune and you'll certainly pick up a superb pair of speakers that do mid range really well for well under £1000 used.

[RochaCullen]

Hi Nathan

if its good mid band you want and you don't want to spend a fortune then don't worry, you don't have to!

A used set of Spendors or better still, Snell J's would tick the boxes for you. Snells can be picked up very cheaply used, and they're very good indeed. The Snell J/K models are similar in voicing to the Audionote J/k's but far cheaper and more affordable. Certainly cheaper than Harbeths.

All speakers are coloured so don't believe anyone who says they're not; it's just finding a set which do it for you. The Snell J's are not a very large box, but their bass is pretty good, their mid range is very natural and they don't have the steely treble that so many new speakers do.

I've owned a fair few sets of proacs, and the "Response" series aside, they were pretty horrible things. Tuned for an aggressive bass hump at between 40 to 60Hz (tunelass and thumpy) with a treble that would make your ears bleed. The response series are where it's at really so if you can get a set of response 1.5's or 2.5's used for reasonable money, they'd be ok.

There's also speakers like Castle which have a great mid range. The Castle Severn isn't much money used and is a fabulous speaker, as is the Howard S3 if you have the room.

Others to consider are a good used pair of Celestion Dittons, and of course vintage Tannoys do the mid range thing really well, and you can buy into them for reasonable money of you choose carefully (cheviots, chatsworths, mansfields, Devons).

You don't need to spend a fortune and you'll certainly pick up a superb pair of speakers that do mid range really well for well under £1000 used.

Hey Paul,

Thanks for the advice. Since my asking this question I have picked up a set of Celestion Ditton 44s from a forum member. And they are doing the business currently as I type. Great sound.

Nathan

[Canetoad]

Just listening to mine too Nathan. :)

[Hydie]

Hi All,

Just wondering if anyone had any opinions of the ProAc Studio 1 MkII. I've been thinking of changing. I wanted to get my hands on a nice set of three way speakers, but getting a nice second hand set in Ireland is proving difficult. I've always heard good things about ProAcs, and I was wondering if anyone had any definite opinions on these 2-way speakers, as there is not too much info about them on the web.

Regards,

Nathan

They were good enough to be used in a 5.1 set-up at "The Farm"

http://i835.photobucket.com/albums/zz273/kevinhyde4/ProAcstudio1.jpg