Bought some ProAc Studio 140 Mk2 speakers...

That's only partially true. Not nearly as frequently discussed as Harbeths. For every affirmative post about ProAcs you can find ten about Harbeths. I never understood why, but then I never understood why crowds work the way they do.

Anc I never heard Harbeths sound as well as the ProAcs...

 

Interesting. Haven't heard any Harbeths.Cult status is a funny phenomenon, but if nothing else it makes the used values of otherwise excellent things that for whatever reason haven’t quite attained it (in to which I’d put ProAcs) all the more palatable for those who understand what they’re getting.

 

True statement on this forum. But, IMO, not so much on many others.
A few years ago I owned the Response D15. Excellent speakers, both sound and visual.

 

ProAc's U.S. presence seems to have really declined over the last 10-15 years. Not sure why. One of my local dealers dropped the line several years ago because they did not sell well enough. He seemed a little perplexed at the lack of interest, but there's no accounting for taste

 

Great speakers, but a bit overpriced comparatively in the U.S. IMHO.

 

I have had Proac speakers for about 15 years now started off with the Studio 150's which were terrific and then response 2.5's and currently on D40R's...........I love them.

 

I was VERY disappointed to see the Tablette Anniversary had gone from $2200 to $2400. It's only two hundred bucks but damn... twenty four hundred dollars. I was going to buy a pair but that stopped me cold.

 

You should see how much ProAc has risen here in Canada.
Crazy increases
I can understand that our dollar has dropped in relation to the US$.
But the drop vs the UK£ hasn't been nearly as steep making the increases unrealistic (gouging) so they got crossed off my list.

 

Funny to see our overseas colleagues moaning about British prices when we've been murdered on US prices for decades....guess it's just how the game works.

 

I have also just bought a pair of 140 MK2, and I would repeat every of your word. Just every one (after listening some of Response) . I have listened a lot of times some of Harbeths (in the same price range) but finally preferred Proac. My favourite was always PMC but at the end I could not accept the lack of bass range compare to Proac.

 

Interesting, which Harbeths? How would you describe the differences?

I demoed some PMC twenty.21 speakers and thought they were ace; but obviously limited bass output with their size. Didn't have a chance to audition 23s - would have been interesting but just out of my price range anyway, new. (I did once hear some twenty.26 being demoed to someone else, but it was playing such awful-sounding dancy/jazzy/salsa fusion crud that it was impossible to take anything in!)

 

I've had some Tekton 6.5t bookshelf speakers on rigid stands for a while in the following system:

https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/1634

I wanted more bass and even better imaging if possible. I tried some PMC 20.23 - they imaged very well and more bass but seemed to lack midrange compared to my Tektons. I went back to my Seattle dealer and listened to some ProAc D18s. Liked them but they seemed a little loose on the bottom end bass wise. Thought some more and then went back to the same dealer when they had some used ProAc Studio 125s. They are on loan in my house and sound very good, better than they did in my dealer's room, but still break loose in the lower frequencies. After reading how well the Studio 140s perform, I ordered some ProAc Studio 148s and hope to get them this week when I return the loaner 125s. Cannot wait to hear them...

 

Ace, hope they work out for you! Will be good to hear you findings/impressions.

I've never heard the bass 'break loose' on the 140s as you put it (but as I did in trying to push the otherwise lovely D18s quite hard), but it is probably more relaxed than tight in overall delivery. It's the depth of bass I really dig. A lot of other speakers heard since sound a bit mid-bass-humpy in comparison.

What amp are you using btw? I ask as moving from a SS to valve amp did make the 140s bass sound a bit soft initially, but switching the stock valves brought it back.

 

I heard the ProAc D18 and Studio 125 get loose in the lower frequencies. Sounds like the 140s and hopefully the 148s do not have that problem. My system details are here:

https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/1634