Floorstanding loudspeakers — ProAc Response D30R Mahogany

The Response D30R is a two-way floorstander from ProAc, the English company founded by Stewart Tyler, who designs its speakers. The R suffix marks the ribbon tweeter version of the D30, and the model sits below the larger D40 in the Response line, sharing its high-frequency units, cone technology, crossover approach and bass loading in a slimmer cabinet. This is the mahogany finish version.

Key specs that matter

It uses a ProAc ribbon tweeter with a 60 x 10 mm diaphragm and a 165 mm (6.5 in) carbon fibre mid/bass cone with polymer rear coating and concentric damping. Frequency response is 20 Hz to 30 kHz, sensitivity is 89 dB for 1 W at 1 m, nominal impedance is 8 ohms, and ProAc's amplifier recommendation spans 10 W to 200 W. The cabinet measures 215 mm wide, 1041 mm tall and 266 mm deep, and the plinth measures 257 x 311 mm. Each speaker weighs 27 kg unpacked.

Engineering and use context

The ribbon diaphragm is thinner than a human hair, with rear chamber damping, which gives very low moving mass and extends the tweeter to 30 kHz. The carbon fibre cone was developed after lengthy research into cone materials, and its rear polymer coating and concentric damping control resonances within the cone. ProAc's crossover uses dedicated components on its own board and multistrand oxygen-free copper wiring throughout, and it is split to allow bi-wiring or bi-amplification, a traditional feature of ProAc designs. The long cabinet, similar in bass loading to the D40, uses its height to extend bass deep from a single mid/bass driver. The speaker stands on a plinth with spikes designed to reach through thick carpet, and grilles are made of thin crimplene fabric. Mahogany is one of ProAc's standard finishes, alongside black ash, cherry, silk white, natural oak and walnut.

Pairing

Good sensitivity and a benign nominal load make the D30R easy to drive, and ProAc's low minimum power figure means low-powered valve amplifiers are a practical match as well as solid-state designs. The deep bass extension suits rooms of 20 to 40 m2, and the split crossover allows a second amplifier or bi-wired cable to be added later. Later production of the D30 moved to the D30RS with a Pagina Mica cone, so the carbon fibre version described here is the original ribbon model of the series.

Alternatives

ProAc's Response D40R is the larger floorstander of the same line with two mid/bass drivers and the same ribbon tweeter.