Bookshelf Speakers — ProAc RESPONSE D2

The Response D2 comes from ProAc of Brackley in Northamptonshire, England, and ProAc calls it the current version of the speaker that introduced its Response range more than 30 years ago. ProAc lists it in two tweeter versions, the D2D with a silk dome and the D2R with a ribbon, which share one cabinet and one bass unit. The company states that stand mounting is required, and the cabinet has its bass reflex opening at the front. Like every ProAc model it is hand-built at the Brackley factory, where a single technician assembles and tests each speaker from start to finish.

Key specs that matter

ProAc quotes 30 Hz to 30 kHz for the D2, with a sensitivity of 88.5 dB linear for 1 watt at 1 metre. Nominal impedance is 8 ohms, and recommended amplifiers run from 20 to 150 watts. Each cabinet is 430 mm tall, 203 mm wide and 260 mm deep including the grille. One speaker weighs 11 kg.

Engineering and use context

Mid and low frequencies come from a 165 mm ProAc driver with an Excel magnet system, a glass fibre wave cone and a copper phase plug. In the D2D the tweeter is a 25 mm silk dome that is air cooled, has inner damping and is mounted with a mirror-image offset between the left and right cabinets. The D2R instead uses the ProAc ribbon tweeter, whose diaphragm ProAc says weighs less than a human hair, with an alnico motor and a damped chamber at its back. ProAc says the cabinet relies on proven construction techniques and materials. The crossover is built from what the company calls its finest components on a dedicated circuit board, and all internal links are made with multistrand oxygen free copper. Crimplene that is acoustically transparent covers the grille frame, and some finishes can be ordered with magnetic grilles. Six standard finishes are listed, among them Silk White and Natural Oak, and Liquidambar, Rosewood and Ebony veneers cost extra. ProAc was founded more than 40 years ago by Stewart Tyler, still its chairman and designer, who in the company's own words treats the designer's ear as the most important part of a loudspeaker design.

Pairing

The crossover is split, so the D2 accepts bi-wiring with two cable pairs per cabinet, or bi-amping in which two amplifier channels each look after one half of the network.

Alternatives

The ProAc Studio SM100 is another two-way stand-mount with a silk dome tweeter, rated at 88 dB.