Bookshelf Speakers — ProAc Response DB1R

The Response DB1R is a two-way stand-mount designed by ProAc, the Brackley, England company that Stewart Tyler founded over 40 years ago. It is the Response DB1 fitted with a ribbon tweeter, which ProAc presents as its top compact stand-mount. The company announced that production begins in May 2026, with a public debut at the 2026 Bristol Hi-Fi Show, and states that the DB1R is the smallest model in its range ever to be offered with a ribbon tweeter. UK prices were announced at GBP 2,945 per pair in standard finishes and GBP 3,465 in the extra-cost finishes.

Key specs that matter

Response extends from 35 Hz to 30 kHz, and sensitivity is 87.5 dB linear for 1 watt at 1 metre. The load is 8 ohms nominal, and ProAc suggests amplifiers of 20 to 100 watts. The cabinet is 320 mm high, 182 mm wide and 280 mm deep, and each speaker weighs 8.8 kg.

Engineering and use context

The tweeter is the ProAc ribbon, which the maker describes as lighter than a human hair, and it uses an alnico magnet with damping in a chamber behind it. The same ribbon had already been used in other Response models before ProAc moved it into this smaller cabinet. The standard DB1 carries a 25 mm silk dome with a special coolant and inner damping in that position. Below the tweeter sits a 127 mm long throw bass and midrange unit with a Pagina Mica cone and an acrylic phase plug. Its box uses high-density MDF panels lined with bitumen damping, with the bass reflex port placed at the back. The crossover uses parts that ProAc selects as its best, mounted on their own circuit board, and the internal wiring is multistrand oxygen free copper cable. Six standard finishes are available, including Walnut, Mahogany and Silk White, with Liquidambar, Rosewood and Ebony offered as the more expensive options. ProAc specifies stand mounting for this model, and all ProAc models are made by hand in the Brackley factory, with cabinets finished in real wood veneer from sustainably managed sources.

Pairing

The network is divided into separate bass and treble sections with their own terminals, so owners may run a pair of cables to each speaker for bi-wiring or assign a separate amplifier channel to each section.

Alternatives

The ProAc Response D2 is a bigger Response model for stands, with a 165 mm glass fibre bass unit, a front port and a rating of 88.5 dB.