Proac Tablette 10 Signature Experiences

[Tony L]

id prefer to use geithain rl901 over my shl5plus, but id never trade any minis for a bigger well executed 8 inch based speaker like graham ls5/9, devore 093, shl5plus, etc

I owned the previous SHL5 for a short while and no way would I swap my JR149s for another pair, the 149’s crossover is just so much more coherent and seamless and for me they sound a lot more natural and believable even if they don’t push as much air or go as loud. Same goes for LS3/5As or ProAc 1SCs, which are two of my other favourite mini-monitors.

I have a feeling I’d really like the MEG 901 though, but neither it or the other speakers you mention are near-field capable. You could listen fairly close to a pair of 5/9s I guess, and I’ve liked them on the few occasions I’ve heard them. Big MEGs really interest me though, if I wasn’t a vintage/classic audio junkie they would unquestionably be on my audition list as I really liked the RL-906 aside from the port-loading set my room off in a way say my really huge Lockwoods never do.

 

[Ayya Khema]

I owned the previous SHL5 for a short while and no way would I swap my JR149s for another pair, the 149’s crossover is just so much more coherent and seamless and for me they sound a lot more natural and believable even if they don’t push as much air or go as loud. Same goes for LS3/5As or ProAc 1SCs, which are two of my other favourite mini-monitors.

I have a feeling I’d really like the MEG 901 though, but neither it or the other speakers you mention are near-field capable. You could listen fairly close to a pair if 5/9s I guess, and I’ve liked them on the few occasions I’ve heard them. Big MEGs really interest me though, if I wasn’t a vintage/classic audio junkie they would unquestionably be on my audition list as I really liked the RL-906 aside from the port-loading set my room off in a way say my really huge Lockwoods never do.

more like your big lockwoods by being a big 15 inch driver excite many modes at rhe same time
my big lockwood in my room had the flattest bass ive ever measured in my room

i personally cannot live with minis as mains anymore no matter how good, there limitation in the bass and even image size eventually grates me too much. great for second setup though

ya the rl901k is my dream speaker. ive sppken at lenght to a stevehoffman user whos a huge fan of restaured altec/tannoys and got rl901 and he said its a pretty much end game solution

 

[Tarzan]

Having played with and enjoyed many mini-monitors over the years, I agree with Tony that there is something special about well-designed small speakers in the right system and room.

Going back to the original post about the Tablette vs the P3ESR, my experience having owned the Tablette Sig version several years ago and the Harbeth is that a) both are excellent speakers; b) the ProAcs sound better on solid mass stands whilst the P3ESRs need open frame stands; c) the Sigs have better bounce and liveliness against the Harbeth's better midrange; and d) the ProAcs are a bit more amp-fussy than the Harbeths.

Good post, l would add that a well designed ( and with the technologies available nowadays) mini monitor can sound rather ' large' indeed, certainly the two models mentioned do this.

 

[tuga]

Good post, l would add that a well designed ( and with the technologies available nowadays) mini monitor can sound rather ' large' indeed, certainly the two models mentioned do this.

You just can't beat physics, no mater how advanced tech is.
Mini-monitors have significant limitations regarding LF extension and tonal balance (no sub- or low-bass, mid-bass hump, etc.), dynamics, sound power / polar response... They're all right for background music at the desk, but unfit for serious listening and limiting of the types of music that you can listen. Of course this all depends on one's expectations and preferred music genres.

 

[matt j]

You just can't beat physics, no mater how advanced tech is.
Mini-monitors have significant limitations regarding LF extension and tonal balance (no sub- or low-bass, mid-bass hump, etc.), dynamics, sound power / polar response... They're all right for background music at the desk, but unfit for serious listening and limiting of the types of music that you can listen. Of course this all depends on one's expectations and preferred music genres.

I agree they can't do it all, but unfit for serious listening just makes you sound like a clown if I'm honest.

 

[tuga]

I agree they can't do it all, but unfit for serious listening just makes you sound like a clown if I'm honest.

I am a jester, look at my avatar.
Jokes and insults aside, like I said, it's down to the listener's expectations and the types of music that they listen to.
The LS3/5a for example is a "small Outside Broadcast monitor, intended for use where space is at premium", which means television broadcast mobile studios.

 

[Tony L]

The LS3/5a for example is a "small Outside Broadcast monitor, intended for use where space is at premium", which means television broadcast mobile studios.

That is what it was designed for, yet 40+ years later it is still a reference point for midband clarity and soundstaging and is one of a very small selection of audio components so highly sought after it is worth many multiples of its original purchase price. That simply does not happen to bad products!

 

[tuga]

That is what it was designed for, yet 40+ years later it is still a reference point for midband clarity and soundstaging and is one of a very small selection of audio components so highly sought after it is worth many multiples of its original purchase price. That simply does not happen to bad products!

I didn't say it was a bad speaker, only that its performance, however good it may be, is limited by the topology. Same is valid for the very fine LS50 which is technically superior is most if not all aspects.

 

[Tony L]

Without wishing to turn this into a cyclic argument, my point is it is ideally suited to its context as a near-field monitor. There are exceptionaly few large full-range speakers that are sufficiently well integrated and coherent across the crossover region that you’d want to listen at a distance of 1m or less. If you want to listen in the near-field then a good near-field monitor is the correct tool for that job! The LS3/5A is one such speaker. It is crazy to slag off a whole product class just because you personally don’t need its defined usage context.

 

[tuga]

Without wishing to turn this into a cyclic argument, my point is it is ideally suited to its context as a near-field monitor. There are exceptionaly few large full-range speakers that are sufficiently well integrated and coherent across the crossover region that you’d want to listen at a distance of 1m or less. If you want to listen in the near-field then a good near-field monitor is the correct tool for that job! The LS3/5A is one such speaker. It is crazy to slag off a whole product class just because you personally don’t need its defined usage context.

I agree with that they'd suit a near-field setup better; I wonder what the percentage of LS3/5a owners listening in near-field is?

 

[Tony L]

I agree with that they'd suit a near-field setup better; I wonder what the percentage of LS3/5a owners listening in near-field is?

My guess would be most of them as thats where their magic lies. They’ll never fill a big room, no little speaker will, but plonk them and the listening chair in an equilateral triangle of about 1-2m, put some seriously good stuff upstream and they can be startlingly good. It is certainly the way I approach my 149s.

 

[jusphish]

I agree with that they'd suit a near-field setup better; I wonder what the percentage of LS3/5a owners listening in near-field is?

I am (well... Tab 10, non-sig) and I find them to be great!

 

[TimF]

I agree with that they'd suit a near-field setup better; I wonder what the percentage of LS3/5a owners listening in near-field is?

Exactly 96.7 percent. Shame this post was done over 2 years ago. Sigh...

 

[amazement]

Work great in a small room, just sold mine and wishing I hadn’t. Tabs.

 

[ampedup]

I wonder what the percentage of LS3/5a owners listening in near-field is?

Not I, for one. It sounds weird to me.....deep cavernous soundscapes. David Crosby singing from the back of a 200 foot deep stage. Holographic imaging. No thanks. I never went to a concert and had that form of auditory experience. A flatter soundstage feels far more real to me, if real is what one wants.