I'm after good quality bass, rather than quantity . Also , midrange duties are very important , I listen to mainly Jazz , and a fair of amount of vocals .
I'm going to get them today . Rather exited to be the first to opening the box . Thanks for sharing your opinions , really appreciated.
How did you get along with the Vanilla and Signature Tab 10's Sir?
By thunder those Tab 10's look amazing- what finish is that Sir?
A small reservation; it sometimes seemed to me that the vocals could be stretched a little thin across that expansive soundstage. For me, what filled in any gaps, enhanced the scale, added depth and weight to the bass, and a physical, robust quality to vocals, was the step up to the Proac DB1s. They really don’t take up more room, just greater depth to the cabinet, and fill a medium-small room with music to great effect.
That’s walnut. The veneer up close is of fine feel and quality too.
A few general comments; I had the Tab 10s for a couple of week’s in home audition. Enjoyed them very much, for reasons well canvassed on this thread. A fine balance of verve, mid-range rivalling the best of the BBC design influenced speakers, exceptional imaging and sound staging even compared to a strong field of good small monitors. Small speakers that could do convincing rock, compared to the LS3/5 influenced designs. A small reservation; it sometimes seemed to me that the vocals could be stretched a little thin across that expansive soundstage. For me, what filled in any gaps, enhanced the scale, added depth and weight to the bass, and a physical, robust quality to vocals, was the step up to the Proac DB1s. They really don’t take up more room, just greater depth to the cabinet, and fill a medium-small room with music to great effect. (My room about 3 1/2 metres by 5 1/2 metres. Listened only via my resident Naim Nait XS 2 and ND5xs streamer, plus CDP.).
As always, FWIW, and IMHO...
They look almost sexual!
I have a pair on loan and they’re fantastic.
They look almost sexual!
Do the DB1s have that same speed and agility of the Tablettes? I know the DB1s are ported so I’d like to understand more about the differences here. Such as weight, agility, any bass boom issues. Your comments have piqued my interest in the DB1s!
Good questions. I am still assessing; it is early days with the DB1s, and I must rely on memory of months past for the Tab 10s. I can say, the Tab 10s were less fussy about placement. Their bass response had all the advantage of the well-executed sealed box - never excessive, never overwhelming the mid-range. I’m still sorting placement of the DB-1s. They are rear-ported of course, and seem to do best pulled out about 16 - 18 inches from the wall. Generally the bass is very well proportioned in most of the music I listen to. Sticking to smaller standmounts, recent experience would be similar, for me in this room, with Neat Ministras, Golden Ear BRX, or even Graham LS5/9s. Without getting into hip-hop or heavy metal, recordings such as Robert Plant and Alison Kraus ‘Raising Sand’, or Cowboy Junkies ‘Helpless’ have weighty bass mix. Where that wouldn’t get carried away in this room with Tab 10s, or my Harbeth P3ES-2s, or my Rogers/Stirling V2 hybrids, it could get carried away by the DB-1s. At least, to my limited tolerance for bass bloom... On the other hand, you may find, (as I generally do) in the right room, for given music, the DB-1s just get you to the sweet spot where you don’t hanker for a subwoofer.
There are many things that the Kefs do well, such as scale and weight (for a stand mount). I think the treble is particularly sweet and betters the Tab Sigs but I think the Sigs have better resolution and tighter, more controlled, bass (I am using a BK XLS 200 sub too and this integrates nicely). Goat, great choice of tracks. I also listened to Aphex Twin, Massive Attack and Pink Floyd - and also - The Bad Plus, Air, Boards of Canada, The XX, Daft Punk, Dave Brubeck, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Laura Marling, Lisa Ekdahl, Keith Jarrett, Gregory Porter, Hans Zimmer, HVOB, Jeff Buckley, Led Zeppelin, Jon Hopkins, Moderat, Paul Weller, Kiasmos, Kraftwerk....
Good questions. I am still assessing; it is early days with the DB1s, and I must rely on memory of months past for the Tab 10s. I can say, the Tab 10s were less fussy about placement. Their bass response had all the advantage of the well-executed sealed box - never excessive, never overwhelming the mid-range. I’m still sorting placement of the DB-1s. They are rear-ported of course, and seem to do best pulled out about 16 - 18 inches from the wall. Generally the bass is very well proportioned in most of the music I listen to. However, with much modern pop music, which employs some heavy bass mix, the impact on the room and my rib cage can exceed my comfort zone. I wouldn’t say that’s a fault of the speaker; just a reality of modern sound engineering. Sticking to smaller standmounts, recent experience would be similar, for me in this room, with Neat Ministras, Golden Ear BRX, or even Graham LS5/9s. Without getting into hip-hop or heavy metal, recordings such as Robert Plant and Alison Kraus ‘Raising Sand’, or Cowboy Junkies ‘Helpless’ have weighty bass mix. Where that wouldn’t get carried away in this room with Tab 10s, or my Harbeth P3ES-2s, or my Rogers/Stirling V2 hybrids, it could get carried away by the DB-1s. At least, to my limited tolerance for bass bloom... On the other hand, you may find, (as I generally do) in the right room, for given music, the DB-1s just get you to the sweet spot where you don’t hanker for a subwoofer.
I haven’t quite answered your question about speed and agility. Subject to the foregoing, I don’t notice any compromise of speed and agility, not that I recognize as such. The DB-1s simply have more body through mid range and upper bass, in a good way... Naturally, YMMV.