Mid-Priced Loudspeakers From ProAc, Angstrom, Final Sound, and King Sound

There were some notable exceptions to my earlier complaints about compact two way performance. ProAc’s Response D2 ($3400) eschewed detail is everything thinking for a surprisingly warm and inviting sound. The same for Esoteric’s MG 10 ($5400), which rendered symphonic music with an appropriately filled-out bottom end. But the MG 10 was demoed in a room far too large, so its dynamic limitations became apparent in a way that the ProAc’s did not in its much smaller venue.

Both speakers come in attractive wood veneers, but their styling pales beside the glowing finish of the Italian company Opera’s new Callas ($5000). This compact two way combines a 5-inch midrange/woofer with three tweeters, one of them rear firing. The result is an open, airy presentation that, surprisingly, didn’t appear to balance overly much toward the treble, though I wouldn’t describe it as warm either. And Joseph Audio’s revised RM22 (a two way floorstander, $3200), with new drivers, sounded very civilized whether playing a string quartet or Ella by starlight.

A sub/satellite system from Canada is Angstrom’s Obliggato IIf tower paired with the Profundo powered subwoofer. They come finished in handsome wood veneer and priced at $10k for all four units. Playing Symphonie fantastique established this as the setup for listeners who want really deep and powerful bass on a somewhat restricted budget. Indeed, the bass rather overpowered the presentation, compromising both clarity and transparency, but I am inclined to attribute that to the room.

Given my longstanding devotion to Quad ESLs, I was particularly interested in two manufacturers of electrostatic panels. Final Sound was showing its 600i ($7500) and 1000i ($10,000), and King Sound (from China) its King ($7000) and Prince II ($4000) full range panels. Though all the electrostatic virtues of transparency, clarity, and coherence were in evidence, the demonstrations were fatally compromised, I felt, by limitations in room size and placement (entirely too close to the walls). Still, every one of them is worth further investigation away from CES.

But isn’t that always the case? Regardless of context, despite its reputation as the Gretna Green of the West, Las Vegas is rarely the best place to make decisions regarding lasting engagements. 

Next: Paul Seydor’s Best of Show

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