Hi-Fi: Proac Response Tri-Tower Floorstanding Loudspeakers – Review – 79

The new ProAc Response Tri-Towers arrived in two very tall, skinny cartons that proved to be true Trojan horses, as their svelte appearance belied their considerable weight.

Out of the box was a pair of speakers well over a metre tall, but with the width and depth of a tiny HT surround speaker. An ‘X’-shaped plinth is integral to the design, as normal spikes would cause a cabinet of this size and height to topple over as soon as a door is closed. The plinth also allows the large down-firing port some room to develop its bass response.

The three-way TriTower uses a single 25mm silk-dome tweeter and a transparent 115mm midrange unit, along with three 115mm bass drivers per cabinet.

ProAc has designed the speakers to be used in a high-end cinema/audio situation, and as such they are best positioned against or in near proximity to a rear wall. I found that placing the TriTowers in free space did their sound no favours, especially in terms of bass response, but once correctly sited close to the rear wall things became very interesting indeed.

Blessed with an open mid-band and treble, the ProAcs’ imaging and soundstaging talents were present from the outset. Tracks from Ry Cooder’s Paris Texas soundtrack had awesome quality, with plucked guitars and the sound of fingers moving against the instrument’s frets sounding exceptionally lifelike. This was more than matched by a stellar vocal performance from Cassandra Wilson with her cover version of U2′s ‘Love Is Blindness’.

Heavy rhythm-based tracks didn’t quite fare so well in terms of bass reproduction: a favourite dub from Sly & Robbie sounded slightly ‘shut in’ in terms of outright energy. It seemed as though there was a trio of smaller drivers working away instead of one larger one. It was fast and articulate as you’d expect from smaller drive units, but didn’t quite provide the sort of impact and crunch you find with some of the similarly priced competition.

Of course, in a home theatre environment a subwoofer would provide low-end assistance and allow the ProAcs to concentrate on that beautiful mid-to-upper register.

Although there is a caveat in terms of bass performance, the TriTowers do have the X factor where it counts with a wonderfully open mid-band and treble.

GARY PEARCE

Tech Specs

Enclosure Type: Down-firing bass-reflex
Bass Driver: 3 x 115mm ProAc coated aluminium
Midrange Driver: 1 x 115mm ProAc R1SC cone
Tweeter: 1 x 25mm soft silk dome
Frequency Response: 35Hz-30kHz
Sensitivity: 90dB
Impedance: 4 Ohms
Recommended Power Handling: 5-150 watts
Dimensions: 1100 x 140 x 170mm (H/W/D) on plinths with spikes
Weight: 18kg per speaker

Pros

• Wonderfully communicative mid-band
• Imaging and soundstage maestros

Cons

• Bass performance didn’t reach lofty standards

Verdict

Ideal for use in a high-end cinema, the ProAc Response TriTowers are also great for use in a music-only system

CONTACT

www.pqimports.co.nz

This review is from Tone 79. Click here to check it out.