ProAc Tablette Reference 8 Signature……

That’s a mouthful. Can these ridiculously small monitor/bookshelf speakers really perform decently in a space bigger than your closet? Are they perhaps a manifestation of the often stated (yet unconfirmed) rule that size doesn’t matter, or is bigger really better and more beautiful?

Well, let’s start from the beginning. If it wouldn’t have been for a devoted and critical audiophile friend of mine, chances are that these minature speakers would never have seen daylight in my living room and been fighting for the rather limited space next to the Rauna Leira II and the Dunlavy Aletha. I certainly didn’t have any intention to open up a hifi shop or use my permanent residence for storage only.

But I tend to listen to people when they have something (useful) to say as opposed to waiting for my own turn to speak. A late evening listening session, which was supposed to demonstrate the, at least in my view rather impressive performance of the Dunlavy Aletha speakers to the small group of audiophile “wannabees” (no harm meant here), ended up being an extended listening session with the Swedish Rauna Leira II concrete speakers, which the group preferred to the Dunlavy Aletha speakers.

Being significantly smaller and less intrusive than the DAL speakers, the Leiras were praised for their more precise/accurate and natural sound and less “in-the-face” appearence. I don’t know if I fully share this opinion, but I could see that even much smaller speakers could provide an almost equally full sound picture.

To cut a long story short, I then lay my hands on a pair of ProAc Tablette Reference 8 Signature speakers in black ash. These are speakers that have been well received in the hifi press several times, and I know that they are also among the speakers that one of my audiophile friends prefers and has had wet dreams about for some time.

I knew that these speakers are known for taking a long time before they open up, so the initial listening sessions were really nothing more than a disapointment. They sounded flat, thin and mute. Nothing exciting at all when compared to the other speakers in my system. However, little by little they started to open up. The sound became fuller, wider, more natural and with a wonderful clarity. These pocket-sized babies are also very rapid, and in the right set-up they sound very nice, making you wonder what the hell they have implanted into those ridiculously small-sized boxes.

When I say “in the right set-up”, it is to be noted that these speakers, having a tendency to be very bright, will probably work best in a system that is more leaning towards the “warmer” or “darker” side. They worked generally pretty well in the combination Accuphase E-405, Accuphase DP-70/Marantz CD-94, although this varied at times depending on the type of music and recordings being played. I’m pretty sure they will work well with tube amplifiers, which is something I haven’t tried yet. But don’t do the mistake to run these speakers if your system is known to be rather on the bright side, unless you enjoy sticking a knife into your ears. From my experience, these speakers work best in a more relaxed system. Period.

The ProAc Tablette Reference 8 Signature speakers are also very placement sensitive. Rightly placed (and in the right system) they can sound glorious, and you would be amazed of how big sound these tiny boxes really can produce.  However, wrongly placed, they will sound just like the small boxes that they are – tiny, bright, no bass, narrow soundstage etc. They should also be placed on very solid and heavy speaker stands, otherwise the bass is non-existant. So placement is really of great importance here.

If you look for speakers that can knock your socks off in a respectable, audiophile manner, but lack space for anything much bigger than a McDonald lunch box, then chances are that you are going to be impressed by the ProAc Tablette Reference 8 Signature speakers.

Am I keeping mine? No, they are up for sale, including high-quality speaker stands, all in mint condition. I really like them, and I think that they are quite impressive, but I still prefer my other two pairs of speakers in my current set-up. Besides, I have no intention to add yet a pair to my collection.

Btw, I have lent them to my devoted audiophile friend….and he is still smiling……