ProAc is launching a brand new premium standmount speaker, the Response DB1R, and is set to unveil the new model at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2026 this weekend.
The Response DB1R speaker builds on the compact Response DB1 that originally launched a decade ago, which was designed to deliver from a small speaker the kind of sound you'd normally hear from a larger model.
ProAc says that the new DB1R will take the DB1's musical, balanced and refined performance to "the next level" thanks to the inclusion of a new ribbon tweeter. The new DB1R is the smallest speaker in ProAc's range to include this ribbon tweeter, too.
The ribbon tweeter is apparently "lighter than a human hair", has a damped rear-chamber behind the diaphragm and an Alnico magnet (rather than a Neodymium one), and promises "exceptional high-frequency detail, speed and transparency".
As before, the DB1R will feature a rear port, with a long-throw woofer in the mix.
We've praised many of ProAc's speakers in recent years, including the D20R, the Response D2R, and the K3 floorstanders, and have noted how expressive, articulate and musical they sound. So we have high hopes for the new DB1R.
ProAc's director, Zoe Tyler-Mardle, commented: “The launch of the DB1R is the first step in developing our long-term plans while continuing to honour [founder] Stewart Tyler’s designs and the legacy he left behind. As a team, we want to take everything he taught us over the last 30 years and build upon it. Music is at the heart of our family and central to ProAc’s ‘perfectly natural’ sound – something we are fully committed to preserving.”
The ProAc Response DB1R is due to go into production around May this year, with prices for the standard finishes costing £2945, with premium finishes costing more at £3465.
If the new speakers follow the same finishes as the DB1, the standard finishes will include Black Ash, Mahogany, Cherry, Walnut, Natural Oak, and Silk White, while the more premium, luxury finishes will include Liquidambar, Rosewood, and Ebony at extra cost.
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