CES & THE Show 2011 • Best of Show

The newest floorstanding speaker from ProAc is the contemporary-looking Response K6 ($24,000/pair), among whose drivers is a pair of 6 1/2" Kevlar woofers. The cones of these proprietary drivers are fashioned from sheets of Kevlar that are injection molded and then pressed for five hours. The resulting material is very light and very stiff.

The woofers help to produce bass that's remarkably powerful and detailed, given the speaker's moderate size. As is the case with all ProAc speakers, the K6es are expertly voiced, imparting a truly musical balance. And they scaled in perspective, sounding intimate with one cut and positively huge with another. The speaker's dome midrange is made in Germany and the ribbon tweeter in Italy, giving the K6 real international flair. Electronics were from Audio Research: a VSi60 integrated amp with new KT120 output tubes ($3995) and a Reference CD8 CD player ($9995).

A close up of the K6's Kevlar woofer cone.