Money well spent

dkfreebird

I have been breaking in my 2.3tl's for about a week now and couldn't be happier.Thanks to David(westmassguy) for all the guidance and fine work on the crossover rebuild and the new interconnect cable.I installed blackhole5,hurricane nuts,sealed the cabinets with loctite power grab and dynamatted all the drivers and passives.The rdo 198's were installed before the rebuild and they really are what got me going on the rebuild.Thanks to all the information on this forum to make people like me want to go down this journey and I feel I am just beginning.Here are a couple of pics of what was done.I hope the pics don't come out to big.

tonyb

Cool man, glad your digging them. That Westmassguy is a pretty solid dude....I'm assuming he's a dude anyway.

drumminman

Looks familiar. Congrats on all the upgrades. They do make a massive improvement.

markamerica

Beautiful! If they sound as good as the parts look,(and I'm sure they do) you've got some awesome speakers there. Nice work!

dkfreebird

Thanks,they are really sounding better everyday,I've had them on for about 190hrs straight and the sound just keeps getting better.I put on Eva Cassidy Live at Blues Alley every day and am starting to hear new things everyday it seems,wider sound stage and the location of the instruments.

markamerica

dkfreebird,

That's one of the pleasant things after these kinds of mods, isn't it? Details begin to appear that you did not notice before. Congrats on all counts!

dkfreebird

Yes it is,I bought new interconnects to try Audioquest Evergreens and am letting them all burn it at once.I've already been looking at other uogrades to to try and get the besf out of them.I sold a set of Klipsch Heresey's the other day and the guy asked why I was selling them,I took him in the other room and let him listen to the 2.3's and he said you might not want to let me listen to these while your trying to sell me the hersey's.He said he had never seen or heard the polk's before and was impressed.:)

voltz

Wow! Dave does nice work! and your speakers look awesome! I am so jealous but seriously happy for ya!

PolkieMan

Nice, those x-over boards are crowded with those big caps,nice job, remember 3 feet+ from the side walls

Moose68Bash

Congratulations!

You've got a lot of listening pleasure ahead of you!

vmaxer

They look great, I am sure they sound great also.
It seems a few prefer these over the big boys.

dkfreebird

I don't have them in the room they will be in yet,they will be in my 15x30 game room when they are set up for good.We just have some rearranging to do after they are broken in.I just listened to No Doubt Rock Steady was startled a few time of some of the effects I never heard in that recording.I can't wait till they are set up properly

westmassguy

dkfreebird wrote: »

I have been breaking in my 2.3tl's for about a week now and couldn't be happier.Thanks to David(westmassguy) for all the guidance and fine work on the crossover rebuild and the new interconnect cable.I installed blackhole5,hurricane nuts,sealed the cabinets with loctite power grab and dynamatted all the drivers and passives.The rdo 198's were installed before the rebuild and they really are what got me going on the rebuild.Thanks to all the information on this forum to make people like me want to go down this journey and I feel I am just beginning.Here are a couple of pics of what was done.I hope the pics don't come out to big.

Was my pleasure Dennis. Now pour yourself an adult beverage and enjoy your handiwork

westmassguy

tonyb wrote: »

Cool man, glad your digging them. That Westmassguy is a pretty solid dude....I'm assuming he's a dude anyway.

Well he's not a dudette.
Unfortunately, he's getting more "solid" as the years pass

Mike Reeter

Excellent choice of SDA's to rebuild!

Your first couple of pictures look very similar




Enjoy your new 2.3TL's, they are special!

dkfreebird

That looks familiar I think the binding posts will be my next upgrade.I ran out of funds to have them done when the crossovers were done but I moved some speakers so I'm looking to do them next.I'm pretty sure I can do them myself.

Mike Reeter

dkfreebird wrote: »

That looks familiar I think the binding posts will be my next upgrade.I ran out of funds to have them done when the crossovers were done but I moved some speakers so I'm looking to do them next.I'm pretty sure I can do them myself.

While you're at it, upgrade your jumper wires also, another little tweak that makes a positive difference.

headrott

Excellent! Glad you are enjoying your modded 2.3TL's. Damn fine speakers!

drumminman

Mike Reeter wrote: »

dkfreebird wrote: »

That looks familiar I think the binding posts will be my next upgrade.I ran out of funds to have them done when the crossovers were done but I moved some speakers so I'm looking to do them next.I'm pretty sure I can do them myself.

While you're at it, upgrade your jumper wires also, another little tweak that makes a positive difference.

Don't forget about the SDA inductors, the 16 mH ones. Makes a huge difference in the quantity and quality of bass. Several options you have from economical to wallet draining.

dkfreebird

I'm leaning that way,inductors,binding post and jumpers.I can tell this never ends.This is a bottomless hole.

westmassguy

We discussed all that if you recall

dkfreebird

I remember David,just didn't have the funds at the time.Moved some speakers I had and now have a little to play with.

westmassguy

No worries. Took me a year and a half to upgrade my 2As, and still not finished

dkfreebird

Well finally got the speakers set up where they are going to be and need a little input on my placement.I was wondering if the columns in between the speakers were a problem?The speakers are about 5.6 feet apart and about 33" away from the walls.The sound is amazing once I got them out of the small room I had them in now it is time to tweak them

headrott

You absolutely need even more room on both sides of them (a minimum of 3 feet (is recommended). Also, Typically, about 6 to 8 inches I find best for placement from the rear walls. Also, the "columns" will present soundstage problems since it looks as though the 2.3TL's are behind them. It is dificult to tell from the picture however. I definately recommend placing them in front of the "columns", although the negative is that it will place the 2.3TL's further away from the wall. It's a trade-off of reducing the sound quality. The further you place them from the rear wall, the less bass response you will hear. Also, having the 2.3TL's that colse to the "columns" will "box them in" and reduce imaging and soundstage and imaging. I hope this helps you out sir.

dkfreebird

Thanks for the info,the speakers are 1" in front of the supports and 5" from the back wall,But the shelves for the gear is in front of them.I guess that is where I will start.

Mike Reeter

Ideally you want nothing "solid" between the SDA's, the enclosure will screw up the imaging. You can stick your head in between a pair of SDA's, almost to the back wall, and hear music.

Open style equipment racks are not as restrictive, as sound can pass through the rack, but the solid enclosures are not optimum. I also don't like a monitor between the SDA's, the sound reflects off of the glass and skews the imaging.

If there was ever a down side to SDA's, they are "picky" about placement and room size to perform their very best.

I'd pull yours out away from the back wall and try to get the leading edge of the speaker in front of the enclosure even more, hopefully without losing your Bass output.

dkfreebird

I guess when I read the setup guide I didn't realize that nothing could be in between them.I thought the important part was the distance apart and the space from the sidewalls.Thanks for the input

westmassguy

I've had my 2ATLs flanking my DLP for a couple years, with no problems. The front edge of the SDA should stick out past the wood cabinet. Mine are also about 11" off the back wall

Mike Reeter

Please don't read into my comments that you can't have anything between your SDA's, it's just not a "perfect" scenario, where they will sound their best.

I think most of us "live without" the perfect room, set-up, and so forth. Making the best out of what you have to work with, that is the key.

Until your new 2.3's are completely run in and all the new components are seasoned, the output is still changing every day.

Keep tweaking your placement and you'll hit the sweetest spot you can find with your room and surroundings.

When you do find that place, sit down and enjoy!

Moose68Bash

Mike Reeter wrote: »

I think most of us "live without" the perfect room, set-up, and so forth. Making the best out of what you have to work with, that is the key.

Amen to that! I have no alternative to placing my SDA SRSs on opposite sides of built in cabinetry that is nine feet wide.

The sound is great, but I have a hunch that if I ripped out the cabinetry and let the SDAs stand alone, I'd smile even more!

We just have to play the hand we're dealt -- or take drastic steps when the first opportunity arises!