Closest current line to SDA

eztommyd
eztommyd Posts: 10
Just bought a pair of S55s since I downsized and my wife said my SDA 2As were too big. I know, big mistake. The S55s have great clarity and bass but not the depth or field the SDAs had, of course. Now I'm trying to decide if I return them and get the RTia 7 or 9, if this will get me closer to the SDA depth and breadth I loved. I'll also eventually replace my Sony 100W receiver with a dedicated 200W amp but am wondering if I should upgrade to the amp first and give the s55s another chance? Or go with the RTia 7/9 now then upgrade the amp? I'm not looking for a lot of volume, just want the depth even at a lower volume.
«1

Comments

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,704
    Neither the RTiA or LSiM will get you closer to the SDA.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,034
    There is no replacement for displacement
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
  • eztommyd
    eztommyd Posts: 10
    Ok, do the RTai 7s sound dramatically better that I should swap out the S55s for them? I've got nowhere close by to hear them first.
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,034
    I would look for the LSIm 705 instead. They are generally considered the best all around performer of the Polk line right now.
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,704
    ^ THIS ^
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • eztommyd
    eztommyd Posts: 10
    So no appreciable difference unless I go all the way to LSIm 705?
  • teekay0007
    teekay0007 Posts: 2,289
    Have you seen this thread? http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/182646/black-lsim-705-pair-with-center-for-1k-adorama#latest

    Sweet deal on a pair of LSiM705s and a center. If that isn't for you, I think you'd notice some nice improvement moving up, Amp-wise, and keeping your S55s. However, I think you'd get further improvement with the RTiA7s and the upgraded amp. And, lastly, you'd get the most improvement out of the amp upgrade and the LSiMs. Taking advantage of the above deal, you'd also need a three-channel amp.

    It's also my understanding that if you do go with the RtiA line, the 7 is as high as you want to go. I've heard from several present and past 9 owners that the 9's are very difficult to drive and even more difficult to get to sound well balanced.

    That being said...........YMMV! (your mileage may vary)
  • motorstereo
    motorstereo Posts: 2,042
    Hmmm; I wonder if there's anything close to the bigger SDA's sound by any manufacturer presently??
  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,557
    Honestly, no speaker can be properly judged when it's driven from an inexpensive HT receiver.
  • FestYboy
    FestYboy Posts: 3,861
    Hmmm; I wonder if there's anything close to the bigger SDA's sound by any manufacturer presently??

    Gonna go out on a limb here and say NO. You're comparing apples and cumquats.
  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,053
    LSiM is a great performer, but there is nothing like the SDA's being currently made. They were unique then and there's nothing from Polk or anyone else that gives you what they did.

    2 choices, get another pair of SDA's or move on with something like the LSiM series and learn to love those. They really perform very well (above their price point), just not the same presentation as SDA's.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
  • eztommyd
    eztommyd Posts: 10
    Do we know why Polk abandoned the SDA technology? It was a game changer in the 80s - cannot believe they think today's are somehow better.
  • eztommyd
    eztommyd Posts: 10
    Clipdat wrote: »
    Honestly, no speaker can be properly judged when it's driven from an inexpensive HT receiver.

    Somewhat agree but I know how good my 2As sounded even with a moderate quality amp, so by using the same amp I have a baseline to compare.
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,474
    eztommyd wrote: »
    Do we know why Polk abandoned the SDA technology? It was a game changer in the 80s - cannot believe they think today's are somehow better.

    They didn't its now a sound bar... :p
  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,053
    edited July 2018
    eztommyd wrote: »
    Do we know why Polk abandoned the SDA technology? It was a game changer in the 80s - cannot believe they think today's are somehow better.

    Do a search, it's been discussed ad nauseum . Too big, required too much power, expensive to build. But really from an aesthetics stand point they just don't fit anymore. They also need a proper demo and many brick and mortar stores aren't around anymore. Any being a mass producer of speakers they couldn't make them a boutique product.

    SDA lives on actively in many of the sound bar units, but it's done electronically not passively. It works in the sound bars fairly well, but not like the big boy speakers of the late 80's early 90's

    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
  • rburgess714
    rburgess714 Posts: 614
    I had the A7s for a short time and returned for the S60s. To my ears they were much better for music and not bright. They weren’t for me but others like them for ht or tame them with amps that are on the warm side and ICs and cables.
    Living Room
    Parasound HINT 6, Yamaha Aventage RX-A 1060, Yamaha BD-S681, Cambridge Audio Azur 851N, Polk S60, Polk S30, Samsung 60" LED

    Office
    Cambridge Audio 851A, Auralic Aries Mini, LSiM 703s

    Douglas Connection ICs and Cables
  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,902
    If the wife finds the SDA 2's too big, how on earth does she ok the RTIA'S , lsim's ? I think it's more aesthetics than size.

    Might be time to start looking at a higher end speaker if you want that breath, depth, and soundstage back.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
  • eztommyd
    eztommyd Posts: 10
    tonyb wrote: »
    If the wife finds the SDA 2's too big, how on earth does she ok the RTIA'S , lsim's ? I think it's more aesthetics than size.

    Might be time to start looking at a higher end speaker if you want that breath, depth, and soundstage back.

    She's been surprisingly ok with the height. It's the width that bothers her. Kind of like me. Let me know if you've found the secret formula to figuring women out.
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,704
    It's width or depth, pick your poison.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,902
    eztommyd wrote: »
    tonyb wrote: »
    If the wife finds the SDA 2's too big, how on earth does she ok the RTIA'S , lsim's ? I think it's more aesthetics than size.

    Might be time to start looking at a higher end speaker if you want that breath, depth, and soundstage back.

    She's been surprisingly ok with the height. It's the width that bothers her. Kind of like me. Let me know if you've found the secret formula to figuring women out.

    Ha....you betcha. In general though, women like things aesthetically pleasing. They don't want things that look old, in a room with modern furniture. They place value on looks over sound, where as men usually place sound over looks.

    I'm gonna through a suggestion at you that might satisfy her requirements on width, and yours on sound.

    Tekton speakers. Go to HIFI Shark and type it in, some good speaks on the used markets. Look at the Pentagon or Double impacts. Looks may not be as pretty as some others, but the sound will kick the snot out of many other more costly options. They are also easy to drive with any receiver, but most would put an amp on them anyway for the dynamic presentation.

    For Polk speakers.....the LSIM 705'S is where you want to be hands down, for current models. Good luck to you.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
  • Mikey081057
    Mikey081057 Posts: 7,127
    If it's a beautiful sound stage you yearn for check out Usher.
    My New Year's resolution is 3840 × 2160

    Family Room| Marantz AV7704| Usher Dancer Mini - 2 DMD Mains |Usher Dancer Mini-x DMD's Surrounds | Usher BE-616 DMD Center | SVS Ultra Rear Surrounds | Parasound Halo A21 | Parsound Halo A52+ | MIT Shotgun S3's | Dual SVS SB 4000 Ultras | Oppo UDP 203 | Directv Genie HD DVR | Samsung 75" Q8 QLED | PSAudio Stellar GCD | Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ | Lumin U1 Mini | HP Elite Slice PC | ROON'd for life |

    ManCave: HT:Polk LSiM 706VR3 LSiM 703's LSiM 702's|| Marantz AV7002 AV PrePro Sunfire TGA-7401| Sony PS4 Pro| Sony PS4 Pro|SVS PB13 Ultra| Oppo UDP 203 | Music Hall MMF 5.3se TT w/ Soundsmith Carmen | Samsung 55" SUHD TV | Sony PS4

    Patio | Polk Atrium 8's | Yamaha R-N303BL |

    Office BlueSound Node| KEF LS50 | Peactree Nova 125SE |

    Bedroom | Focal 905's | Chromecast Audio |

    Garage | Polk Monitor 5B's

    Closet Yamaha M80 | 2 Polk MP3K subs| Yaqin MC100B with Shuguang Treasures KT 88's & CV181Z's | Tesla E83CC's | Marantz 2252B | Marantz 2385 |Polk SDA SRS 2.3 | LSiM 705's |
  • Toolfan66
    Toolfan66 Posts: 16,834
    There needs to be some give and take in a relationship IMO, it's my house as well as hers. Now I get it if you have gear everywhere and it looks like just a guys pad, but if it's placed well and you have a nice setup than there shouldn't be a problem.

    My wife dosen't like the big speakers, but she is glad that I have them looking nice, and that I got rid of the wood look on them ( so am i ) but when the stereo is on she loves how they sound, and she has enjoyed it as time has gone on..

    Now the HT setup she has no issues with, for one it's in the basement, second she likes the look of the LSiM's as well as the RTiA's when we had them...
  • eztommyd
    eztommyd Posts: 10
    So I just hooked up the A9s. Wow. Just an amazing difference from the Signature Series. They have that perfect Polk balance in tone - subtle bass that's not in your face, neutral mids and crystal clear highs. If you remove the interconnect cable from the SDAs, this is just as good.
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,704
    No, it's not.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • eztommyd
    eztommyd Posts: 10
    Having owned SDAs for 33 years, I can tell you that it is.
  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,053
    edited July 2018
    Listening to SDA's w/o the cable is NOT good (IMO). BTW, who would listen to SDA's without the cable, that's just silliness. The speakers were designed to sound their best with the cable operational. It's a huge handicap to run them without. The A9's must be lacking then.............my Modded SDA 1C's are sure lacking when the cable is unplugged.

    In summary if the A9's sound like SDA's w/o the cable, then that's not a good thing and one should steer clear of the A9's

    Of course you don't mention which SDA's. Each generation was different in design and how the inter aural crosstalk was handled. The last 2 generations of SDA's being the best as they had time to fine tune the system.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
  • eztommyd
    eztommyd Posts: 10
    Let me clarify. My point was the tonality sounds as good, not that the depth achieved via the SDAs is still there. Of course you wouldn't listen to SDAs without the cable.
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,034
    heiney9 wrote: »
    Listening to SDA's w/o the cable is NOT good (IMO). BTW, who would listen to SDA's without the cable, that's just silliness. The speakers were designed to sound their best with the cable operational. It's a huge handicap to run them without. The A9's must be lacking then.............my Modded SDA 1C's are sure lacking when the cable is unplugged.

    In summary if the A9's sound like SDA's w/o the cable, then that's not a good thing and one should steer clear of the A9's

    Of course you don't mention which SDA's. Each generation was different in design and how the inter aural crosstalk was handled. The last 2 generations of SDA's being the best as they had time to fine tune the system.

    H9
    I think he had/has SDA-2a’s.... I found them to be nowhere near as good as later models.
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
  • eztommyd
    eztommyd Posts: 10
    Jesus Christ - I'm just trying to help anyone out who wondered how the A9s sound....didn't realize I'd get parsed and belittled like this. Awesome forum here.
  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,053
    eztommyd wrote: »
    Jesus Christ - I'm just trying to help anyone out who wondered how the A9s sound....didn't realize I'd get parsed and belittled like this. Awesome forum here.

    To be fair the OP is looking for the depth and breadth of SDA's you say the A9's have the tone. Not exactly what the OP is looking for.

    All I stated was the A9 will never sound like SDA's without the cable.

    Sorry you feel ganged up on, I'm just stating my opinion based on the OP's original comments. No need to take it personally.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!