SDA's Non-interconnected

NeilGabriel

I know I will hear some people scream all the way from Texas or California...or wherever....

I did not like the SDA "effect" (not a negative comment) when I heard a pair.....though I loved the sound. Someone told me you can run them without the interconnect and they function very well as "regular" speakers....please be kind....just curious...

stubby

Oh I know you are NOT talking about my old pair of CRS's!! LOL Just bustin' your chops. Absolutely can be done. Complete waste of speaker design, but it can be done. You'd be better off with some RTA's.

stubby

BTW, your stands are waiting. Patiently.

Tony M

So true and wise.

Sell the SDAs and get some RTAs. You might even have money leftover.;)

dcmeigs

Get some RTA-11s and put some RDOs in them and do the crossover mods. You'll love them. I've got a buddy in Hutch that would probably like to have those SDAs.

Bnewsom

I had the same experience, with some sda 2 org. Lack of bass, yes I resealed all drivers, yes I tried to reposition them. The bass was not that bad, have a 400 watt sub. I will admit that some music did sound amazing (older classic rock), but not enough to use them in place of my rta 15tl. Tried unplugging the "sda" tweet helped a little, was only running them on a onkyo 150 watt per channel amp. Next month investing it a carver 250 per and going to give them another try. And I do not want to upgrade the tweeters, I am one of the few that really love them. In fact just bought four more, in case I blow any experimenting. Don't want to sell them, so if all else fails will try major modification. I will admit on classical music they can not be beat. But on some of the newer music - rock - alt rock - it actually sound horrible. I did have to replace the poly switches, so maybe a complete crossover upgrade is needed, but for some music to sound good and other not would suggest that is not the case. But with interconnect unplugged, you might be better off with rta's or something else. Just my two cents.

Bnewsom

I had the same experience, with some sda 2 org. Lack of bass, yes I resealed all drivers, yes I tried to reposition them. The bass was not that bad, have a 400 watt sub. I will admit that some music did sound amazing (older classic rock), but not enough to use them in place of my rta 15tl. Tried unplugging the "sda" tweet helped a little, was only running them on a onkyo 150 watt per channel amp. Next month investing it a carver 250 per and going to give them another try. And I do not want to upgrade the tweeters, I am one of the few that really love them. In fact just bought four more, in case I blow any experimenting. Don't want to sell them, so if all else fails will try major modification. I will admit on classical music they can not be beat. But on some of the newer music - rock - alt rock - it actually sound horrible. I did have to replace the poly switches, so maybe a complete crossover upgrade is needed, but for some music to sound good and other not would suggest that is not the case. But with interconnect unplugged, you might be better off with rta's or something else. Just my two cents.

inspiredsports

NeilGabriel wrote: »

I know I will hear some people scream all the way from Texas or California...or wherever....

I did not like the SDA "effect" (not a negative comment) when I heard a pair.....though I loved the sound. Someone told me you can run them without the interconnect and they function very well as "regular" speakers....please be kind....just curious...

Bnewsom wrote: »

I had the same experience, with some sda 2 org. Lack of bass, yes I resealed all drivers, yes I tried to reposition them. The bass was not that bad, have a 400 watt sub. I will admit that some music did sound amazing (older classic rock), but not enough to use them in place of my rta 15tl. Tried unplugging the "sda" tweet helped a little, was only running them on a onkyo 150 watt per channel amp. Next month investing it a carver 250 per and going to give them another try. And I do not want to upgrade the tweeters, I am one of the few that really love them. In fact just bought four more, in case I blow any experimenting. Don't want to sell them, so if all else fails will try major modification. I will admit on classical music they can not be beat. But on some of the newer music - rock - alt rock - it actually sound horrible. I did have to replace the poly switches, so maybe a complete crossover upgrade is needed, but for some music to sound good and other not would suggest that is not the case. But with interconnect unplugged, you might be better off with rta's or something else. Just my two cents.

Both of you, give me an effin break.

Just get a boom box. Or, are you here to learn how to make the magic?

gimpod

I have just one question WHY:confused:

I think you've been snorting to much wheat dust lately.:eek:

erniejade

I have a set of 1.2 and 2.3's. I have noticed on some music, depends on how it was recorded, the SDA effect does not make some music sound right. It seems to me, if some of the music is over processed, or too much re verb on the vocals, they get lost in the sda effect. In that case I either unplug the cable or put the vandersteen's on.

Bnewsom

inspiredsports wrote: »

Both of you, give me an effin break.

Just get a boom box. Or, are you here to learn how to make the magic?

Nice, guess where not allowed to have opinions.

Trust me when I say that I am not in to "boom box" sounding music.
FYI - no such thing as magic my friend.

inspiredsports

Bnewsom wrote: »

Nice, guess where not allowed to have opinions.

Trust me when I say that I am not in to "boom box" sounding music.
FYI - no such thing as magic my friend.

Exactly. That's what the interconnect cable is for.

Toolfan66

Poor Placement? poor power? Maybe just not for you guys?? Sell them and go a different path no harm in that.. I will soon be tring something else beside polk speakers... Not that my SDA's are going anywhere just ready to try something else.

Toolfan66

"was only running them on a onkyo 150 watt per channel amp"

Well that is one problem..


" Tweeters??How do you know if you really like them?? you have yet to be WOW'ed by them.

heiney9

No they don't run "well" as regular speakers. Get some RTA 11's if you don't care for SDA properties. In many SDA models you lose 1/2 the speaker output without the cable in place.

To Bnewsom, bass defieciency is not one one of any of the SDA's problem's. Those that experience poor bass response are 1) not using nice enough gear 2) have them set-up improperly 3) listening to bass shy music 4) not using nice enough gear 5) not using nice enough gear

H9

heiney9

Bnewsom wrote: »

FYI - no such thing as magic my friend.

Of course there is...............tubes and SDA's. Either together or separately, that's Magic!!!

H9

heiney9

Bnewsom wrote: »

was only running them on a onkyo 150 watt per channel amp. Next month investing it a carver 250 per and going to give them another try.

I'm running 30wpc and have yet to find the limit of the amp or speakers. It's not simply about wattage ratings on a piece of paper.

You may not find any improvement beacause it's more or less a lateral move in amplification as both amps occupy about the same heirarchy in the low to mid fi world.

H9

P.s. At least you're willing to experiment with different gear, that's a plus.

Toolfan66

What H9 said!!! ^^^^^^

inspiredsports

I know I will hear some people scream all the way from Texas or California. . . or wherever . . . I just bought a vintage '69 Dodge Hemi 'Cuda . . . I did not like the gas mileage (not a negative comment) when I first drove the car. Someone told me I could drive it without 4 of the spark plugs, so I removed them . . . :rolleyes:

Yeah, be kind.

P.S. Did I tell you about my twin turboprop with one of the propellers removed and the turbo disabled on the other?

gimpod

inspiredsports wrote: »

I know I will hear some people scream all the way from Texas or California. . . or wherever . . . I just bought a vintage '69 Dodge Hemi 'Cuda . . . I did not like the gas mileage (not a negative comment) when I first drove the car. Someone told me I could drive it without 4 of the spark plugs, so I removed them . . . :rolleyes:

Yeah, be kind.

P.S. Did I tell you about my twin turboprop with one of the propellers removed and the turbo disabled on the other?

LMAO Classic.:D:D:D

P.S. 100th post! Now i get to try and sell you guys all my totally useless crap.:rolleyes:

Bnewsom

No disrespect to anyone or to sda's. I love polk speakers never had any other. I am happy for the people that love the sda effect for everything, and as I said I will not be selling mine. I love them for what they are and for the music they work with. I can understand the first posters sentence and makes me hesitant to ever comment. I may indeed be doing something "wrong" in placement or equipment or to small of a living room or karma? I have not giving up them. If I all ready love the tweeters, why would I spend the money to try something else? I am new around here and did not mean to ruffle any feathers here. And the magic is in the music and always will be, weather it is interpreted through Polk sda's or radio shack speakers -- no disrespect to the radio shack lovers out there!!!!

stubby

inspiredsports wrote: »

I know I will hear some people scream all the way from Texas or California. . . or wherever . . . I just bought a vintage '69 Dodge Hemi 'Cuda . . . I did not like the gas mileage (not a negative comment) when I first drove the car. Someone told me I could drive it without 4 of the spark plugs, so I removed them . . . :rolleyes:

Yeah, be kind.

P.S. Did I tell you about my twin turboprop with one of the propellers removed and the turbo disabled on the other?

Actually, a Hemi 'Cuda was not available 'til 1970. And it was a Plymouth.

stubby

inspiredsports

stubby wrote: »

Actually, a Hemi 'Cuda was not available 'til 1970. And it was a Plymouth.

stubby

Oops, I had a '69 426 Hemi Roadrunner, but always wanted a Challenger R/T or 'Cuda. After 30+ years the Roadrunner/Challenger/Charger/Barracuda is a blur.

But I digress, I have to get back to more "don't use it the way it was designed to be used" mods. I'm removing a couple random tubes from my amp to make it sound better.

Toolfan66

May 2009???

Sorry but IMO you should have those SDA's kicking your **** by now...

Even if you just lurk with your low post count you should have a good idea on how the SDA's should be setup, powered, and again kicking your ****...:p

Bnewsom wrote: »

No disrespect to anyone or to sda's. I love polk speakers never had any other. I am happy for the people that love the sda effect for everything, and as I said I will not be selling mine. I love them for what they are and for the music they work with. I can understand the first posters sentence and makes me hesitant to ever comment. I may indeed be doing something "wrong" in placement or equipment or to small of a living room or karma? I have not giving up them. If I all ready love the tweeters, why would I spend the money to try something else? I am new around here and did not mean to ruffle any feathers here. And the magic is in the music and always will be, weather it is interpreted through Polk sda's or radio shack speakers -- no disrespect to the radio shack lovers out there!!!!

toucanet

Tubes and SDAs... It is an addiction I cannot get rid of. This combination will have you deep in the rabbit hole.

I am driving my 1.2TLs with a pair of tube monoblocks, rated at 250 tube watts per channel. When I play Diana Krall, Frank Sinatra, etc., you would truly believe they were in the room playing live.

Initially, I did not believe in finding the "sweet spot" with these speakers until a buddy of mine helped me position them correctly. I'M A BELIEVER NOW!

These tube amps and 1.2s are truly a wonderful combination. The highs and mids sound wonderful, but not overbearing to cause listening fatigue. The bass... let's just say the bass hits harder than Tarzan hit Cheeta when he caught Cheeta having "relations" with Jane in the jungle!!!

I experienced this before I had the xovers modded as well as replaced all 8 tweeters. They sound even better now.

These guys know what they are talking about; they have helped me immensely.

dcmeigs

Bnewsom wrote: »

FYI - no such thing as magic my friend.

No magic??? Don't tell Grant Hill that.

Seriously, if you don't hear the magic, your just not doing it right. What are you using for a source? Cart home a good EL34 or 7591 push pull power amp and audition those speakers with a good amp. Or try a good tube preamp with a quality squalid state power amp. Remember, you are listening to the amp and source too. Those speakers don't exist in a vacuum.

inspiredsports

Magic is a pretty good word if you ask me.

Source, cables and interconnects, age of caps, room placement, speaker alignment; Get 'em right and it's whatever you want to call it, but IMHO, it makes absolutely no sense at all to me to use SDA's sans interconnect cable.

NeilGabriel

Stubby had me ask this question after i sold off the pair of CRS+ he sold me and I went back to my Bose 301's....damn nice speaker for the money...this reminds me of some guy on ebay who had "ported" a pair of old Polk monitors.....

in other words, if I have a girl with nice ****, I should leave them alone? not fix mona lisa's crooked smile?

stubby

NeilGabriel wrote: »

Stubby had me ask this question after i sold off the pair of CRS+ he sold me and I went back to my Bose 301's....damn nice speaker for the money...this reminds me of some guy on ebay who had "ported" a pair of old Polk monitors.....

in other words, if I have a girl with nice ****, I should leave them alone? not fix mona lisa's crooked smile?

Sure, blame the guy who can't even think! At least I know if I had a girl with nice ****, NOT to leave them alone!

cnh

Sorry you didn't get into the SDA effect. It is true that some 'music' (not much)...sounds a bit pushed on SDAs depending on many recording issues. But most things sound fine. And one thing I most definitely agree with Brock on...is--I've never heard anyone complain about bass on SDAs. I run the smaller 2Bs with an Adcom 200 x 2 watter and those babies POUND in a mid-sized room.

But you gotta do what you gotta do.

Good luck with the search!

cnh