sda-srs or rtiA9 for home theater

lazrdds7

just finishing home theater 35x22.looking to upgrade speakersMain.running pioneer elite sc09tx.looking at sdASRS AND RTIA9.ANY FEEDBACK WOULD BE APPRECIATED.RUNNING 9.2 SETUP with 2 pair ls f/x for side surrounds,cs350 center channel, and pair of m3 for rear surrounds.subwwoofers are 2 psw1000s.willing to upgrade others speakers also to get ultimate 9.s system.THANKS FOR ANY SUGGESTIONS.JEFF.

Vette C6.r

IMO, SRS's are best left to 2 channel. The principle behind the SDA doesn't go great with surround.

I would go with the RTI's or LSI's if you have the budget.

Just wondering. How big is this room that allows you to have a 9.2 setup ???

Sometimes a well placed 5.1 or 7.1 will do wonders for ya.

And with two PS1000's I can't image in the bass they put out.

lazrdds7

room is 35 feet x 22feet.

BIZILL

some will say you can get away with it, but i wouldn't suggest using sda-srs for mains ALONG WITH a 5.1, 5.2, 7.1, 7.2 or any surround setup with the exception of perhaps a full sda surround setup. either way, the sda sound will not be accurate in reproducing the director's audible intentions.

save the srs for another setup in another room. get the rtiA9's.

Toolfan66

9's for HT !!! SDA's for 2 channel !!!

cnh

I have to agree with Larry on this one, although I only run M-70s in the HT. I would upgrade to Rti-A9s if I had the cash. I use SDAs in the 'primary' 2 channel. Monitor 5s and LSI-7s in the office rig.

For your room...what you really need is Rti-A9s, CSI-A6 and the supporting cast for surrounds....maybe some Rti-A5 towers (because of the room size?--heck...maybe even Rti-A9s as surrounds and Rti-A3 or A5s as back surrounds) and a truckload of AMPLIFICATION. Maybe even 7 mono-blocks and two very large 1000 watt subs?

cnh

Audioquest

I have SDA SRS 2.3's for my HT system and they are amazing. I've tried it with and without the cable and it is better without the cable for 5.1.

Over the years, I've had Polk RTi600, Energy, Mirage, M&K, Jamo and the 2.3's are by far the best so far. I think because of the shear size and # of drivers, they manage to throw a huge realistic, non-boxy soundstage, with earth-shaking impact. With my Denon, I have it set to LFE & Main (THX low frequencies and large front speaker setting) and the integration is seamless. For similar money, in my opinion, it would be impossible for me to replace these with anything that would perform as well.

Having said that, those RTiA9's though would probably be phenominal, and with a smaller footprint, it would integrate into the HT concept very well. Also, as technology and materials for drivers and x-overs march steadily onward, newer high end speakers almost always beat out the old ones in terms of resolve. (Ducking for flames now :eek: )

lazrdds7

i have a line on some sda-srs which i could use in my 2 channel set up.what is a price range for these and what do i need to look for when i go audition them?

lazrdds7

also any pro and cons for rtia9a versus lsi25s?budget is not an issue.Any input would be appreciated.

ben62670

Look for frozen drivers. A nice gentle deep push on the passive radiator will tell you if the drivers are frozen. This also is a test for air leaks. More on that if you get them.
Ben
Welcome to Club Polk

leroyjr1

lazrdds7 wrote: »

also any pro and cons for rtia9a versus lsi25s?budget is not an issue.Any input would be appreciated.

There's plenty of sda/lsi/rti topics that has come up. Do a search, you seem to be very undecided what direction you want to go. Klipsch and definitive technology is also outstanding for home theater use.

lazrdds7

the guy had them in storage for several years and has no amp to drive them,i was going to bring one of my larger adcom amps to audition.is this necessary or do i just need to check for frozen drivers.also any input on price if all drivers check out good or price if some are frozen.

leroyjr1

lazrdds7 wrote: »

the guy had them in storage for several years and has no amp to drive them,i was going to bring one of my larger adcom amps to audition.is this necessary or do i just need to check for frozen drivers.also any input on price if all drivers check out good or price if some are frozen.

$1000 if all works. Drivers are easy to get and are cheap

Toolfan66

I would take the A9's over the LSi25's but that's just me..

Now the LSi15's I would take over the A9's but like I said that's just me..

Audioquest

lazrdds7 wrote: »

the guy had them in storage for several years and has no amp to drive them,i was going to bring one of my larger adcom amps to audition.is this necessary or do i just need to check for frozen drivers.also any input on price if all drivers check out good or price if some are frozen.

Yes, take a music source along. As much as the 6.5" drivers can freeze up, the tweeters also can quit and no way to tell unless you play music through them. Also make a paper cone and put it to each one against your ear to make sure they are each indeed working.
If you take them home, don't drop or give them a sudden jar as that's what seems to kill those old 6.5" drivers. Magnet/VC misalignment

nooshinjohn

My SDA 2.3's are amazing in surround with the interconnect in place. I don't fully understand why anyone would say otherwise. After all, weren't the SRT's also using SDA technology?

vmaxer

nooshinjohn wrote: »

My SDA 2.3's are amazing in surround with the interconnect in place. I don't fully understand why anyone would say otherwise. After all, weren't the SRT's also using SDA technology?

I use my 1.2TL's in my system. I like it, but I am not an expert:redface:

leroyjr1

nooshinjohn wrote: »

My SDA 2.3's are amazing in surround with the interconnect in place. I don't fully understand why anyone would say otherwise. After all, weren't the SRT's also using SDA technology?

Not everyone's taste is the same. Some love sda's while others don't. IMO sda's sound good for 2 channel but lack that forward, dynamic sound I love when watching movies.

nooshinjohn

My center (CSiA6) does a great job of that.

Schurkey

I see no problem with SDAs as main L-R speakers in a multi-channel home theatre. That's how my 1Bs are set up.

I don't think SDA speakers for the side or rear channels would be appropriate; and who uses double center-channel speakers?

newrival

An original polk sda engineer commented on this very issue. I thought it was on this forum but im having a hard time finding it. The direction of the thread was the relevance of SDA and someone was arguing that it was an unrealistic gimmick. Anyhow, The engineer who helped develop the SDA line with Mathew Polk chimed in on its relevance as well as its place in modern sound reproduction and stated that SDA is ideal for HT and is best when utilized in in a 6.1 configuration with SDA sets for front and rear L & R and using non-sda front and rear centers. I currently use this setup and can attest to its efectiveness. I was personally shocked how much better it sounded than my previous 7.1 configuration.

As stated, the RTS system utilized SDA as well. Not to mention Polk's current SDA Surround Bars. SDA may have been developed for stereo but it is equally as ideal for HT.

newrival

Schurkey wrote: »

I see no problem with SDAs as main L-R speakers in a multi-channel home theatre. That's how my 1Bs are set up.

I don't think SDA speakers for the side or rear channels would be appropriate; and who uses double center-channel speakers?

SDA's sound great as rear L & R. Surprisingly so. But you are correct about the side channels, there is little to no gain on the side and SDA actually gives off funky artifacts when in that position. You could always use them and just remove the interconnect, however.

newrival

oh, one thing of great import is to make sure that when placing the rear left and right SDA speakers that they are on the correct side. Remember the SDA drivers go to the outside and so your rear right will be a "left SDA speaker." Conversely, the rear left channel will have the "right SDA speaker"

falconcry72

I use SDA-2B's as fronts, with RTA-12C's as rears, and a cs350ls as a center, and I love them.

In the last couple of weeks I went back and forth between using my more modern Polks (RT-16's as fronts and RT-7's as rears) and my vintage Polks for the HT. I knew that I like the vintage Polk sound better for music, but I didn't that they would do as well for HT. I ended up liking the vintage Polks in the HT a lot. When I first did it I used the RTA12's as fronts with Monitor 5's as rears, which sounded great, but since I had an unused pair of SDA2B's sitting around, I said what the hell and tried'em out. I like it., and that's how it will stay... for a little while at least.

My RT-16's aren't as good as the RTiA9's in question, though.

If you like the vintage Polk sound but don't want the SDA effect, you could use RTA's or Monitors.

lazrdds7

CAN SDA-SRS be powered by pioneer sc09tx?

newrival

lazrdds7 wrote: »

CAN SDA-SRS be powered by pioneer sc09tx?

I have the pioneer elite vsx-84txsi and thought i would purchase the sc09 to replace it. I demoed it first to make sure it was going to be a worh while upgrade. I run external amps because on A/B comparisons the Pio just didnt hold a candle to my B&K or my Adcom. But thats only 140W/ch and slightly less with all channels driven hard. But I was excited to see how the new more robust ICE class-D amp of the sc09 would do, since i had seen the 200W/ch (all channels driven). And I have to say it sounded pretty decent. Not stellar, but pretty good. You have to make sure to set the receiver to 6 ohm mode but it does sound pretty good. My suggestion would be to use the receiver and see hat you think for a while. then maybe bring home a demo amp for your front channels and compare. Maybe borrow an amp or two from friends and just compare and contrast. I do have to say that the amp section of that receiver was much better than I was expecting it to be, great dynamics, very quick, but over all a little cold and thin. And those are 2 characteristics that dont translate well n the SRS's considering some people already find them a little bright.

So the answer to your question, as i see it:
CAN they? absolutely
SHOULD they? you be the judge

Schurkey

lazrdds7 wrote: »

CAN SDA-SRS be powered by pioneer sc09tx?

Is it a common-ground amp? If it is, and if it can comfortably drive a 4-ohm (nominal) load...it's usable with the SRS

newrival

by the way, i didnt end up upgrading just yet. I still like the front end of my receiver, and I dont have a 3dTV yet. Plus I havent decided if I want to go the pre/pro route yet. I'm going to wait and see what happens with emotiva's xmc-1... but i certainly won be holding my breath til its release.

leroyjr1

lazrdds7 wrote: »

CAN SDA-SRS be powered by pioneer sc09tx?

Yes they can but I'd definitely look into something external to get the best out your sda's.

Got any pics of the a9's in your new setup?

lazrdds7

I don,t know how to post pictures,any help would be appreciated.thanks for the a9s and center.it was a great deal and they sound awesome.i do have 2 adcom 2535 that i could bridge to run the fronts.how would those work for the sda-srs, besides the home theater, i have four other 5.1 systems in the house so both the sda and a9s will be great addition.with 7 teenagers and a 4 year old everybody needs their space to get away and you can never agrree on what to watch.