Time to start over... ?

newrival

So I've seen a few threads over my short time here where people feel ready for a change. Sell every single thing and start from scratch.

I feel like I'm there.

I really enjoy all of my gear. But I feel like I dont want to keep modifying this, switching out that. I want to get back to the music. Now font get me wrong, I fully realize that no matter what i do, the time while come when I catch upgradeitis again. But I really just want to move on from collecting all this "stuff". Also, I kind of just want to be part of the modern age of sound reproduction. nearly everything i have is from the 80's. but dont get me wrong, I love it.

So here is what I have:
Polk SDA SRS - unmodded, near mint
Polk SDA 2b - unmodded, near mint
Polk SDA CRS+ - unmodded, great
Ohm Walsh 2 - unmodded, good
Adcom 555 MkII (x3)
Audible Illusions Modulus tube preamp
Empire Troubadour 598 mkIII turntable (actually 2 of these, both very clean)
And then a whole list of other stuff that I dont use.

My potential future:
2-channel
Emerald Physics CS-2 or CS-2.3
wyred4sound amplification (ICE power)
HTPC (i have this currently)
PS3 (I have this already, too)

HT:
Hsu enthusiast 7.1 system
Emotiva UMC-1 pre-pro
parasound 7ch amp

maybe this is me just thinking aloud, but it seems more in line with my lifestyle at the moment. an comments? suggestions?
Anyone sell everything off and then regret it? love it?
thanks all!:biggrin:

ben62670

Keep at least one pair of SDA's and mod them. Plenty of help here. Get a good dedicated CD/SACD player.
Ben

F1nut

ben62670 wrote: »

Keep at least one pair of SDA's and mod them. Get a good dedicated CD/SACD player.

Yep and yep. You might also consider a new amp.

newrival

suggestions on the amp f1?

also I think id have a hard time deciding whether to keep the CRS's or the SRS's...

F1nut

How about a big **** tube amp? Budget?

As much as I have enjoyed my 4.1TL's (CRS+), they, in no way, compare to the big SDA's.

newrival

Well of coarse theyre two completely different speakers, but im speaking purely from level of enjoyment. Ive enjoyed both equally, just use them for two completely different listening situations.
I'd really like to do all the mods like the rdos and the xover and the driver rings, moretite and dynamat, im just not sure if i couldnt just buy something as good for the money.... perhaps not.

newrival

well i hadnt thought about geting a new amp, but if i had to throw a number at it this minute, id say 600. maybe 1000 after i sell an amp i have laying around.

ben62670

Not. SDA's are an unconventional speaker that is protected from other companies(copy write) to be protected from being copied. There are some real nice speakers out there, but they just won't have the SDA sound.
Ben

F1nut

I'd really like to do all the mods like the rdos and the xover and the driver rings, moretite and dynamat, im just not sure if i couldnt just buy something as good for the money.... perhaps not.

The rings negate the use of Moretite, IMO

It took a $30K pair of Sonus Faber's before I found a speaker that I might be able to live with if I couldn't have my SDA's. YMMV.

F1nut

newrival wrote: »

well i hadnt thought about geting a new amp, but if i had to throw a number at it this minute, id say 600. maybe 1000 after i sell an amp i have laying around.

I know the Wyred4Sound amp costs more than that.

newrival

yep it does but i was just throwing out a number. i have no idea how much tube gear costs. I mean i picked up my audible illusuins for 550 and that is the extent of my tube experience. Realistically, if i decided to do all the mods to the srs's and sell the other sda's along with some of my extraneous audio gear i could have maybe $7k to throw at it theoretically, although i think id like to stay below 3k for amp and cd. and lower would be even better

newrival

hey lasareath, which ones do you mean? all the ones i currently own?
in a word: no

I do have room for most and nearly all are in nearly frequent use. Some are out in friends rigs, or my office, or my design studio, or the bedroom. I do know that i have more than i need...

newrival

ps ive been admiring the work youve done on your 1.2tl's for a long time. way impressive.
those are some killer speakers, and have lofty dreams of reworking my cabs as you did, although i dont know that itll ever happen.
anyways kudos on the great work, AND equally on all the documentation you did on them.

Hawkeye

What is it with your system(s) that makes you want to chuck it all and start over again? Is there something you feel your missing or want more of?

It is very tempting to roll pieces once one reads the threads here and elsewhere about the huge improvement somebody got with a piece. That is part of this hobby or addiction, whatever you want to call it!

I prefer to listen to the music and not the gear. I'm one of the rare birds that does not roll pieces. But if there was something I thought I wanted or needed more of, I'd certainly look into it.

I want more clarity in the mids in my system. The speakers I want, the ML CLX, won't fit in my room at this time. Not that the Spire is poor at the mids, quite the contrary but that is what I want more of.

Gordon

[Deleted User]

Getting rid of your current system is somewhat akin to getting rid of a car you have owned for many years. There may be nothing wrong with it but you just feel the need to upgrade (I like a dummy did this with a pair of LS70's I had owned forever and have been kicking myself ever since). Personally I would keep your old system and just build a new one. Guys chime in here, is there really anything wrong with having multiple sytems ?

newrival

Hawkeye wrote: »

What is it with your system(s) that makes you want to chuck it all and start over again? Is there something you feel your missing or want more of?

It is very tempting to roll pieces once one reads the threads here and elsewhere about the huge improvement somebody got with a piece. That is part of this hobby or addiction, whatever you want to call it!

I prefer to listen to the music and not the gear. I'm one of the rare birds that does not roll pieces. But if there was something I thought I wanted or needed more of, I'd certainly look into it.

I want more clarity in the mids in my system. The speakers I want, the ML CLX, won't fit in my room at this time. Not that the Spire is poor at the mids, quite the contrary but that is what I want more of.

Gordon

Yeah, I guess I wasnt too clear on what i was looking for in my new system. I would definitely say that I'd like more focus. while the soundstage is eerily spacious, it can feel a little unwieldy. The other thing is that, at times, instruments can sound a little TOO wide. But I suspect this has to do with the sometimes uncontrolled focus and perhaps source material.

By the way, I see you have a couple fathom subs! I had the chance to hear the f212. I had never heard bass so clear.

NJPOLKER

nap wrote: »

Getting rid of your current system is somewhat akin to getting rid of a car you have owned for many years. There may be nothing wrong with it but you just feel the need to upgrade (I like a dummy did this with a pair of LS70's I had owned forever and have been kicking myself ever since). Personally I would keep your old system and just build a new one. Guys chime in here, is there really anything wrong with having multiple sytems ?

One HUGE problem!!!!!!!! Most of us have only one set of ears so we can only listen to one system at a time. Damn I wish I had more ears

wayne3burk

Do you have two separate rooms for Home Theatre and 2-channel listening? I noticed you didn't mention speakers in your possible 2-channel / HT setups.

Yeah, I guess I wasnt too clear on what i was looking for in my new system. I would definitely say that I'd like more focus. while the soundstage is eerily spacious, it can feel a little unwieldy. The other thing is that, at times, instruments can sound a little TOO wide. But I suspect this has to do with the sometimes uncontrolled focus and perhaps source material.

When I use my SDA 1C (studios) in my family room i have a similar problem, i.e., the left speaker is 3 feet away from the left wall and the right speaker is where it should be in relation to the left speaker, but there is no right wall in my family room - it opens to the eat in kitchen.

So what happens is my soundstage extends further left than it does right. And honestly i prefer my Monitor 10s (with peerless tweets) to my SDA 1Cs.

But it sounds like you have plenty of speakers to already - I was just wondering if your problem is speakers / placement / room effects or you're just pining to try out a very nice HT 7:1 system.

Sounds to me you should start with acquiring the HT setup that you're looking for and go from there.

newrival

wayne3burk wrote: »

Do you have two separate rooms for Home Theatre and 2-channel listening? I noticed you didn't mention speakers in your possible 2-channel / HT setups.

Yes I do have other rooms with dedicated stereo. although all the stereo rooms are less than ideal being oddly shaped or having furniture in the way, etc. for HT its esentially my living room which is not ideal but the dimensions are good. Again, not ideal, but ok. We were hoping to move and were waiting on the bank to approve our purchase of a short sale. 11 months later, we're still waiting and it's looking like it won't happen. But anyways, we should be moving in the next 12 months and I'll be able to custom build an ideal listening room and seperate HT room. Currently I havee all Polk in the HT: SRS fronts, SDA 2b rears, CS1000 front and rear centers, and 2 dayton titanic 15" subs. My other 2 channel systems are: Polk CRS+ in the den, Ohm Walsh 2's in the bedroom, Audioengine A5's in my office, DCM Timewindows in the "atalier" at my office.

wayne3burk wrote: »

When I use my SDA 1C (studios) in my family room i have a similar problem, i.e., the left speaker is 3 feet away from the left wall and the right speaker is where it should be in relation to the left speaker, but there is no right wall in my family room - it opens to the eat in kitchen.

So what happens is my soundstage extends further left than it does right. And honestly i prefer my Monitor 10s (with peerless tweets) to my SDA 1Cs.

But it sounds like you have plenty of speakers to already - I was just wondering if your problem is speakers / placement / room effects or you're just pining to try out a very nice HT 7:1 system.

Sounds to me you should start with acquiring the HT setup that you're looking for and go from there.

As I mentioned above, placement could be a minor problem, but not too bad. And also i think its a little bit of wanting to try out a nice engineered HT System. And I've only hear great things about the Hsu Enthusiast system. The truth is I just need to demo it so i can rest easy. lol