Polk SDA-2b vs Polk RT3000p vs Mission 753

2

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  • newrival
    newrival Posts: 2,017
    edited January 2011
    They look nice. I like the beveled edges.

    What kind of guitar is that trying to get into the shot :wink:
    design is where science and art break even.
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  • kchilaka
    kchilaka Posts: 55
    edited January 2011
    newrival wrote: »
    They look nice. I like the beveled edges.

    What kind of guitar is that trying to get into the shot :wink:

    Thats a pic I found on the net. Mine is identical..Same color.
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  • kchilaka
    kchilaka Posts: 55
    edited January 2011
    newrival wrote: »
    Are you saying that the whole RT5000p 5ch system (of which the RT3000p were the fronts) was going for $150 :eek::eek::eek:

    Oh man. The center channel alone sells for over $600.

    But I understand you passing it up. Sounds like you got a good deal on the missions. I've never heard them before, but I've heard good things. Are those the dipole towers?

    The center channel is not the CS1000p but the CS300p. After seeing your posts I contacted the seller and apparently they are available. So I am going to pick the set up today afternoon. Two RT3000p towers, a cs300p , one rear surround (model unknown). Oh well, hopefuly I can sell them to make a small amount and that can finance my upgrade from my SDA2b to an SDA3.1tl or SDA2.3TL .
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  • kchilaka
    kchilaka Posts: 55
    edited January 2011
    kchilaka wrote: »
    The center channel is not the CS1000p but the CS300p. After seeing your posts I contacted the seller and apparently they are available. So I am going to pick the set up today afternoon. Two RT3000p towers, a cs300p , one rear surround (model unknown). Oh well, hopefuly I can sell them to make a small amount and that can finance my upgrade from my SDA2b to an SDA3.1tl or SDA2.3TL .

    So I picked the RT3000p up. Came with a center channel (cs300p) and one bookshelf which has a single 6.5 driver and tweeter. Now to see how the amp can be fixed. The sub-units are real heavy. A ton of huff and puff to move them to the basement.
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  • civilian
    civilian Posts: 357
    edited January 2011
    I kicked myself years ago for not buying a single RT3000p, as now I'd love it for a center speaker.
    I even wish I'd bought a single bottom half (also years ago) as I think it would go well with my CS400
    ________________
    2 Channel-Denon AVR-4520/SDA 2.3TL's
    5.1-Denon AVR-4500h/RT3000P's/CS1000P/RT2000P's/
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  • newrival
    newrival Posts: 2,017
    edited January 2011
    civilian wrote: »
    I kicked myself years ago for not buying a single RT3000p, as now I'd love it for a center speaker.
    I even wish I'd bought a single bottom half (also years ago) as I think it would go well with my CS400

    Good idea. Not to mention it would make a nice stand for the center :wink:
    design is where science and art break even.
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  • leroyjr1
    leroyjr1 Posts: 8,785
    edited January 2011
    Hopefully a 5000p setup will pop up close to me. Always wanted to get my ears on that setup.


    What's the condition of the set you just pick up? Amps working? Subs in good condition?
    I think you should slowly get it fixed and try to find the proper center and surrounds.
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  • dpowell
    dpowell Posts: 3,068
    edited January 2011
    kchilaka wrote: »
    So I picked the RT3000p up. Came with a center channel (cs300p) and one bookshelf which has a single 6.5 driver and tweeter. Now to see how the amp can be fixed. The sub-units are real heavy. A ton of huff and puff to move them to the basement.

    If it ends up being the caps (which was the case when both of my RT3000P sub amps died on separate occasions) Polk still sells them and you get a nice discount when you tell them you're a member of Club Polk. $150 is a steal. Enjoy them (although everyone who says the SDA's are better for music are right). I wouldn't listen to music on the RT3000's after getting my SDA's. Too devoid of life.
    ____________________________________________________________

    polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 1.2TLs + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X Polk Surrounds + 4 X ATMOS, SVS PB13 Ultra X 2, Pass Labs X1, Marantz 7704, Bob Carver Crimson Beauty 350 Tube Mono Blocks, Carver Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400x5, ADCOM GFA 7807, Panasonic UB420, Moon 380D DAC, EPSON Pro Cinema 6050
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  • kchilaka
    kchilaka Posts: 55
    edited January 2011
    leroyjr1 wrote: »
    Hopefully a 5000p setup will pop up close to me. Always wanted to get my ears on that setup.


    What's the condition of the set you just pick up? Amps working? Subs in good condition?
    I think you should slowly get it fixed and try to find the proper center and surrounds.

    Alright. Here is what I picked up. One pair Rt3000p towers. One sub working, one not working. The cab and drivers seem to be fine. The amp seems to be out on one. I havent played with it yet. The two top halfs are mint. They seem identical to the RT55i but they are labelled as RT3000p. I wonder if anyone knows if these are different in anyway from an RT55i. All black finish. I also picked up a CS300 center which seems like it would pair well with these towers. The seller had two surrounds which are polk RT5 but he had lost one so I got only one of them. Seller promised to look for the other one and contact me if he finds the other one.
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  • kchilaka
    kchilaka Posts: 55
    edited January 2011
    kchilaka wrote: »
    Alright. Here is what I picked up. One pair Rt3000p towers. One sub working, one not working. The cab and drivers seem to be fine. The amp seems to be out on one. I havent played with it yet. The two top halfs are mint. They seem identical to the RT55i but they are labelled as RT3000p. I wonder if anyone knows if these are different in anyway from an RT55i. All black finish. I also picked up a CS300 center which seems like it would pair well with these towers. The seller had two surrounds which are polk RT5 but he had lost one so I got only one of them. Seller promised to look for the other one and contact me if he finds the other one.

    I figured out the difference between the RT55i and the Rt3000p top halfs. The top halfs of the RT3000p have an 80hz high-pass filter built in whereas the RT55i does not. Which makes sense, this sends the low-end to the powered units where as the RT55i has an F3 of 47hz (impressive). Freeing up the top halfs from producing the mid-bass should improve the performance of the 6.5 drivers..
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  • newrival
    newrival Posts: 2,017
    edited January 2011
    great find on these.

    Here is the manual on these speakers that offer cabling options, etc: http://www.polkaudio.com/downloads/manuals/home/RT3000pManual.pdf
    design is where science and art break even.
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  • leroyjr1
    leroyjr1 Posts: 8,785
    edited January 2011
    newrival wrote: »
    great find on these.

    Here is the manual on these speakers that offer cabling options, etc: http://www.polkaudio.com/downloads/manuals/home/RT3000pManual.pdf


    How do you have yours hooked up?
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  • newrival
    newrival Posts: 2,017
    edited January 2011
    I used the recommended method of coming from the amp to the sub high-level input then out to the top speaker with a 24" cable into the inputs and utilizing the jumper plates. passive xover set just below recommended 80Hz. Switch set to music (instead of +3db for movies) and sub level set at about 40%.

    This gave me the best integration with my 15" LFE sub
    design is where science and art break even.
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  • kchilaka
    kchilaka Posts: 55
    edited January 2011
    newrival wrote: »
    I used the recommended method of coming from the amp to the sub high-level input then out to the top speaker with a 24" cable into the inputs and utilizing the jumper plates. passive xover set just below recommended 80Hz. Switch set to music (instead of +3db for movies) and sub level set at about 40%.

    This gave me the best integration with my 15" LFE sub

    Alright. I got a pleasant surprise when I hooked them up. Both the subs work !! Dont know what the seller was about. Perhaps there is one combination of inputs that does not work. The way I have them hooked up is as follows. I have set my front speakers to large on my receiver. I am using the preamp-outputs on my receiver to connect to the low-level inputs of the RT3000p subwoofer. The speaker outs on my receiver go directly to the top speakers. This way I get stereo subs. The above posted hookup method will also get stereo subs.
    The user manual of my receiver (Yamaha RX-V1800) states not to use the speaker outs and pre-amp outputs at the same time (not sure why) so going forward I will just probably use the speaker outs to connect to the high-level inputs on the rt3000p subs.
    Now, as to the sound quality, the highs and mids sound very similar to the SDA2 except that the tweeter seems to be smoother. The voicing seems similar to the SDA2 and rather unlike the Mission 753s. Now to the part that blows me away, the 4-8 inch subwoofers produce high quality bass. Very musical unlike other 12 or 15 inch subs I have heard. The Infinity Alpha 1200s and the Dayton titanic 15" which I used to have both produced plenty of slam but they were not musical. The drivers seemed to be large and not articulate. The RT3000p subs on the other hand fall right in between the sound of a dedicated 12 or 15 inch sub and the passive radiator bass of the SDA-2b. Substantially more weight than the SDA2s and almost as musical. Very impressive. I think I understand the appeal of the powered towers now.

    Now I unexpectedly have three sets of working speakers. The SDA2s, the Rt3000p and the Mission 753. I want to pare it down to two sets and I will probably take a week or two to decide what to do.. In the meantime, I am going to put on some movies that will stress these subs to see what they can do.. U571 here I come...

    Here is a picture of the towers hooked up next to my SDA2s.
    a05dfb98.jpg
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  • newrival
    newrival Posts: 2,017
    edited January 2011
    WOW! thats awesome! You got one helluva deal!!!! You will still want to use a larger dedicated LFE sub to handle the 40Hz an lower range. Well, at least I do. The subs are way musical like you said, but explossions arent the same. You need something that can load the room with pure force and that will dig into the 16Hz range. :D
    design is where science and art break even.
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  • kchilaka
    kchilaka Posts: 55
    edited January 2011
    newrival wrote: »
    WOW! thats awesome! You got one helluva deal!!!! You will still want to use a larger dedicated LFE sub to handle the 40Hz an lower range. Well, at least I do. The subs are way musical like you said, but explossions arent the same. You need something that can load the room with pure force and that will dig into the 16Hz range. :D

    16 hz?? What kind of monster sub are you running?
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  • newrival
    newrival Posts: 2,017
    edited January 2011
    The same monster sub you sold!

    Dayton Titanic mkIII :D
    design is where science and art break even.
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  • newrival
    newrival Posts: 2,017
    edited January 2011
    It's beyond it's F3 at that point but its still making sound. I think. I dno't hear it but I can sure FEEL it. hahaha
    design is where science and art break even.
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  • kchilaka
    kchilaka Posts: 55
    edited January 2011
    newrival wrote: »
    It's well beyond it's F3 at that point but its still making sound. hahaha

    Well, when I had it, I found that it tapered off starting at 24-25hz. I cant hear much below that anyway but I could feel stuff rattling around the house :)

    I cant imagine how one of these SVS Pb12 ultra/4 passive subs sound..
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  • halo71
    halo71 Posts: 4,603
    edited January 2011
    Those Missions look pretty sexy! :cool: Would love to get my ears on a pair.
    --Gary--
    Onkyo Integra M504, Bottlehead Foreplay III, Denon SACD, Thiel CS2.3, NHT VT-2, VT-3 and Evolution T6, Infinity RSIIIa, SDA1C and a few dozen other speakers around the house I change in and out.
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  • newrival
    newrival Posts: 2,017
    edited January 2011
    kchilaka wrote: »
    Well, when I had it, I found that it tapered off starting at 24-25hz. I cant hear much below that anyway but I could feel stuff rattling around the house :)

    I cant imagine how one of these SVS Pb12 ultra/4 passive subs sound..

    Yeah it all depends on how your box is tuned. Like I said it's beyond it's F3 for sure, so it is rolled off, but it reaches it. Just not s loud as it would If the box were tuned much lower (I believe its tuned to 26 or 27Hz.

    I'm not super knowledgeable about subs, but my friend helped me make my enclosures. In the future I'd like to make a new bipolar sub cab for 2 15"s :biggrin:
    design is where science and art break even.
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  • cincycat13
    cincycat13 Posts: 882
    edited January 2011
    Congrats! I also have the RT3000p and some 2Bs. I haven't figured out which I will use more so I have kept them both. Please post your listening opinions. I actually find the RTs are awsome with rock and country when given some volume.
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  • kchilaka
    kchilaka Posts: 55
    edited January 2011
    cincycat13 wrote: »
    Congrats! I also have the RT3000p and some 2Bs. I haven't figured out which I will use more so I have kept them both. Please post your listening opinions. I actually find the RTs are awsome with rock and country when given some volume.

    I certainly would like to hear more about your experience with both of them. The more I listen to the RT3000p, I realize that the voicing/timbre of these are slightly different from the SDA2. The different tweeter does stand out. It is less in your face than the sda2. On the other hand, I think the SDA2 resolves a tad more detail in the highs as well as the mids. But that could be a result of the more upfront tweeter.
    As for the imaging, I might not be getting the most of the SDA2s because of my room layout(they are along the short wall) but the RT3000p do sound pretty darn good. I havent a/b 'd them yet critically but those are my current impressions.
    About the low-end, the more I listen to the RT3000p, the more I am impressed with the quality of the dual-8 subwoofers. There is just so much low-end detail. Stuff that would sound like a drone or one note on a larger-driver sub resolves itself on the RT3000p. I don't know why manufacturers don't make dual-8 subs with good drivers and amplification. Might be light for HT use but they are perfect for Music..
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  • cincycat13
    cincycat13 Posts: 882
    edited January 2011
    I find the RT3000p towers very easy to listen to. I have them connected to an Onkyo 876 AVR with a CS400 center. The AVR is not a good as my seperates, but its no slouch either when I start to get some volume through them. I actually have the subs turned down pretty low, but I have never found them muddy for music, or lacking in HT. I get a true wall of sound. I put them where I had some Monitor 7Bs with peerless and Carver front end that I got from Ricardo. Not near as musical for me as those, but way better for HT.

    I never really got to do an A/B due to space, but I hear much more detail and separation with the 2Bs. I have some RDO194 to try, but still have stock tweets installed. When I manage personal time I pick the SDA over the RT for music, but I don't find the RT disappointing when used for music. I am glad I don't yet have to choose a double duty set up.

    As I have read here, and apples and oranges comparison of speaker designed for 2 different purposes. I really like the 3000 towers as a compromise for double duty requirements.
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,967
    edited January 2011
    Might sound better now that you can take that X-mas tree down in that small room.:smile:
    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
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  • cincycat13
    cincycat13 Posts: 882
    edited January 2011
    tonyb wrote: »
    Might sound better now that you can take that X-mas tree down in that small room.:smile:

    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=109724&page=2

    LMAO tony. There is no doubt. My wife doesn't complain when I try new audio stuff, so I try not to complain when her home design kills anything that would resemble an ideal audio layout.
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  • kchilaka
    kchilaka Posts: 55
    edited January 2011
    halo71 wrote: »
    Those Missions look pretty sexy! :cool: Would love to get my ears on a pair.

    They actually sound pretty nice. Better than I was expecting. Definitely needs a sub though..
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  • kchilaka
    kchilaka Posts: 55
    edited January 2011
    newrival wrote: »
    WOW! thats awesome! You got one helluva deal!!!! You will still want to use a larger dedicated LFE sub to handle the 40Hz an lower range. Well, at least I do. The subs are way musical like you said, but explossions arent the same. You need something that can load the room with pure force and that will dig into the 16Hz range. :D

    Ok so I finally found a problem. I tested all possible functionality of the two amps and I found one thing wrong with it. On one of the amps, the auto turn-on circuitry does not work. The amp power switch has three modes.
    1. On
    2. Off
    3. Auto-On

    When set to On, the amp works fine. When set to auto-on, the amp does not turn on when music is played. So probably some auto sensing circuitry is not functional. I have contacted Polk for the schematics to see if I can figure out what is going on. If I cant, I am going to send it into polk to get it fixed..
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  • newrival
    newrival Posts: 2,017
    edited January 2011
    What??? are you kidding me? Well they're obviously not worth keeping. Just send them to me so I can dispose of them properly for you :wink: :biggrin:

    I bet they'll be able to get it worked out for you
    design is where science and art break even.
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  • kchilaka
    kchilaka Posts: 55
    edited January 2011
    newrival wrote: »
    What??? are you kidding me? Well they're obviously not worth keeping. Just send them to me so I can dispose of them properly for you :wink: :biggrin:

    I bet they'll be able to get it worked out for you

    :) Well. I did put them up for sale with the description of the Auto-On problem. IF no one wants them, then I will send it to Polk for repair.
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