SDA II advice needed
Pacus
Posts: 1
Greetings!
I have aquired a pair of these speakers from a friend at work. They seem to be in very good condition. The interconnect cable looks like it has been spliced and repaired with electrical tape, but the connections seem fine. I have looked these up online and eventually found this forum and have been educating myself. It looks like I have a set of real nice speakers here. The only "test" I have done with these is the radiator test. The right speaker passes perfectly--the top speakers extend outward with slight pressure on the larger bottom one and stays for over 5 seconds, easily. The left one, however, extends for only a second before returning to its starting position. I haven't examined them any further than that so far--life keeps getting in the way.
The advice I am in search of is what do I need to drive these babies? I have a little no-name stereo that is 30 years old and not very good. I was thinking of replaceing it with a better one, but then thought I may as well go the home A/V route since I have a 1080p HDTV and my sons have their PS3 and XBOX hooked up to it. Movies 45%, Games 45%, and music 10% (but probably more music if these sound as good as I hope).
I have my eye on a Denon AVR-1611, but I think it is only rated for 6 ohms. The tech at the stereo shop said it shouldn't be a problem since I don't plan on rocking the roof off the house or anything. He demonstrated it at less than half volume, and I don't see me hardly ever getting that loud--at least not on a regular basis.
These have been sitting idle for ~ ten years and I would like to put them to good use, but money is definately a consideration. I will probably be puttng this system together piece by piece as funds become available. I am thinking of these SDAs as the front L and R. I will probably choose a Polk center to get started, then a sub. I have other speaker pairs sitting around that I hope to use in the meantime-8 ohm and 16 ohm--until I get better replacements.
Looking at some of the systems described and displayed here is somewhat overwhelming for a novice such as myself, but I really do want to get the best use out of these that I can provide for, without damaging anything, and without sending me to the poorhouse. Would the Denon be adequate? Would I need an amplifier? Preamplifier? (what's the difference?...heh)
Any help would be most appreciated.
Thanks,
Pacus
I have aquired a pair of these speakers from a friend at work. They seem to be in very good condition. The interconnect cable looks like it has been spliced and repaired with electrical tape, but the connections seem fine. I have looked these up online and eventually found this forum and have been educating myself. It looks like I have a set of real nice speakers here. The only "test" I have done with these is the radiator test. The right speaker passes perfectly--the top speakers extend outward with slight pressure on the larger bottom one and stays for over 5 seconds, easily. The left one, however, extends for only a second before returning to its starting position. I haven't examined them any further than that so far--life keeps getting in the way.
The advice I am in search of is what do I need to drive these babies? I have a little no-name stereo that is 30 years old and not very good. I was thinking of replaceing it with a better one, but then thought I may as well go the home A/V route since I have a 1080p HDTV and my sons have their PS3 and XBOX hooked up to it. Movies 45%, Games 45%, and music 10% (but probably more music if these sound as good as I hope).
I have my eye on a Denon AVR-1611, but I think it is only rated for 6 ohms. The tech at the stereo shop said it shouldn't be a problem since I don't plan on rocking the roof off the house or anything. He demonstrated it at less than half volume, and I don't see me hardly ever getting that loud--at least not on a regular basis.
These have been sitting idle for ~ ten years and I would like to put them to good use, but money is definately a consideration. I will probably be puttng this system together piece by piece as funds become available. I am thinking of these SDAs as the front L and R. I will probably choose a Polk center to get started, then a sub. I have other speaker pairs sitting around that I hope to use in the meantime-8 ohm and 16 ohm--until I get better replacements.
Looking at some of the systems described and displayed here is somewhat overwhelming for a novice such as myself, but I really do want to get the best use out of these that I can provide for, without damaging anything, and without sending me to the poorhouse. Would the Denon be adequate? Would I need an amplifier? Preamplifier? (what's the difference?...heh)
Any help would be most appreciated.
Thanks,
Pacus
Post edited by Pacus on
Comments
-
Hi Pacus and welcome to CP. You have picked up some nice speakers there. You can use an avr as a pre paired up with a power amp and I would suggest using a power amp with those speakers. I'm not sure what SDA 2's you have but if they are 2A's like I have,they are 4 ohm speakers. That denon does not have pre outs so it can't be used as a pre with a power amp. Just make sure whatever avr you get has preout. To give you an idea of what your speakers will sound like here is mine in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOdsGCcycyU"They're always talking about my drinking, but never mention my thirst" Oscar Wilde
Pre-Amp: Anthem AVM 20
Amp: Carver TFM-35
Amp: Rotel RB-870BX
Fronts : SDA 1B w/ RDO-194s
T.V.:Plasma TC-P54G25
Bluray: Oppo BDP-93
Speaker Cables: MIT Terminater
Interconnect Cables:DH Labs Silver Sonic BL-1isonic -
while a good AVR "will" run those sda's, you will benefit greatly by adding a decent power amp to drive them. I would suggest at least something like an Adcom GFA-545. Plenty of good power for a good price,, $150-200 if you buy used.
Be careful. You will find, as you upgrade, that the sound only gets better and better and its easy to loose you wallet at that point.
