2.3TL Xover upgrade at 115 hours ? what I?m hearing
drumminman
Posts: 3,396
Thought it?d be fun and maybe helpful to those thinking about Xover upgrades to document the burn in changes. Comments as always are welcome!
Still burning in the new caps and resistors (sonicaps and mills). Turned on the system last night and, after an hour or so, it really opened up. Eva Cassidy?s voice and the instruments backing her on various tracks no longer sound like they?re coming from the speakers, but from a stage in front of the listening sweet spot. Standing back 20 feet the soundstage is still discernible, not crowded or collapsed or only a jumble of instruments.
I began to hear a rich liquidity and a coherence in the overall sound, an open ness that had not been there to this degree. When she hits high notes the ever so slight shrillness in her voice I heard before was not there. The speakers reproduced it without a hint of strain or artifact. The soundstage is deep front to back, and side to side, but it rarely extends beyond the speakers. I?m hoping this will improve with more time on the new components.
The bass seems to be slowly evolving as well. It is moving more up front in the sound stage alongside the other instruments. It?s not as recessed as before. Very tight without a hint of boominess, but still not hearing the lowest registers.
The mid range, especially vocals, sounds faster and cleaner.
I?m starting to hear what I was hoping for when I bought these.
I still have a few more mods planned
:
Follow DarqueKnight?s lead and replace the 16 mH inductor with the Solen 10 awg
Biwire the speakers
Install the HRSC filters (speaker cable filters) I built and used with my other speaks
Install spikes in place of the ?? hex head bolts used presently
As an aside, when I was putting one of the MW?s in after installing the Huirricane Nuts, I poked a small hole in the surround! :eek: So I ordered a replacement 6510 from Polk ? does that count as a Mod?
Still burning in the new caps and resistors (sonicaps and mills). Turned on the system last night and, after an hour or so, it really opened up. Eva Cassidy?s voice and the instruments backing her on various tracks no longer sound like they?re coming from the speakers, but from a stage in front of the listening sweet spot. Standing back 20 feet the soundstage is still discernible, not crowded or collapsed or only a jumble of instruments.
I began to hear a rich liquidity and a coherence in the overall sound, an open ness that had not been there to this degree. When she hits high notes the ever so slight shrillness in her voice I heard before was not there. The speakers reproduced it without a hint of strain or artifact. The soundstage is deep front to back, and side to side, but it rarely extends beyond the speakers. I?m hoping this will improve with more time on the new components.
The bass seems to be slowly evolving as well. It is moving more up front in the sound stage alongside the other instruments. It?s not as recessed as before. Very tight without a hint of boominess, but still not hearing the lowest registers.
The mid range, especially vocals, sounds faster and cleaner.
I?m starting to hear what I was hoping for when I bought these.
I still have a few more mods planned
:Follow DarqueKnight?s lead and replace the 16 mH inductor with the Solen 10 awg
Biwire the speakers
Install the HRSC filters (speaker cable filters) I built and used with my other speaks
Install spikes in place of the ?? hex head bolts used presently
As an aside, when I was putting one of the MW?s in after installing the Huirricane Nuts, I poked a small hole in the surround! :eek: So I ordered a replacement 6510 from Polk ? does that count as a Mod?
"Science is suppose to explain observations not dismiss them as impossible" - Norm on AA; 2.3TL's w/sonicaps/mills/jantzen inductors, Gimpod's boards, Lg Solen SDA inductors, RD-0198's, MW's dynamatted, Armaflex speaker gaskets, H-nuts, brass spikes, Cardas CCGR BP's, upgraded IC Cable, Black Hole Damping Sheet strips, interior of cabinets sealed with Loctite Power Grab, AI-1 interface with 1000VA A-L transformer
Post edited by drumminman on
Comments
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The one thing I noticed after the new caps burned in was I needed to play with the placement of the speakers a bit. I am betting you are at that stage now.
100hrs seems to be the sweet spot for most of the break in. But 200hrs will also have something for you.. -
I agree with Joe, but you need to put spikes on them if you want to hear the sonic impact of these SDA's
Just my .02
Enjoy!!! -
The one thing I noticed after the new caps burned in was I needed to play with the placement of the speakers a bit. I am betting you are at that stage now.
100hrs seems to be the sweet spot for most of the break in. But 200hrs will also have something for you..
How did you change the placement? Closer together? Farther apart?
I know they're not supposed to be toed in, so mine are both facing forward on the same plane."Science is suppose to explain observations not dismiss them as impossible" - Norm on AA; 2.3TL's w/sonicaps/mills/jantzen inductors, Gimpod's boards, Lg Solen SDA inductors, RD-0198's, MW's dynamatted, Armaflex speaker gaskets, H-nuts, brass spikes, Cardas CCGR BP's, upgraded IC Cable, Black Hole Damping Sheet strips, interior of cabinets sealed with Loctite Power Grab, AI-1 interface with 1000VA A-L transformer -
I had to move them a bit further from the back wall, and I also had to widen there placement from each other.
It depends on the room. I have seen people move them closer to each other and the wall.
There is a diagram on how to set them up around here somewhere.
Try to make a triangle with the speakers and you. Then work from there. Never Toe them in. -
Anybody know why I get question marks when I use an apostrophe, or type out a fraction?
What should I be doing to keep this from happening when typing posts?"Science is suppose to explain observations not dismiss them as impossible" - Norm on AA; 2.3TL's w/sonicaps/mills/jantzen inductors, Gimpod's boards, Lg Solen SDA inductors, RD-0198's, MW's dynamatted, Armaflex speaker gaskets, H-nuts, brass spikes, Cardas CCGR BP's, upgraded IC Cable, Black Hole Damping Sheet strips, interior of cabinets sealed with Loctite Power Grab, AI-1 interface with 1000VA A-L transformer -
I'd have to guess it's your code page or language settings, but I don't really know.Turntable: Empire 208
Arm: Rega 300
Cart: Shelter 501 III
Phono Pre: Aural Thrills
Digital: Pioneer DV-79ai
Pre: Conrad Johnson ET3 SE
Amp: Conrad Johnson Evolution 2000
Cables: Cardas Neutral Reference
Speakers: SDA 2.3TL, heavily modified
