Have you moved on from SDA's?

nspindel

tony millard wrote: »

...The SDA's on the other hand have produced sound that came from past my head.

And I have witnesses to attest to that phenomenon also with out haveing any inhancements either.:cheesygrin:

+1 to that. I've definitely heard things from SDA's that my ears perceive as coming from behind me.

audiocr381ve

nspindel wrote: »

+1 to that. I've definitely heard things from SDA's that my ears perceive as coming from behind me.

+2 to that. I can't remember exactly what the sound was, but I remember getting up and checking to see if someone was outside making the noise to find out it was on the CD. Spookalicious.

heiney9

tony millard wrote: »

I've heard sound coming from the sides of my room from my maggies but only about 80* max. The SDA's on the other hand have produced sound that came from past my head.

And I have witnesses to attest to that phenomenon also with out haveing any inhancements either.:cheesygrin:

Yes, certainly. But the fact that the Maggies don't break out of the 80* or so plane, doesn't mean they don't sound 3 dimensional. Sometimes with some source material the SDA's can over do it. Not so much the SDA's but how the recording is mastered. This doesn't happen too often, but exaggerated recordings or deliberate recordings that unconventionally put seperation between sounds can sound a little bit contrived.

For me those are few and far between recordings.

Maggies will not duplicate SDA's, but they can render a holographic, 3D listening stage.

H9

nooshinjohn

nspindel wrote: »

+1 to that. I've definitely heard things from SDA's that my ears perceive as coming from behind me.

As have I with my 2.3TL's, but that is simply not believable, depending on the recording. If I am listening to music, the performers are in front of me, even in a live recording. The effect may be cool to hear a guitarist playing behind you, it is nevertheless distracting.

The SDA's are a great speaker, among the best I have heard, but thanks to this motley crew of audiophiles, my hearing has advanced to the point where I need far more accuracy than they can deliver in their unmodded form. I will be trying the crossover mods and setting them up properly in a new dedicated room when we buy a house, but I am under no illusion that they will rise up to the level my tastes have come to desire.

heiney9

John, if you are hearing guitar players behind you, then it's in the recording and that recording no matter what you listen to it on is going to sound unnatural. The best is when someone like Jewel is singing live, playing acoustic and I can hear the reverberations of the hall around and behind me, just like in a real concert hall. But if she was actually singing behind me, that would be weird.

H9

JPSmario

will hopefully never go away. I like my 2A's better than anything I've owned, but I'd like to hear 1C's in my room as well as B&W703's. I'm very curious about the 3.1TL's, since I think 2.3's might be just too big for my space (and neighbors:eek:). BTW, who is doing x-over mod's these days? I don't quited trust myself that far with soldering tools...

Big Dawg

audiocr381ve wrote: »

+2 to that. I can't remember exactly what the sound was, but I remember getting up and checking to see if someone was outside making the noise to find out it was on the CD. Spookalicious.

+3 to that - it happens fairly often. Spooky.

heiney9

I was watching a movie the other night and a door slammed shut, out of screen view, in the movie and I swear it was my front door, scared the living crap outta me. I am constantly pausing movies because I'm hearing things all over the room and I swear it's not the movie, but it always is. SDA's in 2ch mode are great for movies.

Timothy Smith

Let's face it guys:

All roads......eventually lead to the Bose "Wave Radio".

It said so on TV.

I am almost there.

sda2mike

was listening to pink floyd's title cut from 'obscured by clouds'....the syth was all around the room, including behind my head!...i thought at first that i was smart to have installed that speaker back there:) that lasted about 1/2 a second...the sda fun lasted the whole song...i to, turned to look..along with the cat..it is profound...btw, this was from the new remastered release

heiney9

The only recordings I have a problem with are the Beatles stereo remasters. This has almost everything to do with the recording process/technique. The instruments are seperated unnaturally between the Left and Right speaker. So I hear vocals and snare all in the Left and Bass drum and Bass notes all in the left. There doesn't seem to be much "stereo" blending and it sounds weird to me. If I listen on my 5B's, it's the same, but much less pronounced

H9

nooshinjohn

heiney9 wrote: »

The only recordings I have a problem with are the Beatles stereo remasters. This has almost everything to do with the recording process/technique. The instruments are seperated unnaturally between the Left and Right speaker. So I hear vocals and snare all in the Left and Bass drum and Bass notes all in the left. There doesn't seem to be much "stereo" blending and it sounds weird to me. If I listen on my 5B's, it's the same, but much less pronounced

H9

Eleanor Rigby... That was the song. It happened on the MoFi vinyl cut, which does exactly the same as you describe.
The remasters from mono to stereo suck from an imaging standpoint. Placement of the speakers may also have played a role in what I described.

F1nut

I've never had sounds coming from behind me in all the years I've owned SDA's. Something about your rooms isn't right if you get that.

audiocr381ve

F1nut wrote: »

I've never had sounds coming from behind me in all the years I've owned SDA's. Something about your rooms isn't right if you get that.

I know! And it's pretty cool!

Tony M

F1nut wrote: »

I've never had sounds coming from behind me in all the years I've owned SDA's. Something about your rooms isn't right if you get that.

My experiences with SDA behind me sounds sure isn't coming from reflections of my back walls... I can't even see them sometimes.

I have 12' behind me. Maybe depth of a room and ceiling height comes into play. My ceiling is 18' tall also.

heiney9

F1nut wrote: »

I've never had sounds coming from behind me in all the years I've owned SDA's. Something about your rooms isn't right if you get that.

That's true for me, never behind me. Way out to the side, but never behind me other than the illusion of some hall acoustics. I have a recording where the hall acoustics reverberate behind me when she ends her note and pauses. It's eery, but I wouldn't say the music is playing behind me just the note as it lingers and fades.

H9

F1nut

heiney9 wrote: »

That's true for me, never behind me. Way out to the side, but never behind me other than the illusion of some hall acoustics. I have a recording where the hall acoustics reverberate behind me when she ends her note and pauses. It's eery, but I wouldn't say the music is playing behind me just the note as it lingers and fades.

H9

Ed Zachery

VR3

I have never heard a set of SDAs do something a good set of properly set up speakers cant do...

Just sayin

F1nut

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote: »

I have never heard a set of SDAs do something a good set of properly set up speakers cant do...

I have.

Dawgfish

Unfortunately I have moved on from my SDA-1Cs, but not by choice. I moved and no longer have the room for them. Since I had the 1Cs in the system I've had various models of DCM Timeframes and a set of Martin Logans. All of them were quite nice, but I still miss the SDA effect. I'm currently running a set of LSiM 703s with great success. They are an outstanding bookshelf speaker and fill my smaller room with more sound then a bookshelf has a right too. One day I will return to a set of SDAs, probably some 1.2 or 2.3 TLS, but I plan on keeping my 703s for a second system. They are definite keepers!

Dawgfish

F1nut wrote: »

I have.

+1 on this.

heiney9

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote: »

I have never heard a set of SDAs do something a good set of properly set up speakers cant do...Just sayin

F1nut wrote: »

I have.

That there is some funny stuff. I have been around this hobby both in sales and as a hobbiest since the early 80's, and I have to say I've never encountered a pair of speakers that could consistently do what SDA's do. Perhaps I've just not been around long enough. Or perhaps Trey you need a redux.

I am not saying everyone should like SDA's, but they are pretty unique when set-up and driven properly. Some love it or some hate it, but it is a different experience for sure, one I haven't quite heard before.

H9

Toolfan66

heiney9 wrote: »

That's true for me, never behind me. Way out to the side, but never behind me other than the illusion of some hall acoustics. I have a recording where the hall acoustics reverberate behind me when she ends her note and pauses. It's eery, but I wouldn't say the music is playing behind me just the note as it lingers and fades.

H9

Thats what I get!! sometimes I look upstairs to see if the wife was calling me... LOL!!!

nspindel

heiney9 wrote: »

The only recordings I have a problem with are the Beatles stereo remasters. This has almost everything to do with the recording process/technique. The instruments are seperated unnaturally between the Left and Right speaker. So I hear vocals and snare all in the Left and Bass drum and Bass notes all in the left. There doesn't seem to be much "stereo" blending and it sounds weird to me. If I listen on my 5B's, it's the same, but much less pronounced

H9

That's not a characteristic of the remastering though, that's just how all the Beatles stereo mixes are, even the vinyl. Stereo was a new thing back then, they had no clue what they were doing.

evhudsons

I'm going home now to dip into my other world enhanced by SDA aura of beer and musical goodness.

Tony M

To the responders who say they've never heard sound from SDA's come from the rear.

Is your listening position backed up to a wall? I wonder.

If it is, of course you won't hear the phenomenon.

If it isn't, sorry you haven't experienced that extra nuance that others claim to hear when others doubt it.

It might be like changing fuses or cleaning AC with power conditioners. Some will hear it, some don't. No difference I would guess.

headrott

heiney9 wrote: »

That there is some funny stuff. I have been around this hobby both in sales and as a hobbiest since the early 80's, and I have to say I've never encountered a pair of speakers that could consistently do what SDA's do. Perhaps I've just not been around long enough. Or perhaps Trey you need a redux.

I am not saying everyone should like SDA's, but they are pretty unique when set-up and driven properly. Some love it or some hate it, but it is a different experience for sure, one I haven't quite heard before.

H9

Great response Brock. I agree 100%.

Greg

OldmanSRS

As long as I can hear, I'm keeping them. I've owned the 1.2's since new in 1988. They are big, impressive looking sound like no other speaker (for better or for worse) and they are payed for They are family now.

When people see and hear them they are blown away and can't believe a speaker that was built before they were even born can sound so good.

They suit my needs and I will look no further, only make improvements to these over the years ahead. Some things were just better made when China was only growing rice and making fireworks.

VR3

Eh - I have owned a set of CRS and CRS+ - I have heard the 1.2TL driven properly...

I have heard them at several Polkfests and I can without a doubt say if you are willing to get speakers with drivers that are leaps and bounds above what the SDAs use (which at this point in time are really nothing much) - Pinpoint accuracy, detail, texture, microdetails, depth, weight of sound - I dont think SDAs can hold a candle to current high end speakers. IMO.

SDAs MIGHT have width - but given that my Tylers put out a 20ft + wide soundstage I question if they have that...

All I am saying is - SDAs are good speakers given you can find them for under a grand (sometimes a hundy) and can spend some money updating them and have a fantastic set of speakers...

But to blanket statement they can do things that current high end speakers cant do with far superior driver technology and cabinet lay out is crazy talk.

I bet the LSiM in a properly setup envrionment could walk circles around SDAs in every category.

But just to restate my previous statement - "All I am saying is - SDAs are good speakers given you can find them for under a grand (sometimes a hundy) and can spend some money updating them and have a fantastic set of speakers..."

Now if you were to take SDA technology and throw in Scan speak and Seas finest - NOW we might have a winner

heiney9

Quite a bit overstated Trey. I agree to a small degree, in the same way the new Ferrari 458 is the most modern sports car Ferrari has ever built. It's as fast or faster around the track than an Enzo, it has more technology than any previous Ferrari, it has more comfort, quieter, easier to drive, etc, but does that mean the Enzo is all of a sudden a lesser car and can't compete and should be relegated to the junk pile? Does that mean all of a sudden the Enzo is no longer fun to drive, exhilarating, breathtaking as the 458?

Like I said I agree to a small degree with you POV, but you have way over stated it and I would put a properly modded pair of SDA's up against a lot of modern designs and I don't think the gap would be all that large and in many cases one might prefer the SDA's. One has to get past the love/hate of the SDA properties however.

I am not under any allusion there aren't better speakers out there, but they aren't as washed up, old, outdated and poor sounding as you make it seem. I actually preferred my 1C's over the LSi 15's by a wide margin and until the LSiM series came along those were the best Polk had going at the time. It's not even a contest the SDA's are better is every regard. It remains to be seen if the same can be said about the LSiM series.

H9