Joe's Speakers

motorstereo

One week ago today I did an 800 mile road trip to acquire a fully modded pair of polk sda 1.2tl's. These speakers formerly belonged to fomer PC member Joe who lives in Delaware. I also got a chance to stop by and meet Lazareth and hear his beautiful sounding 1.2tl's. Now I've had a pair of 2.3s for several years now but I could not believe my ears with Sal's big guys. I'm thinking the only way that I could've had my 2.3s sounding worse is if I turned them around and had them facing the wall ala bose 901's. Yes at Sal's that was first time for me actually hearing true sda sound. Well of course after that audition I just had to have the same signature sound so that's what I've been working towards all week. Mucho thanks go out to Joe who's help has been immense in getting his former babies set up properly. The way I had my 2.3s set up was an abomination and I listened to Joe's advice every step of the way. Well it all paid off in the end. I've got 3' from the left sidewall like he insisted and 42" on the other one. I'm about 12" from the back wall and about 5" in front of the rack. What an immense difference being set up correctly. I also removed all the eq's, expanders, extra amps and speakers and a sub. All the extra s**t is gone and now what's left now is just the monster sda's and wow the bass, the soundstage and the imaging. Why the hell I didn't do this proper set up to my "lesser" sda's many years ago really defies intelligence on my part. At least I know now thanks to Joe and Sal. Mucho thanks also go to Sal for his wonderful hospitality and for sending me home with a pair of shotgun cables. These fine cables also made a difference and I so wish I could've brought more home with me.

chumlie

Sounds like a worthwhile road trip.

heiney9

You mean after all we have suggested to you over the past couple years about the pro gear you were using, the subs, the processors, the "unique" way you had your 2.3's set-up, all the fighting and name calling and posturing, WE WERE RIGHT???

You mean the advice we gave a couple years ago about setting them up properly and using proper gear would transform them, WE WERE RIGHT

You mean people here actually have some experience with SDA's and know exactly what they are talking about.

Who would have thunk that.

Enjoy

H9

motorstereo

Oh yeah I'll admit I was wrong and I do know there's some people out there that either can't or won't do that. It took Joe and his expertise to explain exactly what I had wrong and not look down his nose at me and pound on his chest "WE WERE RIGHT". At any rate I now also have a reference point at how bad a pair of sda's can sound.

Conradicles

Drool...nice speakers/gear and love the Man Cave!

motorstereo

Thank you Conradicles. And I'm really loving the sound of my new monsters. A big Mcintosh amp and big sda's really seem to be a great match up.

heiney9

Moto, now you see what SDA is all about and why some here are so passionate, albeit a little over the top, about them and making sure they are used to the best of their ability.

Enjoy, you are going to discover a whole new experience in listening to music. I'd imagine you're pretty excited about that. Even now after being around and owning SDA's for 20+ years, I still get a huge smile across my face when I sit down and listen.

H9

P.s. IMO, the MIT's are about the best sounding cable around and are a fantastic value used.

motorstereo

You're right about that heiney. When I heard them for the first time after being set up correctly that's all I could do was just grin and shake my head in awe of that incredible sda sound.
I am finding out also that they are incredibly placement fussy. Much more so than my lesser sda's. Heck an inch of movement here and there and I can easily hear the difference.

Toolfan66

Congrats, and I as well love the man cave I hope he gave you all the goodies to go with them crossover plates/rings.

I love my SDA's to be honest I don't think I can part with my 1.2tl's. I had someone awhile back tell me they would give me $2500 for them considering the work I have put into them not sure if he was that serious or not but I told him no way..


Enjoy!

motorstereo

Thanks Larry; Shedzilla is a separate heated and ac'd building where I can turn those monsters up anytime of the day without fear of bothering anyone. It's also complete with a kegerator. I'll have to snap a few more pics as I was mainly interested in the super polks.

Yes the custom crossover plates will be coming someday. He sent the rings back to you a while back but they apparently got lost by USPS. Those rings come highly recommended by Joe. Do you still make them or sell them? I'm interested in a set for my 1st upgrade if you have any info on them.

Hmmm; I don't think I'd part with my 1.2's right now at any price. I have several other pairs of pretty decent speakers also. But they are all so far behind these guys sonically that they're really not worth mentioning. Every single last pair of them would go before I would even consider parting with the super polks.

george daniel

and another reason for attending a Polkfest,,the sheer knowledge and advice,free of course is well worth the price of admission.Congrats on your aquisition.

motorstereo

Sounds like a plan George. I've attended several audio get togethers here in New England and always had a great time. I can imagine a Polkfest would be just as much fun. Especially since I currently own 4 pair of polk speakers.

inspiredsports

I'd even go further and suggest that if you'd purchased modded 2.3TL's and set them up in the same spots at the 1.2's, they's sound even better in your tiny room.

And . . . your standard 2.3's would sound almost as good.

Setup is more than half the battle with any speaker, and especially SDA's.

tonyb

Wow, congrats man. Can't believe Joe sold his speakers though. Must not be going well for him. Thought for sure he was to be buried in those bad boys. You got one hellava nice pair, Joe was on the fanatic side with his stuff.

heiney9

Tonyb,

As an FYI he is selling or already sold everything. Probably should have done it long ago and could have avoided all the brouhaha and bad feelings and drama that led to his banning on this site.

H9

motorstereo

inspiredsports wrote: »

I'd even go further and suggest that if you'd purchased modded 2.3TL's and set them up in the same spots at the 1.2's, they's sound even better in your tiny room.

And . . . your standard 2.3's would sound almost as good.

Setup is more than half the battle with any speaker, and especially SDA's.

Believe me I thought that exact thought. The 1.2's will pressurize that room unbelievably if I want them to. I also have had the my standard 2.3s set up correctly for a while now and they also sounded excellent. They do take a back seat to the 1.2s but not by a lot. The room is actually 14.5'x18.5' with 5 skylites so it's not exactly tiny. I've always wanted a pair of the polks best so it really didn't matter to me if I only had an outhouse to set them up in I was getting them. Now I don't have to wonder how much better polk's best are compared to their 2nd or 3rd best. Curiosity killed the cat and it can also put a guy in the poor house.

inspiredsports

motorstereo wrote: »

Believe me I thought that exact thought. The 1.2's will pressurize that room unbelievably if I want them to. I also have had the my standard 2.3s set up correctly for a while now and they also sounded excellent. They do take a back seat to the 1.2s but not by a lot. The room is actually 14.5'x18.5' with 5 skylites so it's not exactly tiny. I've always wanted a pair of the polks best so it really didn't matter to me if I only had an outhouse to set them up in I was getting them. Now I don't have to wonder how much better polk's best are compared to their 2nd or 3rd best. Curiosity killed the cat and it can also put a guy in the poor house.

You got a great pair of speakers! Problems aside, Joe was a close friend here and I have several great pieces of his gear.

I shouldn't have said "tiny", but the 12' dimension will as you say allow for some serious pressurization

motorstereo

Thanks tonyb. I'm actually still in disbelief that I got them. I don't know if I'll be buried in them or not but they do put a smile on my face every time the set up gets turned on.
heiney9; Joe sure is going through some hard times right now but dammit don't we all from time to time. I do know that I've been in almost the same situation that he's in years ago. Thankfully my friends didn't turn their backs on me when I was down and out. From what I've heard it was all a big misunderstanding anyway and it certainly isn't anything that couldn't be rectified imo. I'm also thinking it was in poor taste to ban a knowledgeable fellow like Joe with 21,000 posts under his belt.

motorstereo

inspiredsports wrote: »

You got a great pair of speakers! Problems aside, Joe was a close friend here and I have several great pieces of his gear.

I shouldn't have said "tiny", but the 12' dimension will as you say allow for some serious pressurization

Hey no problem at all. It'll only pressurize the room if I want it to thankfully.
Joe does seem to be a great guy and I consider myself lucky to call him a friend as well. He does have some fantastic gear and I also feel quite lucky to own some of it.

F1nut

From what I've heard it was all a big misunderstanding anyway and it certainly isn't anything that couldn't be rectified imo. I'm also thinking it was in poor taste to ban a knowledgeable fellow like Joe with 21,000 posts under his belt.

Big misunderstanding my a$$. Not picking on you, but you obviously don't know the entire story. Just know that he brought it all upon himself and deserved to be banned.

shack

motorstereo wrote:

From what I've heard it was all a big misunderstanding anyway and it certainly isn't anything that couldn't be rectified imo. I'm also thinking it was in poor taste to ban a knowledgeable fellow like Joe with 21,000 posts under his belt.

Joe is gone...not due to any misunderstanding...but because of his actions over a period of time. He will not be a member in good standing at CP. Poor taste? It is in poor taste to make assumptions based on something you know little about.

Having said that...I considered Joe a friend and I truely hope he overcomes whatever his issues are. Just not here..that bridge has been burned.

schwarcw

Congrats Motorstereo!

Nice speakers! I have heard them at Joe's house and they sounded very nice. Enjoy them!!

I hope Joe is doing well and his troubles, health and spirits are on the upswing. I wish him good luck and fortune.

schwarcw

Also, do you have those speakers on spikes? I can't tell from the photo.

Also, if you would have had the 2.3's set up correctly they would have sounded damn good also!

Congrats again!

TECHNOKID

F1nut wrote: »

Big misunderstanding my a$$. Not picking on you, but you obviously don't know the entire story. Just know that he brought it all upon himself and deserved to be banned.

....

shack wrote: »

Joe is gone...not due to any misunderstanding...but because of his actions over a period of time. He will not be a member in good standing at CP. Poor taste? It is in poor taste to make assumptions based on something you know little about.

Having said that...I considered Joe a friend and I truely hope he overcomes whatever his issues are. Just not here..that bridge has been burned.

....

motorstereo wrote: »

...Thankfully my friends didn't turn their backs on me when I was down and out....

Good on you, this is what real friendship is about however...

I believe this thread is about you acquiring Joe's speakers (not another round at lynching him), so congrats are in order!

F1nut

TK, you really shouldn't comment on things that you are completely clueless about.

audiocr381ve

F1nut wrote: »

TK, you really shouldn't comment on things that you are completely clueless about.

Congrats on the speakers dude!

F1, you really shouldn't comment, like, at all. Ever. I'd be happy with that. Didn't sound like TK said anything out of line. I can't say the same for you. You need to learn to hold your damn tongue (or fingers...from typing). Like we all really needed to hear your side of things. :rolleyes: Drop it!

I believe this thread is about you acquiring Joe's speakers (not another round at lynching him), so congrats are in order!

+100! Congrats!

F1nut

Great, another clueless moron. Screw you!

motorstereo

Well if it isn't my old pal f1nutty. Hmmm apparently you're not a man of your word. When I left here a while back you assured me that I was and would be on your ignore list permanently. Nothing has changed here except for me acquiring a wonderful pair of speakers and I have them set them up correctly thanks to Joe. You're right I don't know the entire story, I don't care to and I certainly wouldn't trust your version of it anyways. Now maybe this time around you can be a man of your word.

motorstereo

Thanks technokid; That is what it's all about like the title say's Joe's Speakers. I just wanted to share my happiness of getting these beautiful speakers and meeting a man I consider a friend.

motorstereo

schwarcw wrote: »

Also, do you have those speakers on spikes? I can't tell from the photo.

Also, if you would have had the 2.3's set up correctly they would have sounded damn good also!

Congrats again!

No I don't have them on spikes just yet. I want to make sure they're correctly placed before I use spikes. I am using the bass brace though. Joe and I have been conversing for a while and he clued me in on how to set up the 2.3s properly. I had them close very close to the way the 1.2s are set up now. While it was a giant leap forward from my haphazard set up those 1.2s are the better speakers. I'm hoping to eventually set up the 2.3s in my home someday but it requires an entire remodeling job for the room they're hopefully going into first. I'll never strangle the sound of another pair of sda's again having heard what they're capable of.

motorstereo

Lasareath wrote: »

Brian I'm happy you got them set up and they are sounding great!

After you left I took out my tools and started mounted my acoustical panels to the walls. I put up 5 so far, if you recall I only had 1 up in 3 years

Since I had my measuring tape in the room I started to measure out the speakers and oh my god they were so off it was unbelievable!

Now I have them set up at 42" from the side walls and 12.5" from the rear.

One thing to note: When you measure the speaker from the back wall take that measurement from the bottom and from the top. my 1.2tl's were not standing perfectly straight up, one was leaning back and one was leaning forward a hair. now they are both exactly 12.5" from the back wall if I measure from the bottom and the top plates.

Enjoy!!

Sal

Hi Sal; Wow they sure sounded great to both Don and I for being so far off. That'll probably be one of my next projects; acoustically treating the room that they're in. How much of a difference did mounting those panels make? Oh wouldn't I love to get 42" side clearance on my 1.2s. My problem is I have to squeeze my bike by the right hand sda. The handlebars are 41" wide and I gave myself 41 3/4" to squeeze by. The only way I could get more space from the sidewall is move them in closer together. They're 5'6" apart now and I'm afraid I'll end up squashing that huge soundstage that they throw by moving them closer together. That's why I haven't put them on spikes just yet. There's a bit more experimentation to be done before they get locked down.
Hmmm; you say you measured top and bottom equally? I set mine up plumb, square, and level and even used the string method like Joe suggested. Knowing the wall behind them surely isn't plumb I wonder if I should adjust them for that being off somewhat?
I had Don over before I had mine set up optimally and he mentioned how incredible dsotm sounded on your set up. Mine has a ways to go before I reach your level if in fact I ever do. Hey; how's that gorgeous looking new cd player of yours doing these days?