Dagnabit, here I go again with wanting more SDA's! Need opinion on SDA SRS2

evhudsons

Here is an ebay ad that I was looking at. It's in driving distance, and as I was wanting to get 1c's one day, these look good:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/170862138058?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1952.l2649


the 1c's have the stereo and sda drivers closer together, these have them a bit farther more like my crs+ which I think has more spatial quality to the soundstage. I'm assuming it would be the same here. The specs call for the srs2 to have up to 750 watts/ch as opposed to 500 for the 1c's. I just ordered and is on the way another parasound hca1500 so I would have plenty of juice I think for these even if "underpowered" by the spec sheet. I'm running the hca 1500 on my crs+ with fantastic results.

I would probably put my crs+ in the rear channels somehow, and use these as mains. I would like to tl them for the rdo198's, and in researching this forum it looks like they can be, but I never saw any definitive answers or actual mentions of someone doing it. I'm still looking though.

Any thoughts from our experienced here? If it seems like a good deal for upgradable speakers, then I will get them and start modding even if I wind up sleeping on the couch with the dogs for a couple of days. Just kidding, my wife only rolls her eyes but she loves it when I throw on some Widespread Panic and a nice bottle of red for home concerting.

Joe08867

Price looks real good. Make sure you listen to them as well.

Watch out for water damage. The PR looks a bit suspect to me. Like it has mold or something on the surround.

heiney9

That's a steal if they are fully functional and in good cosmetic shape.

These are older than 1C's and they can't use the AI-1 interphase and TL'ing might be a challenge. Pay no attention to the rated wattage specs, it has nothing to do with anything. These are 4 ohm and a little more difficult to drive than later 1C's. The 555 or HCA1500 will run these fine.

Get going, $350 for SRS2's is a great deal, unless they are beat and partially functioning. Even then if they only need minor stuff, it's steal

H9

Dawgfish

I have a pair of them now and I've owned a set of 1Cs in the past. The only advantage the 1Cs have over the SRS 2s are the SRS 2s need a little more room to breath. I've remember someone here on the board described the SRS 2s (I believe it was Leroy Jr) as 1Cs on steriods and I believe that is a great way to describe them. The SRS 2s just have more of everything, more bass, more SDA effect, more presence.

The later SRS 2s with the pin/blade interconnect (which is what I have) also are biwirable/biampable. From everything I've read the pin/blade versions are the more desirable as there are more mods and upgrades available for those. My SRS 2s are in great shape, but are completely stock (except for upgraded interconnect) for just a few more days. I plan on putting spikes on them, dynamatting the MWs, PR, using armeflex on the driver seals, and JB welding the magnets this weekend. After that it will be time for some RD0-194s and crossover upgrades.

The SRS 2s are great speakers, I would buy them any day over the 1Cs unless you don't have enough room for them to breath or you don't have an amp that is 4 ohm stable. They are listed as 6ohm speakers, but they will drop below that. BTW, as far as amplification, I'm currently running an Anthem Amp 1 40wpc tube amp on them and the amp drives them beautifully. That is another great thing about the SRS 2s, they have an efficiency rating of 92 db over the 1Cs 90db. It doesn't take a whole lot of good clean power to get these thing to sing. Of course more clean power is always better! That's a great price BTW. If they are in good condition and sound right, go get 'em!

heiney9

The efficiency rating is a bit higher but they are a more difficult load to drive, but that shouldn't be an issue for the amps he has. Efficiency has little to do with difficult load.

You can have efficient 2 ohm speakers that are harder to power than inefficient 8 ohm speakers, all within reason of course. Also the impedance curve is very important, I know the SDA's have a fairly flat impedance curve compared to something like an LSi 9, tubes amps like flat impedance curves, hence why they mate so well with rather largish speakers.

I also agree the later SRS2 (1987 model) with pin/blade is more desireable. I would grab these rather than waiting for 1C's. These are atleast as good as 1C's and some feel even better.

H9

Dawgfish

Yeah I'm rather impressed how well 40 wpc of tube power does with the SRS 2s. It drives them much better than I expected. You are right I was not trying to insuate that the SRS 2s are easier to drive than the 1Cs with all amps. What I was trying to say is that provided you have an amp that is cabable of driving 4 ohm loads, you will get more volume with less power with the SRS 2s with the higher efficiency. I was looking at it from the perspective of what amps he said he would be using but I did not make that clear. Anyway you slice it though if you have a 4 ohm stable amp and enough room for the SRS 2s, I would take them all day over the 1Cs. They just have more IMHO.

evhudsons

Thanks ya'll, that's the kind of info I needed and got even more! I understand then the efficiency would be more comparable if the ohms were the same, say 4ohm to 4 ohm speaker? Either way, I think I'll snag them. I think I would appreciate them more than some other folks that might get them. If I can do a tl upgrade on them, I'll probably do that. Trey is my man and I'm sure he's up to the task.

I think the wife will like these actually, as they have the wood look and aren't on speaker stands. My crs+ can go behind the couch and the stands would sort of disappear from view. Anything that brings harmony between room visual looks and audio is a good thing.

Thanks everyone!

Everett

Mr. Bubbles

The seller was asking $1000 last go round but no takers. If I lived closer I would be all over those. I have even considered building a set if i can't find any. If you get them maybe you could take a few measurements of driver and passive placement on the baffle as well as any internal bracing measurements and pictures, etc. anything that may help me replicate a pair from some 1C's and the proper passives. Good luck. I am not a 1C fan but I am betting these are a different animal all together. They have the largest passive to driver ratio of all the SRS's and stand to have phenomenal bass. Good luck!

evhudsons

A thousand is a lot to ask. But the price now is pretty dang good. I'll take measurements if you like. My friend has 1c's which are different than the srs2.

By the way, I was obviously joking about your speaker collection in the other thread. I'm on the way to being borderline. My wife's gallery is next on my list for places to put extra great deal speakers. I was already thinking about the celestion 9's and where I would move them. Gallery it is!
I already moved my extra Denon avr and Kef c40's to my work office. I have more speakers than my signature will allow, and I'm getting more.

Dawgfish

Mr. Bubbles wrote: »

The seller was asking $1000 last go round but no takers. If I lived closer I would be all over those. I have even considered building a set if i can't find any. If you get them maybe you could take a few measurements of driver and passive placement on the baffle as well as any internal bracing measurements and pictures, etc. anything that may help me replicate a pair from some 1C's and the proper passives. Good luck. I am not a 1C fan but I am betting these are a different animal all together. They have the largest passive to driver ratio of all the SRS's and stand to have phenomenal bass. Good luck!

I can get you measurements if you like, but I don't believe you will be able to make a set of SRS 2s out of a 1C cabinet. The SRS 2's cabinet is a good bit wider and taller than the 1C cabinet. Also the MWs on the SRS 2s are set higher and further apart than the 1Cs. That is one of the reasons you get a wider SDA effect with the SRS 2s. The SRS 2s are actually much closer in size to the SDA SRSs and SRS 2.3s than the 1Cs. The SRS 2s use the same passive radiator(15") as the SRSs, 2.3s, and 1.2s and this is probably another reason for the wider cabinet.

You are spot on with the bass of the SRS 2s, I believe they can dig down to 12hz. The bass is very low, deep, and impactful, while being well defined. For the size of the room that I am playing these in, I actually believe the SRS 2s are probably the best choice. They give you a lot of the qualities of the big boy SDAs (width of SDA effect, bass, and power handling capability) while being able to be placed in a medium to medium-large room.

When I get these back home to GA when my long-term job assignment is over, I'm going to bi-amp these with two Anthem AMP-2SEs that I have. I can't wait to hear this. I'll be sending 600 wpc/4ohms to them. I'm betting that's going to sound pretty darn good ;-).

Mr. Bubbles

Dawgfish wrote: »

I can get you measurements if you like, but I don't believe you will be able to make a set of SRS 2s out of a 1C cabinet. The SRS 2's cabinet is a good bit wider and taller than the 1C cabinet. Also the MWs on the SRS 2s are set higher and further apart than the 1Cs. That is one of the reasons you get a wider SDA effect with the SRS 2s. The SRS 2s are actually much closer in size to the SDA SRSs and SRS 2.3s than the 1Cs. The SRS 2s use the same passive radiator(15") as the SRSs, 2.3s, and 1.2s and this is probably another reason for the wider cabinet.

You are spot on with the bass of the SRS 2s, I believe they can dig down to 12hz. The bass is very low, deep, and impactful, while being well defined. For the size of the room that I am playing these in, I actually believe the SRS 2s are probably the best choice. They give you a lot of the qualities of the big boy SDAs (width of SDA effect, bass, and power handling capability) while being able to be placed in a medium to medium-large room.

When I get these back home to GA when my long-term job assignment is over, I'm going to bi-amp these with two Anthem AMP-2SEs that I have. I can't wait to hear this. I'll be sending 600 wpc/4ohms to them. I'm betting that's going to sound pretty darn good ;-).

I am sorry I wasn't very clear. I would build the cabinets from scratch and just use the 1C components. I would then just need the proper passives.

basic rule of thumb for passive radiator design is to have a minimum passive surface area equal to the drivers and preferably up to 2X or slightly more. That's is why the tonal balance is so great on the SRS2A's and B's.( At least they have a better tonal balance to my ears), but I am a slight bass head. None of the other SDA's can touch the impact of the SRS/1.2/1.2TL's due to simple lack of displacement But for tonal balance (even though I haven't heard these models) I would bet on the SRS 2's/ 2.3's/3.1's as being better. I would personally bet on the SRS2's fully modded as being hard to beat by any of the others.

EVhudsons; no worries. I didn't take it bad. Everyone enjoys things slightly differently. I realize that I must have some sort of issues to have as much as I have that as my wife keeps reminding me, I never use. She doesn't understand collections of speakers. To her you collect things that are much smaller. Anyway, I'm enjoying, making a few dollars, and constantly trying some new to me different gear. I've been eyeing these SRS2's since seller put them up for $1000. I knew no one would buy them at that and the price would come way down. I planned to make an offer if I could find anyone down that way I know to pick them up for me and at least maybe meet me half way. It's just too far of a trip for me. I hope you get them and enjoy.

sda2mike

i had my eye on those too...about a 40 min drive...but alas, i'm going on a euro vaca in july..if you get them ev, congrats!

Dawgfish

Mr. Bubbles wrote: »

I am sorry I wasn't very clear. I would build the cabinets from scratch and just use the 1C components. I would then just need the proper passives.

basic rule of thumb for passive radiator design is to have a minimum passive surface area equal to the drivers and preferably up to 2X or slightly more. That's is why the tonal balance is so great on the SRS2A's and B's.( At least they have a better tonal balance to my ears), but I am a slight bass head. None of the other SDA's can touch the impact of the SRS/1.2/1.2TL's due to simple lack of displacement But for tonal balance (even though I haven't heard these models) I would bet on the SRS 2's/ 2.3's/3.1's as being better. I would personally bet on the SRS2's fully modded as being hard to beat by any of the others.

EVhudsons; no worries. I didn't take it bad. Everyone enjoys things slightly differently. I realize that I must have some sort of issues to have as much as I have that as my wife keeps reminding me, I never use. She doesn't understand collections of speakers. To her you collect things that are much smaller. Anyway, I'm enjoying, making a few dollars, and constantly trying some new to me different gear. I've been eyeing these SRS2's since seller put them up for $1000. I knew no one would buy them at that and the price would come way down. I planned to make an offer if I could find anyone down that way I know to pick them up for me and at least maybe meet me half way. It's just too far of a trip for me. I hope you get them and enjoy.

Gotcha. That makes since. Let em know if you need any dimensions from the SRS 2s. I'll be glad to get you whatever you need.

Mr. Bubbles

Dawgfish wrote: »

Gotcha. That makes since. Let em know if you need any dimensions from the SRS 2s. I'll be glad to get you whatever you need.

Thanks, I may take you up on that some time in the near future. A good many of the measurements i would need would be of the internal bracing and such. I hate to ask someone to take their speakers apart for me. Maybe someone on here will start to mod a pair and be able to get me those internal measurements without much trouble. Either way I may give you a shout when i get closer to ready. Thanks again.

evhudsons

Im getting the srs2, and at some point of course I'll be modding them. So
whomever gets you the dimensions first...
I think I will start a thread when I start. It may take a while as I have some
Maggie smg's that I have to work on too this summer.

sda2mike

are you snagging the one's in the ad, ev?

evhudsons

yep. He's got a buddy that comes to the keys to dive, so we are trying to get a half way meeting point. If not, I'll just have to borrow a truck and make a visit to the mainland. I'm one of the few that can say upon arriving in Miami that I came all the way UP here!

I haven't told the wife yet, might make it a surprise!

sda2mike

let us know what happens...i'm glad one of us is on the case;)

Dawgfish

No problem at all. It sounds like between evhudsons and I we'll have you covered. I'm planning on modding mine also, so I will be taking them apart in the not to distant future.

evhudsons

I saw on old forum posts that some of the earlier srs2's were made of solid wood trim rather than veneer. I wonder if anyone knows any more about it? I loved DK's thread on the curly wood he put on his monster 1.2's.