Amp upgrade

vulcan

Considering upgrading my older Adcom GFA-555II and got my eye on a
Parasound Halo A23. The Parasound amp has less watts output at 125 per. Would the
Parasound still crank up the Polk SDA-1C speakers? I like my music loud.
I also dont feel like I am getting the bass punch with the Adcom and
researching the Parasound indicates a better bass response. I appreciate your
comments and suggestions.

F1nut

What's the Adcom, 250 wpc I think. So, in theory you'd get 3 dB less from the Parasound.

leroyjr1

I think that Adcom is a bass heavy amp so I don't think the a23 will give you more low end or output.

gudnoyez

What preamp are you running. I could not imagine that GFA-555II not giving you the bass your looking for.

soundfreak1

I agree that adcoms are quite bassie i also would like too know wjat pre u are using? There you may be able to make more impact on the bass.

tonyb

Agree with the others, the Adcom isn't bass shy. Maybe your source, source material, or even cables can also play a role. Or your just flat out pushing them too hard. Ever think about adding a subwoofer for the lower end ?

falconcry72

How do you have the 1C's setup? The closer you move them to the front wall, the more bass you'll get. I usually run mine about 6" off the wall, depending on the room.

Good luck!

mantis

tonyb wrote: »

Agree with the others, the Adcom isn't bass shy. Maybe your source, source material, or even cables can also play a role. Or your just flat out pushing them too hard. Ever think about adding a subwoofer for the lower end ?

Thats what I was thinking as well.

Drenis

falconcry72 wrote: »

How do you have the 1C's setup? The closer you move them to the front wall, the more bass you'll get. I usually run mine about 6" off the wall, depending on the room.

Good luck!

Good lord, I thought my TL's @ 9" off the walls was too much.

tonyb

Placement is key too, but if your that much of a basshead, get a subwoofer.....a good one.

falconcry72

Drenis wrote: »

Good lord, I thought my TL's @ 9" off the walls was too much.

lol, depending on the room, I've run them anywhere from 4" - 14" from the wall. Having them further off the wall cleans up the mids/midbass, but you lose the low end.

vulcan

Thanks for your comments. Presently I am using a Emotiva USP1 Pre , was using an Adcom pre prior and the bass response was about the same. Your responses on placement got me thinking that may be an issue. When I stand in the corner near each speaker the bass just sounds better to me, more punch and defined. I have a small room, 11x12, for these maybe. The speakers
are about 6-7 inches from the rear wall, and only 2 feet from the sides, and are 3 1/2 ft apart. Best I can do in here. I like the way they sound, was just thinking about trying a different amp. Maybe some room treatments might help, I like the subwoofer idea too!
Also, in the near future I am going to rebuild/upgrade the crossovers, the SDA are still original.

falconcry72

vulcan wrote: »

Thanks for your comments. Presently I am using a Emotiva USP1 Pre , was using an Adcom pre prior and the bass response was about the same. Your responses on placement got me thinking that may be an issue. When I stand in the corner near each speaker the bass just sounds better to me, more punch and defined. I have a small room, 11x12, for these maybe. The speakers
are about 6-7 inches from the rear wall, and only 2 feet from the sides, and are 3 1/2 ft apart. Best I can do in here. I like the way they sound, was just thinking about trying a different amp. Maybe some room treatments might help, I like the subwoofer idea too!
Also, in the near future I am going to rebuild/upgrade the crossovers, the SDA are still original.

Try putting them closer to the wall, like 3", and see what happens.

ALSO... not sure why we didn't mention this before... make sure every screw on every driver, passive radiator, tweeter, and binding post is nice and tight. Very important! Then perform the "push-in" test, whereby you'll determine how good the seal on your cabinets is. Once everything's tightened up, press in on the passive radiator and watch the mid drivers. They should stick out pretty far, then slowly go back in over several seconds, but they shouldn't go all the way back in until you let go of the passive. Those passive radiators work 100% on air movement, so a good seal is key.

SDA-1C's should have PLENTY of bass into the low 30hz range, but if what you crave is below that, you'll have to get a sub. I don't need a sub with my 1C's.

GlennDog

falconcry72 wrote: »

ALSO... not sure why we didn't mention this before... make sure every screw on every driver, passive radiator, tweeter, and binding post is nice and tight. Very important! Then perform the "push-in" test, whereby you'll determine how good the seal on your cabinets is. Once everything's tightened up, press in on the passive radiator and watch the mid drivers. They should stick out pretty far, then slowly go back in over several seconds, but they shouldn't go all the way back in until you let go of the passive. Those passive radiators work 100% on air movement, so a good seal is key.

Good point! I'll have to try this one myself . . . Thanks!

G

vulcan

After work today I decided to try moving the speakers closer to the wall, 3 inches and the bass practically
disappeared. So I moved them back to about 6 inches and the bass response improved some, so I decided
to go to 12 inches and the bass response was much better and very pleased. Put on "Inside looking out" by
Grand Funk and was some solid tight bass on that. I also did the "push in" test that Falconcry suggested and they pass
with flying colors. I dont feel like I need a subwoofer now or a new amp either. Another thing I thought of was I have somewhat new IC cables, they may be starting to break in a little bit. Thanks yall-SDAs Rock!

zingo

Congrats!