Picked These Up Last Night SDA 2B (I think)

hallga77

I picked these up last night off CL and could just barely fit them in the trunk of my car. I had to leave them in there overnight and half the day. It was just too darn cold and snowy. I couldn't stand it any longer so I wrestled them in myself (ouch).

I am letting them warm up and may get them hooked up tomorrow. If not it will be a few days till I get to mess with them.
Scored a Nakamichi SR4 Receiver that the guy had them hooked up to, also.

Will post pics when I remember how to do it.

boston1450

Congrats on your find-Hope it was in a garage parked & doesnt cause damage to the sides ?

Mystery

Congrats but don't pick them yourself specially if you are not big and strong.
You'll be okay now but it can hurt back.
I don't do anything that puts stress in my back now due to bulging disc.
Lesson learned the hard way. :sad:

gudnoyez

Good job it pays to frequent your local craigslist listings. I would let them warm up a while heavy things to be lugging around enjoy your speakers keep us posted on what you think of them.

hallga77

Thanks for the advice on the back. I'm big but not really big and strong. I really should know better at my age. Unfortunately the car was not in a garage. They sounded nice when I listened to them on that Nak receiver I mentioned. They look to be in nice shape as well. I hope that cold didn't hurt them.

Mystery

Those are the standard 2b's.
Look nice!

boston1450

Those look very nice. Was you able to get the cord also ? Can be had if not. If you have never heard the SDA's your in for a surprise as most of us have. Keep us updated on your impressions ENJOY

TennMan

I believe I see a pair of SDA-CRS on stools behind the 2Bs. It would be nice to hear your thoughts on you think they compare.

hallga77

They sound nice so far. I won't be able to get serious with them until later in the week. I hooked them up to a Pioneer Elite HT receiver with 160 per channel. A bit bright for my tastes but the receiver has tone controls and is currently calibrated for other speakers. Those are CRS+ that I need to fiddle with more to see what they can do but so far I think mI like the 2Bs better. Should be fun.

TennMan

I also own 2Bs and CRS+. I prefer the 2Bs over the CRS+. The CRS+ are great sounding little speakers and have their place in smaller rooms. The good thing about owning both is if you do upgrades to the 2Bs, like crossovers or tweeters, they can be swapped right into the CRS+. That way you can try the upgrades in both sets of speakers to see which you like the best. It has been my experience that SDAs don't sound their best with a HT receiver for 2 channel listening. A two channel amp with lots of power will bring out the best in SDAs. Some people prefer tube amps but I've not had the opportunity to hear SDAs powered by them.

F1nut

I hooked them up to a Pioneer Elite HT receiver with 160 per channel.

The most powerful Elite AVR I know of is 140 wpc. Just saying. That said, no AVR is going to do those speakers justice.

westmassguy

F1nut wrote: »

The most powerful Elite AVR I know of is 140 wpc. Just saying. That said, no AVR is going to do those speakers justice.

This^^^^^^^^^^^
Trust me, I know, been there, done that, and my Pioneer said no thank you and went into protection mode.

boston1450

Could always add a amp to the mix & get them to sing. They are power hungry. I myself am looking to do that to my AVR. I may add a Denon or a Adcom when the wallet say ok.

boston1450

westmassguy wrote: »

This^^^^^^^^^^^
Trust me, I know, been there, done that, and my Pioneer said no thank you and went into protection mode.

..just curious. How loud did you go to get that to happen ? Or did it do that instead of clipping ?

On3s&Z3r0s

westmassguy wrote: »

This^^^^^^^^^^^
Trust me, I know, been there, done that, and my Pioneer said no thank you and went into protection mode.

That's odd... I've had mine hooked up to a Pioneer Elite AVR and it didn't complain. I was using an AI-1 instead of the stock interconnect. I wouldn't have thought that would make a difference for a receiver.

Just to clarify, by protection mode do you mean the flashing power LED, and did it happen right away or after you had been running them for a while?

westmassguy

My 2As do double duty, for 2 Channel and Home theater. 2 channel was fine for moderate levels, but the first Blu-ray with DTS at moderate levels shut it right down. Granted, my 2As are even more power hungry, but my CRS+s did essentially the same thing.
I think a lot of us forget, unlike Sealed or true Ported designs, the PR design doesn't have a sharp cut-off on the low end. They keep producing the lowest notes they're able to. I've tested my 2As and 2Bs with discreet test tones. Even though their output is say 6db down at 20 or 25Hz, the speakers are still producing those frequencies, and still soaking up every ounce of power available

westmassguy

On3s&Z3r0s wrote: »

That's odd... I've had mine hooked up to a Pioneer Elite AVR and it didn't complain. I was using an AI-1 instead of the stock interconnect. I wouldn't have thought that would make a difference for a receiver.

Just to clarify, by protection mode do you mean the flashing power LED, and did it happen right away or after you had been running them for a while?

It happened as soon as the first shell landed in Saving Private Ryan.

boston1450

I havent had a problem with the 1c's on the 110wpc AVR yet on 2channel listening at 85-90db's. I am going to add a amp to the mix as i stated above. But i dont crank the trottle too high because i think it could clip. Or as you stated Protection Mode ? Not into AVR's enough to know-but ive heard others say the same.. Thanks for explaining.

westmassguy

boston1450 wrote: »

I havent had a problem with the 1c's on the 110wpc AVR yet on 2channel listening at 85-90db's. I am going to add a amp to the mix as i stated above. But i dont crank the trottle too high because i think it could clip. Or as you stated Protection Mode ? Not into AVR's enough to know-but ive heard others say the same.. Thanks for explaining.

Your 1Cs can go deeper than my 2s. If you really want to test them in 2 channel, the soundtrack from Gladiator will really stretch their legs. Problem is, every time I listen to the soundtrack, I have to watch the movie.

On3s&Z3r0s

westmassguy wrote: »

It happened as soon as the first shell landed in Saving Private Ryan.

Ah... that makes sense... I never tried to put anything through them that would make that kind of bass. Good to know for future reference.

boston1450

hallga77 wrote: »

They sound nice so far. I won't be able to get serious with them until later in the week. I hooked them up to a Pioneer Elite HT receiver with 160 per channel. A bit bright for my tastes but the receiver has tone controls and is currently calibrated for other speakers. Those are CRS+ that I need to fiddle with more to see what they can do but so far I think mI like the 2Bs better. Should be fun.

Hallga i hope you enjoy the SDA's you just got they are beautiful. I enjoy mine also. I couldnt open the first pic you put up (iphone wouldnt open it) so i didnt notice you had the CRS's behind them-i see in the second pic now a shadow. Very nice speaker i hope someday to get my ears on. Anyways keep us updated on your impressions sir & great find on a set that lots of us want or have on here

stubby

Great speakers! Congrats on the score, you will love their imaging.

Far as AVR's not driving SDA's properly, I was a firm believer - until I tried the Denon AVR-5800. Beautiful sound, and will drive my SRS's to "lifelike" levels.

PolkieMan

Replace those tweeters with 194's, to get rid of that brightness, before Polk is out of stock again.

Yea I don't listen to music real loud anymore in my old age (70-80 db) but I do know that when I had them hooked up to the Carver TFM-25 they played the same, I guess it's just me or maybe the Carver wasn't a good one.

boston1450 wrote: »

I havent had a problem with the 1c's on the 110wpc AVR yet on 2channel listening at 85-90db's. I am going to add a amp to the mix as i stated above. But i dont crank the trottle too high because i think it could clip. Or as you stated Protection Mode ? Not into AVR's enough to know-but ive heard others say the same.. Thanks for explaining.

Summerwind2

Congrats on the score

hallga77

I agree that it may not do them justice but the manual for the receiver VSX-47TX states: continuous average power output of 160 watts per channel (into 6 ohms, however). Maybe not the ideal amp for them but it has been powering my Carver Amazing Silvers for 10 years or so with no problems. It may not be the ideal amp but until I find something suitable I may try my old SAE 2200 or an Audio Research D100 if I ever get it back from service.

I have been playing the CRS+s with the Pioneer for a couple of weeks with no shutdown so we'll see. Thanks for the advice.

hallga77

Sorry, I meant to connect that with F1nut's post.

gmcman

Congrats on the 2B's, especially the standard version.

If you're not dead set on performing a total cap upgrade, then I agree on swapping the stock SL2000 tweeters for the RDO-194. If you are about getting the most from them, then go with the "TL" mod to utilize the RDO-198's.

I ran mine through a couple AVR's, both Denon, with the 5700 really playing well with them and having a lot of power.

Once I went with separates it made all the difference, both play a huge part but the preamp really cleans everything up. Much richer sound especially at lower volumes. You don't have to spend a fortune on separates either, but they really make a difference with these speakers.

Enjoy the new speakers!

F1nut

hallga77 wrote: »

I agree that it may not do them justice but the manual for the receiver VSX-47TX states: continuous average power output of 160 watts per channel (into 6 ohms, however). Maybe not the ideal amp for them but it has been powering my Carver Amazing Silvers for 10 years or so with no problems. It may not be the ideal amp but until I find something suitable I may try my old SAE 2200 or an Audio Research D100 if I ever get it back from service.

I have been playing the CRS+s with the Pioneer for a couple of weeks with no shutdown so we'll see. Thanks for the advice.

Yeah, it's 130 wpc @ 8 ohms, 2 channels driven.

I've got to tell you, you have never heard what those Carver's are capable of. They need 350 wpc minimum of real amp power, not AVR power to even open up.

PolkieMan

Yea those poor old crossovers need a refresh and while your at it TL Mod them so you can go with the 198's. It's not that bad the crossover is the cheapest of all the SDA's and of course you only need 2 tweeters not 4 or 6 like me.

gmcman wrote: »

Congrats on the 2B's, especially the standard version.

If you're not dead set on performing a total cap upgrade, then I agree on swapping the stock SL2000 tweeters for the RDO-194. If you are about getting the most from them, then go with the "TL" mod to utilize the RDO-198's.

I ran mine through a couple AVR's, both Denon, with the 5700 really playing well with them and having a lot of power.

Once I went with separates it made all the difference, both play a huge part but the preamp really cleans everything up. Much richer sound especially at lower volumes. You don't have to spend a fortune on separates either, but they really make a difference with these speakers.

Enjoy the new speakers!

leftwinger57

Very nice score.Those look exactly the same as mine and your in for a treat if you do power them correctly.All here said even w/ a stout avr it just won't do. I agree so get an amp I also got an Adcom and it worked wonders. The mods that's, in your corner but for sure the tweeters now are much better and there are very inexpensive mechanical mods anyone can do whether you have an audio technical background or not .I did most still to go is the x-overs those will be sent out. Great find and yes man handling those are not fun,I just put spikes on and needed a friend for placement.

czarodzi

I've upgraded from a Harman-Kardon Citation 24 amp to a Nakamichi PA-5 and enjoyed the change so much I went for the PA-7. You'll enjoy driving those speakers with that Nak Reciever.