Marantz with Polk SDA SRS 2's How will they pair?

brentkendall

Hello everyone ! I have been using my Polk SDA CRS and I absolutely love them paired with my Marantz 2325 . I want to upgrade to the big daddy Polk SDA SRS 2's but wanted to ask you experts on here how they will pair with my Marantz 2325 . Will I need a power amp? Also wanted to ask whatv the perfect size room for these speakers would be ? I have a 10 by 13 room,lol . Overkill,lol? I am used to playing My Marshall 100 watt guitar amplifier in this room and my ears beg for mercy,lol. Will I be able to listen to The SDA SRS speakers and not blow myself out of the room? Thanks very much for any info anyone may have .

pitdogg2

Are they B/b or pin/blade? Is the Marantz 4 ohm stable?

brentkendall

Thanks so much for the fast reply. I believe they are pin/blade . I am going to talk to the man again tonight . He is selling them locally for 650.00 . They look like they are in good condition but I haven't heard them yet . The Marantz is marketed as being 4ohm stable but I checked another forum and a response to another persons question stated that the Marantz should be able to handle a 8ohm load properly . I am still not sure about whether I need a power amp though . It's an iffy situation because I want to be able to power the speakers correctly but don't want to spend money on something like a carver power amp as well.

brentkendall

Sorry I typed that out backwards . The Marantz is Marketed and spece'd at 8ohm but should be able to handle 4 ohm .

pitdogg2

Power amp would be a better option. Just wait run the Marantz and see how you like it.

brentkendall

Ok , the man does have Carver power amps for sale but that raises another question . Does the Carver amp change the tone of the beautiful sounding Marantz? I love the Marantz tone. The man is also selling Polk SDA 2A third generation in Walnut wood, but I just don't think they are much of an upgrade from my SDA CRS speakers I have .

brentkendall

The man has all of these power amps for sale .
Power Amp- - - - - - - -Carver TFM-55 for $650

Power Amp- - - - - - - -Carver TFM-45 for $550

Power Amp- - - - - - - -Carver TFM-42 for $500

Power Amp- - - - - - - -Carver M-1.0t for $350

Power Amp- - - - - - - -Adcom GFA-555 - $450

Power Amp- - - - - - - -Adcom GFA-5300 - $200

Power Amp- - - - - - - -Adcom GFA-535 - $150

nooshinjohn

What Carver amps are we talking about? Some of them may not be able to be used with the Polks anyway.

brentkendall

You read my mind @nooshinjohn ! I just posted the Cravers he has for sale and to be honest I have never used power amps with receivers I have owned over the years so it's all new territory for me. Thank God I have all of you here to help.

boston1450

gfa 555 sweet on SDA's

brentkendall

@boston1450 , thanks for the advice . The GFA 555 is a beast of an amp ! I will definitely listen to it ! Will it change the tone when used with the Marantz 2325?

boston1450

Dont know. Never owned that model. Does Marantz have pre-out on back ? Maybe the Marantz could be a sweet preamp to add a amp ? Just a thought

nooshinjohn

The TFM55 is the best amp on that list, and it will work with the Polks. It may need a recap and a general going over at this point, but it is a great amp. I love the meters on it. Point that out to him and offer 450...

brentkendall

@boston1450 , yeah the man said I could use an amp with the Marantz . I really want to listen to it that way ,just don't want the amp to color the tone of the Marantz and make it sound worse . If it sounds better then I will be really happy ! Thank fro the advice !

brentkendall

@nooshinjohn , The Carver TFM55 is a sweet looking amp with the meters , I will definitely listen to that amp as well . Have you ever heard that amp used with any Marantz receivers ? I dig the Nicholson profile pic from A Few Good Men ! One of my all time favorite actors ! I studied acting in college and got a theatre degree Jack is a bad **** !

brentkendall

I guess you can't say **** on here ,lol ! Tipper Gore must be censoring the thread ,lol!

boston1450

nooshinjohn wrote: »

The TFM55 is the best amp on that list, and it will work with the Polks. It may need a recap and a general going over at this point, but it is a great amp. I love the meters on it. Point that out to him and offer 450...

I dont know much about Carver amps. Well talked about. (Ive owned/loved Carver receiver) .. im sure the Adcom is due for recap also

boston1450

Bring your receiver with you. Listen to the speakers. Then throw a amp on it. Decide yourself with your ears.... With a list like that he should be cool with it

brentkendall

@boston1450 @nooshinjohn @pitdogg2 thanks for the advice ! I really appreciate it ! Have a great weekend !

motorstereo

I also think the TFM55 is by far the best of the bunch. Years ago I had a TFM45 paired with a Marantz 3600 preamp on my Polk sda's and I thought it was a nice sounding combo. You can use the pre-outs on the 2325 into the Carver and I think you'll be quite pleased. That's a good price on the Polks but make sure and negotiate for a package deal price with the amp.

brentkendall

@motorstereo , thanks for the feedback ! Yeah , definitely a great idea to negotiate if I am going to be spending so much cash ! The speakers are all stock no crossover upgrades or tweeter upgrades and I know how everyone on here suggests doing that to these vintage Polks but it does get pretty pricey ! Is it a night and day difference in tone ? I have the SDA CRS speakers , totally stock and they sound amazing to me ! Then I saw a thread on this forum and guys are adding foam to the enclosure , changing the crossovers and tweeters and they say it is a night and day difference !

TennMan

" I have the SDA CRS speakers , totally stock and they sound amazing to me !"

If you like them that is all that counts. Upgrades to the speakers will help but that alone isn't going to make a night and day difference in most cases. Lots of other things come into play. Choose your amp carefully. It can make a big difference in how you system sounds. Compare amps while listening to the speakers you are going to use with it. Amps, cables, and other gear are going to influence how your speakers sound. Another thing that has a big influence on how your speakers sound is the acoustics of your room and how you are able to place the speakers in your room.

brentkendall

@TennMan , so it looks like you did a lot to your SDA 2BTL's . If you don't mind me asking how much would mods like your or similar to yours cost for all the parts plus the cost of the tech doing the mods? It seems like a lot of people are doing these mods to the bigger polk tower speakers like your SDA 2btl's and other towers .

TennMan

It has been a while since I did the mods on my 2Bs. The RDO-198 (TL) tweeters were about $50 each from Polk with free shipping.

@westmassguy did the crossovers for me using Sonicaps and mills resistors. I can't remember the cost. Maybe he will chime in with the current costs for doing that. If not you should contact him. He does good work at fair prices.

brentkendall

@westmassguy , ok , thanks for the info and for your replies . I will contact him to ask about prices on mods.

ThomasD

@westmassguy has my 2a x/o's right now and is doing a complete TL upgrade to them. Mine are different beasts than your proposed 2's but mine totaled just under $1K. Granted that $ includes new SpeakOn IC sockets & cable plus most of the premium option choices that @westmassguy always lists out. I'm using a Carver M1.0t & a M4.0t for powering the 2a's. Just make sure the amps are common grounded as not all Carvers are. You won't regret it if you decide to have Dave do any upgrades for you.

K_M

brentkendall wrote: »

Ok , the man does have Carver power amps for sale but that raises another question . Does the Carver amp change the tone of the beautiful sounding Marantz? I love the Marantz tone. The man is also selling Polk SDA 2A third generation in Walnut wood, but I just don't think they are much of an upgrade from my SDA CRS speakers I have .

Better bass due to the larger enclosure. Deeper bass.

brentkendall

@ThomasD , thanks very much for your feedback It sounds like @westmassguy is the man ! When I am ready to do some upgrades I will definitely contact him .

brentkendall

@K_M , yeah I figure the bass will definitely be deeper but I just thought , other than that it's still just one tweeter and 2 bass drivers like I already have in my CRS's that's why I was thinking of upgrading to the big daddy SDA SRS 2's . They are almost double in price compared to the SDA 2's but I think I will be making a huge difference in tone with the four bass drivers and 2 tweeters and the really wide and tall enclosure of the SDA SRS 2's . Thanks for your input .

F1nut

The 2A's despite the same driver arrangement as the CRS have a much larger internal volume meaning they will produce considerably more bass. Your room is small, big speakers need room to breath. Bass notes have a long wave form, so in a small room that's a problem and the bigger the speaker the bigger problem of boomy bass becomes a real issue. IMO, you'd be happier with the 2A's.

As for amps, I wouldn't pick any of those on your list. What other options are available to you?

Any amp you do get will impart its sound signature. You may find you prefer that combination to the current sound signature of your Marantz, but I'd suggest you try the Marantz first with the bigger SDA's as you may find it has enough juice for your room size.

F1nut

Additional comments.

How close to the rear wall do you have the CRS? Are they on the long or short wall? Are they on the original stands? If so, are the stands spiked? Have you considered adding a sealed subwoofer?