And one day the heavens smiled upon the L800’s

TroyD

I’ve been documenting my journey with the L800’s for awhile now and as much as I like and respect them for the achievement they legitimately are, I’ve remained somewhat detached emotionally.

While the sound has been beyond reproach, I just haven’t been sold on how musical they are. The problem has been the treble. Yes, it’s airy, light, detailed with extension to die for.....fatigue has been an issue for me. It’s not JBL/metal dome harsh.....but there has been an inescapable glare that I kinda assumed was going to be the price of admission for all the aforementioned goodness.

This past weekend, I was futzing around with the spacing....but I don’t think that was what it was.....but all of a sudden, the treble got smoother. It stopped announcing its presence and integrated with the upper midrange....much to Eva Cassidy’s benefit.

All of a sudden, I started hearing music instead listening to sounds.....and when I start seeing the forest instead of focusing on trees....the magic of SDA makes a LOT more sense.

I seriously had started and deleted no less than three for sale ads in the FM and was researching Magnepan 3.7i’s. Now I think I’m going to have to finally make long term plans for these multi-family sized L800 boxes...

F1nut

Say it!!!

TroyD

HAAAAARRRRRRRR!!

JayCee

TroyD wrote: »

I was futzing around with the spacing....but I don’t think that was what it was.....but all of a sudden, the treble got smoother.

All of a sudden, I started hearing music instead listening to sounds.....and when I start seeing the forest instead of focusing on trees....the magic of SDA makes a LOT more sense.

Now I think I’m going to have to finally make long term plans for these multi-family sized L800 boxes..

That's a pleasant surprise?!!! Not regretting my purchase, however, I'm still not 100% blown away w/mine. The first few weeks I did a lot of walking 'round different spots w/them and found very similar results. Still think my living room is the biggest LIMFAC (too bright) but don't have the time to dedicate to them ATM. Glad to see you've made this progress and, based on the reservations we discussed, gives me an incentive to spend more time dialing them in. Congrats on the progress!

nooshinjohn

What does the room look like @JayCee?

JayCee

nooshinjohn wrote: »

What does the room look like @JayCee?

https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/comment/2655953/#Comment_2655953

nooshinjohn

Do you have a picture of how they are currently positioned? Based on what I saw in the other thread, they need to get some more space off those side walls.

TroyD

I’ve had SDA work well in my smaller listening room with 2’ between speakers and side walls......symmetry is what they need more than absolute distances and if the 3.1tls work in the space the L800’s should as well...

No, I believe this a pure function of run in......and, really, it wasn’t an incremental improvement....I just started listening and all of a sudden the treble had just gelled with the rest of the sound. I’d gladly sacrifice a bit of treble extension and detail for a cohesive sound.

Listening to Gordon Lightfoot this morning and all is pretty right with the world....

Milito

I've noticed the treble getting smoother on my L600's the more hours I get on them.

TroyD

To be honest.....and my experience with it was brief....but I had a pair of CRS’s with the SDA tweeter and you’d get the real weird phase-y harsh notes....and I ascribed part of it to that. F1Nut and I have talked at length previously about the wisdom of an SDA tweeter in the L800’s as I’d assumed that was solved science 40 years ago....kinda like a couple of old farts dismissing kids celebrating socialism .

JayCee

I've had the 3.1's, 1C's, and 4.1 CRS's in this spot and I agree, SDA has no problem if painstakingly dialed in (705's, L200's, too). They've all sounded good but the best SDA soundstage (with sub), to date, was from the CRS's. IME, it's just doing the walk. The pic John looked at was from last fall and just after I received them. They've moved several times and a few weeks ago I made small adjustments with positive gains.

I call this my secondary system because it's for the TV/theater, so it'll never be as critical as my 2 channel. Also, the 800's have more than enough hours....probably way more than several hundred. They sound really good but I think there's potential for better. I just don't have the time or motivation to tackle them right now. The gear running them is remotely controlled and in the basement. This last week I was grinding concrete in prep for a new epoxy floor down there, so have my system turned off and covered to protect from the dust. For now, am using the TV speakers.

I think you and I have similar listening preferences/expectations, Troy, so I'm just glad they've shown themselves to be what you're looking for. Perhaps, you get your Maggie fix when you're looking for a new mistress, or, hell freezes over and the Gen II's head your way (LOL).

TroyD

Truth be told, I've got a pair of Maggie 1.6's on permanent loan to Dave (DAGLJAM6).....kinda like my B&W 802's are at my neighbors....so I can get a huge slice of Maggie goodness pretty easy (Dave would hate to lose them but he knows the deal LOL) but the big, 3 way Maggies and true ribbon is what's up. ........and not that I'm wishing anything bad happen to you but, you know, LOL.

I digress, said a million times, the BEST SDA soundstage in the early generation was from the CRS and 2B. They were/are magical in that respect.

SCompRacer

I had ESL's for years and I had them really dialed in to the room with placement and acoustic treatments. When I replaced the ESL's with Salk SS8's, I put them in the same place with the same room treatments. Results were poor. I had severe mid frequency dropouts.

FWIW, I found a room frequency sweep helped me to identify what was going on in the room. Moving speakers inches, remeasuring, removing/adding acoustic treatment improved things. I purchased Dayton Audio OmniMic. REW, Room EQ Wizard, is free software.

TennMan

TroyD wrote: »

I digress, said a million times, the BEST SDA soundstage in the early generation was from the CRS and 2B. They were/are magical in that respect.

How would you compare the SDA of the 2Bs to the L800s?

nooshinjohn

TennMan wrote: »

TroyD wrote: »

I digress, said a million times, the BEST SDA soundstage in the early generation was from the CRS and 2B. They were/are magical in that respect.

How would you compare the SDA of the 2Bs to the L800s?

I can say from my experience, that they are entirely different animals. The extreme resolution the L800 is capable of can actually be a distraction until you get them dialed in correctly, whereas the older speakers are so laid back and more forgiving.

Both versions of SDA are superb on their own merits, but I give the edge to the L800. The gear used also plays a huge role in the sound. I don’t think I would like the Legends as much if they were being driven by solid state amps. I may also look for a tube pre when I come back around to vinyl.