SDA + Modern Music, SDA fans thoughts?

VR3

What are the SDA fans thought on how their SDAs reproduce music like...

Hip Hop, Pop, Alternative, Metal (Korn, Disturbed, 6 foot under, etc etc), and Modern Rock

Things with questionable recording quality....etc

Seeing if the members here echo my thoughts...

Any opinions to share?

F1nut

None of that will ever play on my SDA's, so I don't care!

madmax

Originally posted by Vr3MxStyler2k3

Things with questionable recording quality....etc

Seeing if the members here echo my thoughts...

Any opinions to share?

**** in, **** out.

TroyD

exactly what madmax says..............

IMO, a good system and indeed a good speaker will expose crappy recordings for what they are not make them sound better.

Expand your horizons, perhaps? I'd recommend purchasing a Telarc sampler CD......as Bill Cosby said, if you aren't careful, you might just learn something.

BDT

VR3

Umm, I wasn't asking that exactly

Maybe I should have said modern music, any recording quality - not just bad ones

I Just want your thoughts on how the SDA is done with this type of music in this age...

lol

amulford

I have to agree, if you listen to a crappy recording, you'll get crappy sound. Especially with SDA's because of their accuracy. I listen to some of the new rock, and if it's well recorded it sounds fantastic.

SDA's can friggin' rock, trust me. I don't think rap sounds too good on them, but then again I think rap sometimes over emphasizes the bass. And I like my bass.

Just my .02.

TroyD

Sid,

The SDA effect is dependent on the amoung of L/R channel seperation which is dependent, largely, on the quality of the recording.

Again, **** it, **** out.

BDT

Skippy54

Funny you should ask that question. I've been trying to figure out whether or not to use my SDA 2Bs for my main HT setup. I just extensively tested the following speakers as my mains:

Polk Audio SDA 2B
Polk Audio RTi 6
Polk Audio RTi 8
Fluance AV-HTB (which are a sweet speaker for the price)

I used the following as my reference material:

Matrix Reloaded
Linkin Park: Live in Texas
Steely Dan: Two Against Nature

Here is my take. Take it for what it's worth.

SDA 2B - outstanding for Steely Dan and any movie DVD. Excellent open sound stage for movies. I then put in Linkin Park and couldn't believe what I wasn't hearing. The SDAs struggled to reproduce this type of music. Keep in mind I've had these speakers for 12 years and love them, but I had heard that they weren't exactly a rock n roll type speaker if you know what I mean. I couldn't believe it until I heard it myself. I love these speakers, but they just don't have it when trying to play hard rock style music. It had been a while since I really tried to play them with hard rock.

Polk Audio RTi 6 - very nice bookshelf speaker. Played all of the reference material with little problem, but lacked the full sound and clarity of the SDAs for Steely Dan and movies.

Polk Audio RTi8 - have had them for about 4 days now and I have been looping the DirecTV music channel thru them for 3 days straight to break them in. What have I found......they are an excellent speaker. They have the full sound stage, clarity and mid-range I was hoping for. Linkin Park just simply rocks on these speakers. Any music for that matter. Movies are absolutely outstanding. I will say one thing tho. The SDAs had the best open sound stage for movies, but the RTi8 are not far behind at all. Not by a long shot.

Well, I hope that helps answer your question. I'm probably going to sell my SDA 2Bs, which are in mint condition. Not a scratch on them. I hate to do it, but I really want a speaker that can play everything. Let me know if you have anymore questions. By the way I also tried other hard rock music with the SDAs and they just didn't cut it.

read-alot

I have yet to find anything that I didnt like through mine,but some old Marshall Tucker and Jimmy Bu-fay is as close to hard rock
as they have been. I listen to Nora Jones and Alison Krauss style music these days.

Edit for the correct spelling of Ms. Krauss.

madmax

I do have to admit I really enjoy listening to rap through mine. I also somewhat enjoy early metalica although the newer stuff has zero tone and should be played only through aluminum foil drivers. A lot of the newer stuff you like right now has no quality built into it. Don't expect any out. Not to say no one currently includes any quality. Listen to No Doubt-Rock Steady. Total quality throughout. Awesome on SDA's. A lot of newer stuff is hit and miss, just like older stuff. The thing is that newer artists have no clue what high quality sound is and with everyone having digital equipment in their basement capable of creating CD's even the people mixing the stuff have no clue. Lets face it, if no one has a clue then all they do is add a bunch of unnatural effects, revolve between left and right and tell each other how cool it sounds. Not a clue and it shows...
madmax

Skippy54

Is is possible I didn't have my SDAs configured incorrectly? I'm assuming they were configured correctly because Steely Dan and any movies I played sounded excellent. Hmm, I have to admit I was shocked and confused that they didn't sound well. Why would the Linkin Park and other harder rock dvds sound better with the other speakers? I just assumed that harder rock used more mids and lows, which the SDAs were struggling to handle. I really noticed that the guitar riffs in the Linkin Park dvd were not reproduced well at all. Can anybody explain this for me? I'm really curious. I would hate to sell my SDAs, because I somehow had them configured incorrectly.

madmax

With the SDA's you pretty much know when they are hooked up correctly. You end up smiling a lot. So far I have never heard a live concert that was even close to the quality of a studio version, SDA's or not. ??
madmax

Skippy54

madmax,
Yes, I agree about the studio recordings, but have you heard the Steely Dan dvd? It has the best sound quality I've ever heard for a concert. Truely excellent. So again, why would the other speakers reproduce the sound better? So are you saying the other speakers are not reproducing the sounds as accurately as the SDAs? Sorry, I'm really confused.

madmax

The SDA's are certainly not the most acurate speakers in the world. What you must do with any piece of equipment is run hundreds of performances through it and determine what you think. Then, you run the same hundreds of performances through another piece. Eventually you have an idea what you are listening to. In previous posts I have refered to these performances as "play lists". On every single component upgrade from day one different playlists have sounded the best. As I get closer and closer to greatness the playlists get larger. No matter what equipment you have a certain playlist will be the best. Taking this particular playlist to a different system tells you nothing because on a different system a different playlist will really shine. I guess in the end everything will sound great when you get everything right. Unfortuneatly I don't think that system exists yet. To further support this idea I have found that you can pick a particular set of CD's and build the perfect system around them. That doesn't mean anything though because what you have done is picked components/CD's that work well together. The plusses of one synergize with the negatives of the other. The point is that the best match between everything is what you are after. Sorry to rant.
madmax

F1nut

Skippy,

I've been playing hard rock, soft rock...every kinda rock on SDA's since 1989. SDA's were made to rock and are actually one of the best all around speakers I've heard. I haven't listened to the RTi8's but have heard the RTi12's and IMO, they were not made to play music.

Steely Dan has always been known for high quality recordings and therefore it would be my belief that the music you didn't think sounded good on the SDA's wasn't recorded very well and the fact that the RTi's are not a accurate speaker masks the poor recording, which in turn makes you believe that it sounds better.

I-SIG

My 1C Studio's rock pretty good. Incubus sounds great on them. (I also think Incubus tries harder to make a good recording too.) Trapt sounds very dynamic and clean. No Doubt definitely rocks on the 1C's. With the exception of Ten Pearl Jam, both old and new, sounds really good, particualrly Yield. On the other end of the spectrum, this smooth jazz CD that SteveInAz gave is indeed very smooth and accurate. Allison Kraus sounds great, very pure.

To echo what some of the other guys are saying about recording quality, it makes a difference for sure.

Wes

dkg999

I have been listening to everything from heavy metal (both new and classic) to jazz and blues on my SDA 2B's since the late 80's. I also have a pair of SRS's at the house on my farm. I have to agree with those who have said that the SDA's are a great rock and roll speaker. Not sure what part of Linkin Park you thought you were missing, because I haven't noticed anything missing when I crank it through my SDA's! I have found that the amplifiers you use make a big difference in how well the SDA's work. For my ears, and this is purely a subjective personal opinion not based in scientific fact, the Yamaha natural sound amplifiers really make the SDA's work well. I drive my 2B's with a Yammie integrated with 125 per channel, and the SRS's with a pair of Yammie M4's that are bridged and driven by a Yammie C4 pre-amp. The SDA's also need a lot of open area around them, don't box them in with furniture!

PolkWannabie

Originally posted by Skippy54
I'm probably going to sell my SDA 2Bs, which are in mint condition. Not a scratch on them. I hate to do it, but I really want a speaker that can play everything.

What are you powering them with ?!

Skippy54

Denon 2803

Skippy54

Ok?

F1nut

Well there you go, it's not the speakers. Try 200 wpc of clean high current power.

Jstas

Originally posted by Skippy54
Ok?

You're probably taxing the amplifier which is what everyone is talking about. The Denon stuff isn't the best high powered stuff out there.

You might want to see if you can score a better amp. For the SDA's, I think components are a better idea than recievers. An integrated amp would be OK but for serious stuff, I'd go with a seperate pre-amp, amplifier and tuner. You can get good stuff used for a song in most cases.

My 2Bs, ATCVenom's old 2Bs, are being powered by an Adcom GFA-535 MKII. It's a tad underrated at 50W x 2 (bench tested at ~78W x 2) and has no problem pushing the 2B's. Everything comes out clean and clear. The low end isn't as powerful as a 300 watt sub can play and it's not as incredibly deep as the 2Bs bigger siblings but I haven't had a problem playing any kind of music. They certainly excel at instrumentals and vocals. Synthesized sound are done well enough but more often than not, I find the quality of the recordings in those cases is the deciding factor.

200 watts per channel is alot of power for the 2Bs I think and a big amp like that may not fit everyones budget. Certainly though, your signal/power source most likely has alot more to do with the quality of sound reproduction in your case than the speakers. I can honestly say I can count on one hand the number of speakers I have heard that have been able to out-perform SDA's in any respect.

PolkWannabie

Originally posted by Jstas
200 watts per channel is alot of power for the 2Bs

Really ? ...

F1nut

Not really!

PolkWannabie

F1 ... I'm with you ... I'd hardly call 200 wpc of clean power a lot for a pair of 2B's ...

brody05

As I was reading through this thread I was thinking not enough power but was beaten to the answer from all the above, but I will agree, you need more power and the SDA will sing regardless of music type, I have run all sorts in the past including heavy metal, dance, hip hop, pop and classic, (very broad range of music ey but hey, when your in the mood), when I first got mine I found the same problem, upgraded amps and hey presto, different ball game and well worth the investment.

madmax

300 to 900 watts per channel of SS power is reasonable for any of the SDA's. 1000 to 2400 watts per channel is overkill. Lets get reasonable.
madmax

I-SIG

Originally posted by madmax
1000 to 2400 watts per channel is overkill. Lets get reasonable.
madmax

Tell that to the McG. Bros! Ha!

Wes

Deadof_knight

OK heres a question for me then. A carver tfm-35 or 45 or 55 good enough ? I know the 35 is only 250 a channel but Im curious about what the thoughts are on that line of amps. Im using a Denon 3300 receiver and then using the tfm-35 to run an extra set of fronts.

schwarcw

250 wpc of high current power is fine for your SDA 1.2TL's. Sure you could buy more, but more is not always better. I have never heard that Carver amp, so I can comment on it's sound quality. Check out the sigs of other Polk 1.2TL owners and see what they're using. Just be sure that your amp is a common ground type.

marker

F1nut wrote:

None of that will ever play on my SDA's, so I don't care!