Why did Polk abandon the SDA approach?
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I agree, the Carver Holography is more wild sounding.No, more like a "hooty" midrange where voices would jump out at you in a less than normal fashion. It wasn't a midrange driver issue, it was the "sda" effect over-doing in an effort to sound more 3-dimensional.
Listen to Incubus "Are you in?" on ANY SDA, you'll see what I mean. The vocal chorus is overdone, contrived---pushed 3 feet in front of the speaker, IMO. The emphasis there on "In my opinion." That's just one of many examples. The sound is unnatural to me.
I had both SDA speakers (SDA-CRS+) and Carver sonic holography thru the years, and I thought Carver did a better job (albeit also too contrived for my taste) at 3 dimensional soundstage. In Polk's defense, SDA was far more forgiving of where the listener(s) was seated. -
Heard SDA in many setups, different rooms, different gear, some good - some bad...
One thing remains, I've yet to be truly impressed. Staging is good, I find they contain little depth and not a great amount of clarity.
But I'm still trying to hear them setup good.- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit. -
Sorry, I have never listened to Incubus that I know of.No, more like a "hooty" midrange where voices would jump out at you in a less than normal fashion. It wasn't a midrange driver issue, it was the "sda" effect over-doing in an effort to sound more 3-dimensional.
Listen to Incubus "Are you in?" on ANY SDA, you'll see what I mean. The vocal chorus is overdone, contrived---pushed 3 feet in front of the speaker, IMO. The emphasis there on "In my opinion." That's just one of many examples. The sound is unnatural to me.
I had both SDA speakers (SDA-CRS+) and Carver sonic holography thru the years, and I thought Carver did a better job (albeit also too contrived for my taste) at 3 dimensional soundstage. In Polk's defense, SDA was far more forgiving of where the listener(s) was seated. -
20 years ago I dreamed of getting SDAs and never realized that dream...until recently. Got a pristine pair of SDA 2As. In a week of listening, my conclusion is that the recording production is THE key factor in good SDA sound. For instance, I'm a big Beatles fan and found the Beatles music on the SDAs unimpressive. Then I put on the FRESHLY REMIXED Beatles LOVE cd. Wow. A huge leap in the soundscape and general audio quality. This cd really shows off what the SDAs can do. Just huge.
I am not in any way as versed in technology as some of you in these forums, but I am a musician and fully understand musical quality. I have lots of home recordings and recordings of my various bands that I am intimately familiar with. I was shocked when I listened to these on my SDA 2As. They really emphasized just how poorly some of the material was produced. Some of the soundstaging was heavily weighted on one side. Most of it was just poorly placed in the soundscape. This made me realize that the SDA effect is not very forgiving of poor recordings. But it does wonders with well-conceived and well-produced recordings.
Now I am on a quest to find the best stuff in my collection for the SDA effect. So far, Peter Gabriel's Security (incidentally my test CD 20 years ago) and his latest UP are big winners, and the aformentioned Beatles LOVE.
Without buying the whole bible (Compendium) does anyone out there have info on the development and succession of the SDA line? Where does the SDA 2A stand as far as "best" of the bunch? They sound pretty good to me (my other speakers are vintage Energy Pro22, very good.) The sound of the SDA 2A is similar, but the Energys have deeper and much tighter bass.
Why is there a 2B? Was it just the real wood cabinets? Is the 2A considered to be a better speaker than the 2 or the 1A? I will probably never rebuild any of the components like some of you, so I don't need the big book. I am considering a subwoofer to get a better bass sound that is deeper, tighter and not boomy.
I welcome your thoughts. -
How close to the back wall do you have your speakers?Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
I have them about 8 feet apart and 3 inches from the wall. The distance from each speaker to the sweet spot is also 8 feet, as advised. I tried them farther out from the wall, but it seemed the SDA effect was not as defined. I find that when my NAD amp is past about 9 o'clock on the dial the sound gets "noisier" and less musical, but I suspect that is the room's fault. The couch is right up against the wall, unfortunately.
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The couch is right up against the wall, unfortunately.
Same in my room and this does limit the SDA effect because of reflections off the wall immediatley behind you. I find just leaning forward on the edge of the couch makes a big difference. Unfortunately there is no other set-up I can use for my listening room.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
I actually rearranged the entire room for the SDAs. I used to have open space behind the couch, but the walls were too close together for these speakers. Fine for my Energy Pro22s and also DCM TimeWindows, but the SDAs needed 3 ft minimum on the sides. So the room went 90 degrees, and the couch goes up against the wall. Damn, I need a bigger house for my stereo!
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For me personally, it's all about the recording. One done right sounds fantastic on the SDA's (just like a stereo pair). A recording with unrealistic and overemphazied processing and fake intstruments and lots of reverb, echo, etc. sounds a little contrived (just as it would on a stereo pair).
I was listening to a recording the other day just a female solo, no other instruments. Sounded like she was in a large cachphonous music hall and I could actually hear the echo, which would come off the back wall of the music hall right behind me in perfect time. I was literally blown away that the SDA could capture that so realistically, as that's the way it was recorded. This wasn't fake reverb or added effects.
$hit like that is what makes a properly set-up pair of SDA's so enjoyable. Sucky recordings still sound sucky on the SDA's as with a stereo pair of speakers.
H9
That's similar to the experience I had with the particular Handel's Messiah recording that I recommended in the Playlist thread - pinpointed soloist positions in the ambience of a huge cathedral.
