SDA vs SDA vs SDA

Ricardo

I am lucky enough to have at home a pair of 1B's, a pair of SRS's (sold to Joe from Quebec) and a pair of 1.2 TL's. I spent some time today playing around with the 3 pairs, and to my surprise, every time I hooked up the 1B's, there was magic in the air; I could not believe it, so I switched SRS's, 1.2 TL's and 1B's like 6 times, and every time the 1B's were playing, music sounded more real, alive....whatever..let's just say that I enjoyed the music a lot more with the 1B's. So here is what has been going through my mind:

1.-The 1B's have the new tweeters, which explains the difference.

2.-The combination of source/pre/amp is more in "sync" with the 1B's; if I find the right source/pre/amp combination for the SRS/TL's, they will blow away the 1B's.

3.-Just power; my Adcom 555 is just right for the 1B's; if I get a more powerful amp, the SRS/TL's will smash the 1B's.

4.-Room acoustics: the 1B's are a better match for the room, and there is nothing can do about it; they will always sound better in that room.

Now, don't get me wrong; the big boys sound great, but there is just something that bothers me about how good the 1B's sound, and I know that I will not sleep well until I at least try to get the same feeling about the TL's (since the SRS's will be gone to Quebec next week); the bad news is that options 1, 2, 3 above will take time and cost money....

Any ideas from the experts? Am I totally crazy or can the 1B's actually sound better than the TL's??? I am seriously thinking that instead of spending money trying to get the right tweeters, or the right amp for the TL's...why not just keep the 1B's if they sound so good as they are??? Any other thoughts???

dorokusai

I think the smaller SDA's are more intimate and do in fact sound better in a typical, in other words, normal enviroment. I have yet to demo an SDA in a "perfect", room in regards to suggested SDA placement. They have always sounded good. The largest SDA's are simply overkill for most rooms.

I would like to own a pair of 1.2TL's but I'm not falling over myself to find them, and I've found them, just didn't choose to get them.

The smaller ones get overlooked all the time. My favorite is the 1C.

Roy Munson

Ditto on the 1C's..wish i had a pair!!!

Ricardo

Thanks for the thoughts; I will do some more focused testing during the weekend, playing with placement also (and this time with less wine involved )

heiney9

I suspect a good part of the reason is the new tweets in the 1B's (if they are the RDO's) Also the Adcom has all the power an SDA should ever need, so I don't think that's a problem. It could be what Doro suggested that the 2B's are more intimate and mate with the room better. Good idea to keep experimenting .

Wish I had the problem of seeing which of MY 3 pairs of SDA's sound the best .

H9

BlueMDPicker

Of the three pair of SDAs here, the 2Bs have nothing to hang their head about. They, like the SRS, have new tweeters and crossover components, so that's not an issue. In the two listening spaces I've tried them in (against the SRS), one with huge volume - the other an "average" room volume, they shine in the smaller room. I also get the sensation, not unlike maggies, that the smaller SDAs have a "seated-and-listening" zone. When you stand up and move around, the magic fades fairly quickly. The SRS have better off-axis and distance from baffle plane characteristics.

I haven't heard the 1 series SDAs. But, the 2.3s I've heard (to my ears) deliver the best of both worlds.

rskarvan

I compared the 3.1TL, the 2.3TL, and the 1.2TL in a side-by-side comparison in 1991 at a dealer in Springfield, IL. I did hear a difference in the three. The 1.2TL sounded the best. The 2.3TL sounded a little smaller. The 3.1TL sounded the smallest of the three -- all as expected. However, the difference in the sound quality was relatively minor. The 3.1TL was 90% of the speaker that the 1.2TL was. The 2.3TL was 95% the speaker that the 1.2TL was.

dorokusai

rskarvan wrote:

I compared the 3.1TL, the 2.3TL, and the 1.2TL in a side-by-side comparison in 1991 at a dealer in Springfield, IL. I did hear a difference in the three. The 1.2TL sounded the best. The 2.3TL sounded a little smaller. The 3.1TL sounded the smallest of the three -- all as expected. However, the difference in the sound quality was relatively minor. The 3.1TL was 90% of the speaker that the 1.2TL was. The 2.3TL was 95% the speaker that the 1.2TL was.

Are you a salesman? That's real enlightening.

I think presence has more to do with the perceived sound than anything as the 1.2TL is a big **** speaker....no way around it.

reeltrouble1

You could sell them, maybe another Canuck will drive down and get them.

RT1

Ricardo

heiney9 wrote:

I suspect a good part of the reason is the new tweets in the 1B's (if they are the RDO's) Also the Adcom has all the power an SDA should ever need, so I don't think that's a problem. It could be what Doro suggested that the 2B's are more intimate and mate with the room better. Good idea to keep experimenting .

Wish I had the problem of seeing which of MY 3 pairs of SDA's sound the best .

H9

The 1B's do have the RDO's; would the "SL3000 to RDO" show a similar improvement than the "SL2000 to RDO"? I've read through some threads on the subject but cannot find a clear answer....

Ricardo

reeltrouble1 wrote:

You could sell them, maybe another Canuck will drive down and get them.

RT1

..or I could sell them on ebay for $2500..or give them away as a Karma...

The point here is not what I would do with them, but get thoughts on why would they sound better/worst.

heiney9

HTrookie wrote:

The 1B's do have the RDO's; would the "SL3000 to RDO" show a similar improvement than the "SL2000 to RDO"? I've read through some threads on the subject but cannot find a clear answer....

My understanding from what I've read here is the sl3000 is better than the sl2000, but either of the RDO's is still much better than either the sl2000/sl3000. Many who have swapped them out have commented about this.

Hope this helps

H9

reeltrouble1

HTrookie wrote:

..or I could sell them on ebay for $2500..or give them away as a Karma...

Doro has already covered the difference in sound. I really think you already know which ones you should keep, trust yourself.

I suspect it will be a long Karma list cant wait.

RT1

rskarvan

Doro... no, I'm not a salesman. I was a consumer. I ended up coming home with the 3.1TL that day. I couldn't justify the extra $1400 for the 1.2TL when the 3.1TL sounded so-very-similar. I still have the 3.1TL today and enjoy the sound as much as ever. Just curious... does anyone else in here have a TL-series speaker that they purchased NEW?

dorokusai

I know, just picking on you. I think you're right, seriously. The 3.1 is underrated.

Ricardo

1.2 TL's win; they are staying. 1B's need to go...too bad, they sound really great.

Thanks for all the input.