SDA-SRS... What is better out there?

13

Comments

  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,987
    edited January 2006
    They are nice Robert. One of the few subs out there than can keep up with Ribbons/ Planar/ Stats etc.
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
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  • beardog03
    beardog03 Posts: 5,550
    edited January 2006
    What about you Russ,,
    What is your pick ?

    are the Steen`s tube friendly ?
    Cary SLP-98L F1 DC Pre Amp (Jag Blue)
    Parasound HCA-3500
    Cary Audio V12 amp (Jag Red)
    Polk Audio Xm Reciever (Autographed by THE MAN Himself) :cool:
    Magnum Dynalab MD-102 Analog Tuna
    Jolida JD-100 CDP
    Polk Audio LSi9 Speaks (ebony)
    SVS PC-Ultra Sub
    AQ Bedrock Speaker Cables (Bi-Wired)
    MIT Shotgun S1 I/C`s
    AQ Black Thunder Sub Cables
    PS Audio Plus Power Cords
    Magnum Dynalab ST-2 FM Antenna
    Sanus Cherry wood Speak Stands
    Adona AV45CS3 / 3 Tier Rack (Black /Gold)

    :cool:
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  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,987
    edited January 2006
    I posted back on page one broham. The Vandy's are fine on tubes, but you'll need at least 60w push pull. Absolute phase, with 6db/oct crossover slopes = not so efficient.
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
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  • beardog03
    beardog03 Posts: 5,550
    edited January 2006
    martin logan quest Z..?

    they are close to home also..

    I keep looking at Martin`s... :p
    Cary SLP-98L F1 DC Pre Amp (Jag Blue)
    Parasound HCA-3500
    Cary Audio V12 amp (Jag Red)
    Polk Audio Xm Reciever (Autographed by THE MAN Himself) :cool:
    Magnum Dynalab MD-102 Analog Tuna
    Jolida JD-100 CDP
    Polk Audio LSi9 Speaks (ebony)
    SVS PC-Ultra Sub
    AQ Bedrock Speaker Cables (Bi-Wired)
    MIT Shotgun S1 I/C`s
    AQ Black Thunder Sub Cables
    PS Audio Plus Power Cords
    Magnum Dynalab ST-2 FM Antenna
    Sanus Cherry wood Speak Stands
    Adona AV45CS3 / 3 Tier Rack (Black /Gold)

    :cool:
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  • george daniel
    george daniel Posts: 12,096
    edited January 2006
    F1nut wrote:
    Sorry Robert, but I've yet to hear a speaker that I would prefer over my SDA's. Keep in mind that I haven't heard some of the speakers mentioned here, but I've also heard a good number of high end speakers that haven't been mentioned.

    IF I couldn't have the SDA's, the next best thing to my ears would be the Sonus Faber Cremona's.



    AHH,, Sonus Faber,,,+1 :)
    JC approves....he told me so. (F-1 nut)
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  • beardog03
    beardog03 Posts: 5,550
    edited January 2006
    okay, put it like this...

    what would be the ultimate speaker to go with my Cary F1..?

    Bookshelf first...tower/plannar second
    Cary SLP-98L F1 DC Pre Amp (Jag Blue)
    Parasound HCA-3500
    Cary Audio V12 amp (Jag Red)
    Polk Audio Xm Reciever (Autographed by THE MAN Himself) :cool:
    Magnum Dynalab MD-102 Analog Tuna
    Jolida JD-100 CDP
    Polk Audio LSi9 Speaks (ebony)
    SVS PC-Ultra Sub
    AQ Bedrock Speaker Cables (Bi-Wired)
    MIT Shotgun S1 I/C`s
    AQ Black Thunder Sub Cables
    PS Audio Plus Power Cords
    Magnum Dynalab ST-2 FM Antenna
    Sanus Cherry wood Speak Stands
    Adona AV45CS3 / 3 Tier Rack (Black /Gold)

    :cool:
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  • TroyD
    TroyD Posts: 13,077
    edited January 2006
    The small JMLab Utopias.....Micro maybe??

    I haven't heard them but, ****, at the price they GOT to sound good, right?

    BDT
    I plan for the future. - F1Nut
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  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    edited January 2006
    Here you go Chuck: http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1143160628
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  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited January 2006
    BlueMDPicker,
    I've been told by some others who have listened to my definition of exactly what I want and they suggested the same speakers. I have never heard them though.
    madmax
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
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  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    edited January 2006
    The seller lives in Pasadena, MD. I bet he/she would let you come over for an audition.
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  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited January 2006
    I don't think I want to hear them right now. :)
    madmax
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
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  • DAGLJAM6
    DAGLJAM6 Posts: 635
    edited January 2006
    BlueMDPicker wrote:
    In that sense, the tall brunette AA model is infinitely whackable.

    Without a doubt :p

    A little late but had to agree and attempt another derail. Sorry MM. :)
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  • DAGLJAM6
    DAGLJAM6 Posts: 635
    edited January 2006
    Thiel 3.6's would be fun if the CS2's are any indication.The CS2's that i have now compare IMO to the sda2's differing only in soundstage (picture the SDA2's having a horizontal elipse in front of you while the Thiels seem to have more of a flattened diamond soundstage if that makes sense.More delineated at the edges than the SDA's) I still like the Maggies, moreso after listening to Mark's at PF '05. In the right room and some serious positioning ,etc. i think they would be magic.
    Martin Logans never heard 'em firsthand but i'm gonna have a pair someday just to see/hear what the hoopla is all about.
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  • scottyf
    scottyf Posts: 129
    edited January 2006
    I loved my Quad '63s, but found myself wanting more bass. I probably should have tried to find the right subwoofer, since no speaker I've owned since will do the midrange like that speaker did.

    However, if I hit the lottery and had 10k to spend, I would seriously consider the Tannoy Westminsters. Very dynamic, quick muscular bass, and a wonderfully enveloping soundstage. Of course, you would need a pretty big room for them. They are huge!

    HOME: VPI Classic/Grado Reference Master, EVS-modified Oppo BP83, Bryston DAC, Counterpoint 3000/SA-100 modified by Alta Vista, Polk LSi15

    TRUCK: Pioneer 8600MP, Soundstream 300SX, pr of Xtant 1001i, Autotek SS490.2, Polk SR6500, Polk MMC6500, pr of Polk MM2084DVC
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  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    edited January 2006
    madmax wrote:
    I don't think I want to hear them right now. :)
    madmax
    Upgrade the crossovers on your SRSs, and quit looking. You said yourself that you could immediately tell the improvements by listening to mine. Well, you should hear them with vinyl!

    Think about it, they were designed before CDs were the standard and were undoubtedly voiced in development with vinyl. The SDA effect is all about crosstalk cancellation. CDs aren't notable for crosstalk. They were also designed during an era when high power, solid state amps were the norm. Look at the suggested amplification and max power ratings. Doro recently noted that we vinyl heads and SDA junkies seem to be one in the same. Bingo!

    With a quality CD source and moderate tube amplification, the SRSs sound excellent. With a decent table and gobs of power, they are simply astonishing. For a couple of C notes, you can have what you're after. They're already in your house. If you're too busy, order the parts, pull the Xovers, and drop them off here. I'll do it for you.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,551
    edited January 2006
    Vinyl, shimyl. SACD baby!!!
    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

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  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    edited January 2006
    Young whippersnapper!
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  • schwarcw
    schwarcw Posts: 7,335
    edited January 2006
    I wish I had all the vinyl that I sold about 15 years ago. Still have some but the best is gone and I don't have a quality table or a preamp. I thought CDs were a sufficient replacement, which they are most of the time. Still, I would like to do some comparison listening. Vinyl doesn't have the dynamic range of CDs or SACDs, but there is a lot to be said for the smooth analog play compared to digital sampling. I'm toying with dropping some dough to get a turntable, cartridge and preamp. I think I owe Uncle Sam some tax money :( , it may be a while.
    Carl

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  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited January 2006
    F1nut wrote:
    Vinyl, shimyl. SACD baby!!!

    Recently I've noticed something about vinyl. There are more clues that the music isn't live. Well duh, you say but there is something else. The past 50 or so listening sessions have shown me that clues are ok. I think I am listening for something more these days than I used to. More clues that it is a recording but now, more liveness amoung the clues. Does that make any sense? The other night it hit me like a ton of bricks. I found myself totally ignoring the clues but totally enjoying the superiority of the other stuff. I'm thinking that today if I heard my system for the first time I would blow it off because these "clues" were too obvious. However, where I'm at right now I wouldn't give up for the world. OK, once things settle down here and I get a little time I'm doing the xovers and am not going to look back. I did notice something special with blue's SDA's and it can't be ignored. I think I have a ton of mileage left with these old nasty SDA's. Vinyl, it ain't going away. I have found the holy grail. It took a lot to get here. I had to actually stop listening to CD's for awhile to realize what I was missing. A few days ago I put in my best CD's. They just didn't do it for me any more. So much was missing.
    madmax
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
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  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,987
    edited January 2006
    I'd jump on board with sack dee, but it's on again, off again, I have no time for that.
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
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  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited January 2006
    RuSsMaN wrote:
    I'd jump on board with sack dee, but it's on again, off again, I have no time for that.

    What did that mean?
    madmax
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
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  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    edited January 2006
    Sacd
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  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    edited January 2006
    I'm not about to denounce CDs, Redbook or otherwise. I also fully understand the mathematical differences in the potential dynamic range of both vinyl and digital recordings. What my ears hear with vinyl is the exploitation of a higher percentage of the available dynamic range (80db or so depending on whose math you want to buy) of the medium.

    The average CD, again to my ears, exploits 5-20db of the potential range, most often in the low bass. As with anything, there are exceptions and those seem to be the selections I enjoy the most.

    I haven't gotten in to SACD, primarily due to the limitations in available selections. With their exception, and that of 78 rpm recordings, I believe I've got a sampling of about all the "modern day" consumer level formats. I enjoy them all in one respect or another.
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  • dkg999
    dkg999 Posts: 5,647
    edited January 2006
    I've tried the SACD/DVD-A thing, and I just don't see the need, or hear that great of improvement. I would rather they concentrate on improving the current CD format and sound quality. For me, the hassle factor with vinyl is just too high. I was really glad to see it go (from the mainstream anyway!) and I'll take the limitations of the current CD sound quality compared to trying to store and keep clean a bunch of vinyl LP's.

    My system is definetely mid-fi, however there is still something magical about setting in the big leather chair, center stage of my Maggie 1.6's, and hearing them disappear in the sound stage. Good enough for me, right now.
    DKG999
    HT System: LSi9, LSiCx2, LSiFX, LSi7, SVS 20-39 PC+, B&K 507.s2 AVR, B&K Ref 125.2, Tripplite LCR-2400, Cambridge 650BD, Signal Cable PC/SC, BJC IC, Samsung 55" LED

    Music System: Magnepan 1.6QR, SVS SB12+, ARC pre, Parasound HCA1500 vertically bi-amped, Jolida CDP, Pro-Ject RM5.1SE TT, Pro-Ject TubeBox SE phono pre, SBT, PS Audio DLIII DAC
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  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,987
    edited January 2006
    Actually, there is nothing wrong with a redbook, recorded / mastered properly. The problem is, most mainstream stuff is horrible, especially with phasing. Sometimes at certain frequencies, sometimes across the board.

    As my rigs have become more revealing, the list of cd's I simply cannot listen to is growing larger and larger.
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    edited January 2006
    dkg999 wrote:
    I've tried the SACD/DVD-A thing, and I just don't see the need, or hear that great of improvement. I would rather they concentrate on improving the current CD format and sound quality. For me, the hassle factor with vinyl is just too high. I was really glad to see it go (from the mainstream anyway!) and I'll take the limitations of the current CD sound quality compared to trying to store and keep clean a bunch of vinyl LP's.

    My system is definetely mid-fi, however there is still something magical about setting in the big leather chair, center stage of my Maggie 1.6's, and hearing them disappear in the sound stage. Good enough for me, right now.

    +1

    I do have an admiration of sorts for those patient enough to continue to pursue vinyl. But dkg999 read my mind. The convenience factor outweighs any possible advantage you get with analog. It's kinda like keeping that old Alfa Romeo alive. A splendid throw back, but a pain in the **** to keep running. Cold hard cash is a limiting factor also. It takes fairly deep pockets to purchase a high perfomance rig and maintain the vinyl. For me it would be pure nostalgia.

    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!
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    edited January 2006
    RuSsMaN wrote:
    Actually, there is nothing wrong with a redbook, recorded / mastered properly. The problem is, most mainstream stuff is horrible, especially with phasing. Sometimes at certain frequencies, sometimes across the board.

    As my rigs have become more revealing, the list of cd's I simply cannot listen to is growing larger and larger.

    Can I get an Amen.....I'd like to start a database of poorly mastered redbooks
    "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!
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,551
    edited January 2006
    Yep! You'd think after all these years the recording engineers, etc. would ALL know how to make a great recording whether it be vinyl, CD or SACD. The fact is there are bad recordings on all formats just as there are great ones.

    As for realizing the potential of SACD or any format, it takes more than entry level gear to do so.
    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

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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,552
    edited January 2006
    Ahh... the catch22 of hifi. You're damned if you do and you're damned if you dont.
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    edited January 2006
    madmax wrote:
    I'm really not looking for new speaks, just posing the question. Besides, I haven't even tried the maggies yet. Thanks for holding on to them for me. :)
    Something just hit me like your proverbial "ton of bricks".

    I stopped listening to my MG-Is and vinyl at nearly the same moment in time -- after 35 years of both being at the heart of my system. The few CDs I had were primarily used in portable gear. The Maggies needed a tweeter section rewiring and my Counterpoint SA-100 had just dropped a power transformer. Both were ultimately repaired, but those events led me to my first Polks (SDA 2B), this forum, and a decent CD source (EE Mini Max tube output) since my TT was aging.

    By the time the Maggies were repaired and the Counterpoint was back home (my SRS were acquired in that period), I had moved so heavily to CDs that I never put my original system back together. I tried the MG-Is with various amps and a couple of good CD sources, but never with a table. Duh!

    When the MG-Is were designed and built, there was no such thing as digital sound reproduction. Their dynamic range was optimized to that of vinyl, just as my premise regarding the SRSs (a full decade later.)

    Enter my new table, paired with the SRSs and massive, clean power. The magic is suddenly back for me. These Maggies, paired with your new McAlister and vinyl, may just do the same thing.
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