Sda Spacing

univera

Another Question. Is There Any Consensus On Minimum/maximum Spacing Of The Sda-srs's And Do Most Of You Toe Them In?

Zen Dragon

The manuals offer some assistance in setting up the placement of the SDA speakers. Most of the older mauals can be found on the Polk older product pages.
http://www.polkaudio.com/search/older.php

You do NOT want to toe the SDA's in. They should operate on a flat plane facing straight out. You can start by placing them out about 6-8 inches from the back wall. Space them 8-10 feet apart if possible. Ideally they should be the same distance apart as the distance you will be sitting away when listening. With the SDA cable installed and them set up correctly you will have a sweet spot out in front of them where there is a wonderful sound stage with great imaging.
After you have them basically set up you can make minor tweaks to their distance apart and from the wall to find the best sound. There are many threads discussing SDA placement on these boards if you do a search.

I-SIG

Actually, I think it is recommended that you sit a little farther away than the distance between the speakers.

With both my 1c's and my SRS's I've had great success spacing tham about 42"-48" apart and 3 or more feet away from the side walls and sitting about 8 feet or so away. I haven't had the luxury of having a 16ft. wall to put them on to get 8-10ft. of spacing and not have the side walls be too close.

Wes

univera

Thanks. I have never towed mine, just wondered. How do I find the threads on placement. I can't seem to figure out how to get right to them. FYI-my speakers are about a foot or so short of 8 feet and plenty of side wall space. 10 feet to my listening postion. I will have to go wider and check results.

Zen Dragon

To do a search go to the search tab near the top of the page. Click on it. On the drop down window click on advanced search. Type in your text and any options for where to perform the search. Here is an example of a search on SDA placement anywhere in a thread.
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/search.php?searchid=293321
As to the distance apart 8 feet is fine. You can try further but I meant to type 6 to 8 feet as a starting point in my earlier post.
Enjoy those SDA's

schwarcw

Remember to keep the front of the SDA speaker baffle at least 3" in front of any entertainment center or TV so the sound can project with any side interferences. This may bring them out from the wall a little father than you would like, but it will preserve the "SDA effect":)

reeltrouble1

I would not go wider.

RT1

dorokusai

Just set them up in a way that sounds best in your room and use the SDA placement recommendations as a guide, not a rule. The only key points for me would be close to the wall placement and no toe-in....everything else is a free for all.

I've heard about 20 pairs of SDA's and not single pair of them were by the book or in ideal locations for that anyways. I recall them all sounding very good, if not exceptional.

Tour2ma

Zen Dragon wrote: »

The manuals offer some assistance in setting up the placement of the SDA speakers. Most of the older manuals can be found on the Polk older product pages.
http://www.polkaudio.com/search/older.php

To do a search go to the search tab near the top of the page. Click on it. On the drop down window click on advanced search. Type in your text and any options for where to perform the search. Here is an example of a search on SDA placement anywhere in a thread.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/search.php?searchid=293321

The manuals' recommendations are a starting point, not a final destination. Yes, the geniuses that developed these awesome flagships of the old Polk line up developed the guidelines based upon extensive listening... however, they were not in your room. Almost certainly they were in rooms far more friemdly to good sound than your rooms will ever be.

Over the years I have put my ears on many great systems (at least on paper) including ones owned by names around here that suffered due to the room there were in. And as usual doro, a/k/a/ captain pragmatic, beat me to the advice punch...

Love ya, man...

The only other factor not yet mentioned I can think of that impact the quality of the SDA impact are room openings... doorway to the hallway to the left, wide arch to the Dining room on the right... that sort of thing I've had that hallway make the widened Left side collapse (closing the hall door dd help). What was odd was that the Dining room, a much larger opening to much larger space had little effect. Never understood that one...

Lastly... you cannot focus simply upon the speakers placement... other factors like open vs. closed door(s), curtains, impact performance. But if I had to name one factor that is the bane of a rig being all it could be it'd be listening position and the most offensive misstep? The listeners' Head(s) ends up too close to the rearwall. Those rearwall reflections are uber destructive. If this is you simply lean into the soundfield slowly as you listen next time. You might be as amazed as I was when Stu Lumsden got me to do it at an early Polkfest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KylF4mZXf1Q

So now you are in a furniture moving business... Where I now live I have the single best room to work with in which my SRSs have landed. I'll do some photos soon, but I am jut finalizing the recommended set up and I'm close... very close to dialed in.

My big boys are having a blast, as am I.

I-SIG wrote: »

Actually, I think it is recommended that you sit a little farther away than the distance between the speakers.

With both my 1c's and my SRS's I've had great success spacing tham about 42"-48" apart and 3 or more feet away from the side walls and sitting about 8 feet or so away. I haven't had the luxury of having a 16ft. wall to put them on to get 8-10ft. of spacing and not have the side walls be too close.

Wes

You do NOT want to toe the SDA's in. They should operate on a flat plane facing straight out. You can start by placing them out about 6-8 inches from the back wall. Space them 8-10 feet apart if possible. Ideally they should be the same distance apart as the distance you will be sitting away when listening. With the SDA cable installed and them set up correctly you will have a sweet spot out in front of them where there is a wonderful sound stage with great imaging.
After you have them basically set up you can make minor tweaks to their distance apart and from the wall to find the best sound. There are many threads discussing SDA placement on these boards if you do a search.[/quote]

BlueFox

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nooshinjohn

Emlyn

Welcome back!

engie490

1. Set up the SDAs as per guidance from the manual or as close as you can within the constraints of your room.

2. Adjust your listening position by moving it closer to or further away from the speakers.

3. If you can't find a timbral balance you like, then start moving the speakers closer or further from the backwall. I would try 1 inch increments for moving the speakers.

4. Finally, I would adjust the spacing between the speakers.

Remember, if you adjust something in step 4, go back to step 2 and 3 and re-accomplish those steps.

Sometimes having you're listening position against the rear wall is OK...it will generally provide a maximum amount of bass and you can tame the early reflections with a room treatment behind your head. It doesn't take a lot of effort to figure out if it will work for you.

Trial and error is your friend in speaker placement. Other people have Polks, but no one else has your room or your ears.