Monitor 5's while wait for LSi 9's?

lites

I had MGIIa's and lost my space. Trying to get behind a headphones thing. Not quite working out yet. So I'm after some small speakers. Are M5's any fun, or just hold out for the 'real' deal? Some folks here like SDA models. Are they detailed / precise? I raised myself on Infinity Emit tweeters and am coming directlu from Maggie's.

BSUfbfan

lites wrote:

I had MGIIa's and lost my space. Trying to get behind a headphones thing. Not quite working out yet. So I'm after some small speakers. Are M5's any fun, or just hold out for the 'real' deal?

Find yourself some SDA-CRS's. They come up often for a fair price on the bay, and there are a few guys on CP that have mentioned selling theirs.

Mine have a lot "bigger" sound than I ever could have imagined. Very Nice.

Here's some for under $200 bills....
http://cgi.ebay.com/POLK-AUDIO-SDA-LEFT-RIGHT-REFERENCE-SPEAKERS-SYSTEM-SET_W0QQitemZ9728439637QQcategoryZ3276QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

jtgranby

BSUfbfan wrote:

Find yourself some SDA-CRS's. They come up often for a fair price on the bay, and there are a few guys on CP that have mentioned selling theirs.

Mine have a lot "bigger" sound than I ever could have imagined. Very Nice.

Here's some for under $200 bills....
http://cgi.ebay.com/POLK-AUDIO-SDA-LEFT-RIGHT-REFERENCE-SPEAKERS-SYSTEM-SET_W0QQitemZ9728439637QQcategoryZ3276QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

They won't be under $200 bills by the end of the auction
JT

lites

BSUfbfan - I appreciate your input!! Thank you. Yeah, I saw those on eBay after seeing a lot of talk here of SDA's. To me, bigger can mean mid-low end. I'm more into detail and precision. How are they in that realm? (What I think I want is LSi-9's or Boston VR-M60's.) Thanx

lites

jtgranby wrote:

They won't be under $200 bills by the end of the auction
JT

Amazing how the snipers dive in at the last, isn't it?

BSUfbfan

lites wrote:

BSUfbfan - I appreciate your input!! Thank you. Yeah, I saw those on eBay after seeing a lot of talk here of SDA's. To me, bigger can mean mid-low end. I'm more into detail and precision. How are they in that realm?

Well, after visiting the local "Hi-Fi" shop recently, it would take a VERY expensive speaker to make me replace the CRS's. The sound quality and imaging are that good. Do a search on the boards here and you can read several first hand accounts.

I originally bought the CRS's because they were the only SDA's that were reasonable to ship, as they are hard (almost impossible) to find in my area. They already had the upgraded tweeters, so I threw the rest of my budget at upgrading my gear, and the CRS's simply blow me away every time I listen to them. These speakers are not going anywhere until a pair of the larger SDA's come up within 2 or 3 hundred miles, and even then I will probably find a home for them in another room.

You are right, the snipers will raise the price in the "eleventh hour", but i have seen several sets of CRS's go for around the $250-$350 range.

Good Luck!!

lites

Cool. Great useful info. In that current auction appears: Use Common ground amplifiers only. Is there anything extraordinary here, in their requirements, or is this probably just overzealous legalese, to protect the mass-seller? I may give these a shot, instead of going cheaper (for now) and biding my time. Do you know the Rogers LS7t at all? Same size, pricerange, and rarity. Thank you and Enjoy. P.S. Is your tweeter Polk's 2000 upgrade?

Zen Dragon

As to the use common ground amp only. That is absolutely true. Due to the manner in which the SDA's cross feed a portion of the signal between them you need to use amps that have a common ground, or construct a special interconnect cable.
If you want more info on the needed interconnect mod for non-common ground amps you can read up on cable construction on this forum. Try a search on common ground, or isolation transformer.
You may wish to give some Polks a listen to ensure they meet your sound preference. We tend to be a little biased in here.

lites

Great advice, but where to find vintage audition availability? Criykee!!

BSUfbfan

Yes, my tweeters are the 2000 upgrades (RDO-194).

There are a few polkies in the AZ. area that may give you a vintage SDA demo, I would just post the question and see if anyone bites. Other than that, it would be real difficult to experience the SDA sound before taking the plunge. I started out with Monitor 5's for years, so I knew I wouldn't be dissapointed when buying my SDA's sight-unseen.

Good Luck.

F1nut

In light of your comment, "I'm more into detail and precision." I will say that without the new tweeters and crossover upgrades, you'll probably want a different speaker. They also need stands and the factory stands seem to work best due to the width of the cabinets.

Zen Dragon

Here are some other things to consider.
The Polks pretty much maintain their value as long as they are not damaged or overpriced when you purchase them, so you can always put them back up for sale if you do not care for the sound.
Also a word of caution on shipping. Anyone who has watched Fedex or UPS in action knows that their packages get bounced around during handling. There have been some incidents of damage in shipping and most members strongly shy away from shipping the SDA's if they can avoid it. The larger the speaker, the greater the risk.
So even though the CRS are not one of the large SDA's, you still run a risk of damage in shipping. Try to find a pair within reasonable pick-up range if you can. If you do decide to have them shipped, insure the package and document the un-boxing with a digital camera. Even with these safegaurds, shippers will fight most damage claims tooth and nail.