Value of 3.1TL ???Sound verse RTA 12B????

geppy1
geppy1 Posts: 3,075
edited September 2007 in Vintage Speakers
I am wondering what is a fair price for the 3.1TL??? Also how would the sound compare to the the RTA12B?? I have say that I have tried SDA2s (about 14 years ago) and a group of us prefered the Moniot 10s to them. I have SDA1s here now , Monitor 10s (had for 26 years ) and RTA 12b and like the 12bs. The SDA 1s and 2s I have tried to my ear are just to laid back and the sound is to flat and lacks depth. it is very wide but the defintion and depth are not there. I remeber the reviews of the SDA1s in Stereo Review mentioned they had a slightly soft sound and that is what I hear. They do sound very good but the RTA12b image almost as well and are more exciting to listen to. Question is will I feel the same way about the 3.1TLs if i get them??? Thoughts??? Thanks,Keith
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,734
    edited September 2007
    What are you driving your speakers with?
    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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  • rocket
    rocket Posts: 71
    edited September 2007
    if you decide you want some 3.1's, i may have some coming up for sale. mint cond. let me know......;)
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  • avguytx
    avguytx Posts: 1,628
    edited September 2007
    Boy, all these people trying to sell stuff that haven't even been here long. Amazing.
    Richard? Who's your favorite Little Rascal? Alfalfa? Or is it........................Spanky?.................................Sinner.
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  • geppy1
    geppy1 Posts: 3,075
    edited September 2007
    If you are talking about me I have actually been on this site since 2003. I could not remember my login so I had to redo it. I just found my old one in the members list a few days ago. geph0007.
    Anyway moving on, I have a Bel Canto Evo2 at 200 per channel into 4ohms and high current so driving them is not an issue. I know the sound one hears is subjective but the SDAs I have tried so far do not do it for me like the old monitor speakers hence the question . Are the 3.1s more forward and defined then the SDA1s or 2s?? Also what is a fair price to pay if one goes that route. I am looking at $500 plus shipping ($150). Thanks,keith
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  • stubby
    stubby Posts: 723
    edited September 2007
    A "fair" price is a bit relative. I gave $800 for my 3.1's and consider that an outstanding deal considering their condition and the X-over and tweeter upgrades HTRookie made prior to my purchase of them.
    As far as sound, I have RTA 12C's as well and I much prefer the dynamic range, impact and "voicing" of the SRS's over the RTAs. And the 12's are no slouches either.

    Paul
    SRS 3.1TL
    Harman Kardon Citation 5.1
    Anthem AVM2



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  • geppy1
    geppy1 Posts: 3,075
    edited September 2007
    OK that helps. The ones i am looking at are all stock and 3.1TLs. As a point about the 12s which i really like. I have an early pair with brown board and peerless and a late one with green board and SL1000 and have tried the Peerless in it. The early one is far less laid back and has a more up front sound. Weird. different caps seems to be the deal. . keith
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  • rskarvan
    rskarvan Posts: 2,374
    edited September 2007
    If I rember correctly (not 100% sure), HTRookie gave me $800 for them in stock (yet mint) condition. I thought this was a fair deal. New in 1991, I paid right around $1800 for the set.

    If they are in poor condition... offer $400 for the set.
    If they are in average condition... offer $600 for them.
    If they are in perfect condition... they are worth $800.

    Ron
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  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited September 2007
    avguytx wrote: »
    Boy, all these people trying to sell stuff that haven't even been here long. Amazing.

    well the nice thing about it is that.. at least if they go to another Polkie.. the chances are very high they will be well taken care of.. ;):D
    PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
    Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin:
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  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited September 2007
    avguytx wrote: »
    Boy, all these people trying to sell stuff that haven't even been here long. Amazing.
    I moderate a few message boards and it's very common everywhere.
    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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  • avguytx
    avguytx Posts: 1,628
    edited September 2007
    geppy1 wrote: »
    If you are talking about me I have actually been on this site since 2003. I could not remember my login so I had to redo it. I just found my old one in the members list a few days ago. geph0007.

    My apologies.....
    Richard? Who's your favorite Little Rascal? Alfalfa? Or is it........................Spanky?.................................Sinner.
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  • Ricardo
    Ricardo Posts: 10,636
    edited September 2007
    Bought them for $800, upgraded tweeters and crossovers, sold them for $800....something is not right here :confused::confused::confused::p
    _________________________________________________
    ***\\\\\........................... My Audio Journey ............................./////***

    2008 & 2010 Football Pool WINNER
    SOPA
    Thank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman
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  • rskarvan
    rskarvan Posts: 2,374
    edited September 2007
    Bought them new for $1800... kept them up like new... transferred them to HTRookie for $800... added an additional $400.... took home Thiel 3.6's.

    Lesson Learned:

    Owning SRS-SDA 3.1TL's eventually leads to owning Thiel 3.6's.
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  • geppy1
    geppy1 Posts: 3,075
    edited September 2007
    OhOh Thats trouble. I am afraid to ask so i will anyway. How do those two compare??? keith
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  • Ricardo
    Ricardo Posts: 10,636
    edited September 2007
    The Thiels have an incredible detail and definition in the mids area, which was what called my attention the first time I heard them; some people think they are bright, but with the right amps they sound great to my ears (and I don't like bright). Lots of powerful and accurate bass.

    They are a pleasure to listen.
    _________________________________________________
    ***\\\\\........................... My Audio Journey ............................./////***

    2008 & 2010 Football Pool WINNER
    SOPA
    Thank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman
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  • rskarvan
    rskarvan Posts: 2,374
    edited September 2007
    HTrookie wrote: »
    The Thiels have an incredible detail and definition in the mids area, which was what called my attention the first time I heard them; some people think they are bright, but with the right amps they sound great to my ears (and I don't like bright). Lots of powerful and accurate bass.

    They are a pleasure to listen.

    Yeah... what he said!
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  • geppy1
    geppy1 Posts: 3,075
    edited September 2007
    I may have to back pedal here. I just spent 2 hours listening to the SDA1s after a week with the RTA 12s and I must say it is a much bigger sound (no surprise) There is some depth there,more then I thought. A little more weight to the bass. I would wish for slightly more definition. They seem to have to turned up to sound best and the loudness is very deceptive. They do not sound very loud until you try to hear your self talk.
    Here is the new question. Better off keeping the SDA1s or going to the 3.1s? Is it worth the difference and effort? thanks,keith
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,734
    edited September 2007
    I have a Bel Canto Evo2

    That's a Class D amp, right? Got any tubes in the mix?

    Anyway, IMO the 3.1TL's are a more refined speaker than the SDA1's. I certainly wouldn't call SDA's laidback, however Thiel's hurt my ears.
    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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  • rskarvan
    rskarvan Posts: 2,374
    edited September 2007
    Thiels with the wrong amp can be shrill. Thiels will reveal all the problems of poorer quality upstream components. The devil is in the details and Thiel doesn't shield you from anything - good or bad.
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  • engtaz
    engtaz Posts: 7,664
    edited September 2007
    I have both the 3.1TL's and the RTA12B's. 3.1's win hands down. I love both speakers. Easy answer, I have the 3.1's and my 13 year old has the RTA12B's. He loves them but 3.1's still rule in our options.
    engtaz

    I love how music can brighten up a bad day.
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  • stubby
    stubby Posts: 723
    edited September 2007
    The 3.1TL has a more focused image between the speakers and it takes a really wide recording to bring out the SDA effect. Incredible front to rear imaging. Better than my stock 1.2TL's. I say they would be worth pursuing but that's just me!

    Paul
    SRS 3.1TL
    Harman Kardon Citation 5.1
    Anthem AVM2



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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,734
    edited September 2007
    rskarvan wrote: »
    Thiels with the wrong amp can be shrill. Thiels will reveal all the problems of poorer quality upstream components. The devil is in the details and Thiel doesn't shield you from anything - good or bad.

    rskarvan wrote: »
    I honestly can't tell a difference between a well-recorded cassette and a CD. Meaning: if I copy a CD to my Denon 3-head cassette deck and play it back... it sounds darn near absolutely identical.

    Maybe those Thiels aren't as good as you think they are.
    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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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,204
    edited September 2007
    geppy1 wrote: »
    They seem to have to turned up to sound best and the loudness is very deceptive. They do not sound very loud until you try to hear your self talk.

    Here is the new question. Better off keeping the SDA1s or going to the 3.1s? Is it worth the difference and effort? thanks,keith

    To me that is my definition of "Effortless sound". On the 2nd point IMO, all the SDA's are very good but the later generations are much better because Polk learned a lot during the journey and really refined them. If it were me I'd opt for the 3.1TL over the original or 2nd gen SDA 1's.

    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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  • rskarvan
    rskarvan Posts: 2,374
    edited September 2007
    F1nut wrote: »
    Maybe those Thiels aren't as good as you think they are.

    My guess is that my ears aren't as good as I think they are.
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