Near Field Monitoring w/SDA?

MrEd
MrEd Posts: 2
edited July 2008 in 2 Channel Audio
I am assembling a recording studio in my basement and will be working in a corner (cinderblock walls). Planned to use Infinity RS-6 pair as monitors but the woofer surrounds are failing. Just picked up a pair of SDA compacts at yard sale and would like thoughts on how they might work in a near-field setup until I can get the Infinitys repaired. Also, the manual says they must be not tilted in and parallel to the wall - not gonna happen with the corner setup.
I'm going to see if the Infinitys will fit under the stands for the compact SDA's; for the few minutes I have fired up the Polks so far they do not seem too sensitive about how high they are relative to my ears, and I can begin to give them some serious listening.
Loved my old Polk 7s, my auto stereo is all Polk (except for an Infinity sub) so I am intrigued to wring out my latest find.
Post edited by MrEd on
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,557
    edited June 2008
    As the manual indicates, SDA's are not to be set up like most other speakers making them not the best choice for your set up.
    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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  • MrEd
    MrEd Posts: 2
    edited July 2008
    Thanks to all for the quick replies. When I said "that's not gonna happen" I meant the walls would not be parallel to the speaker backs, but certainly the front baffles are parallel to each other - I get the phase cancellation thing.
    It turns out that the stands for the Compacts are just the right height to place the Infinity RS-6 speakers underneath, with the stacks on a very wide desk. They are close together, to address another comment, separated by the width of a TEAC reel-to-reel (10.5 inch reels).
    How do they sound? Both good, but very different. Like women and wine, none are the same, but all can be appreciated. Still have not had time for critical evaluation but perhaps this weekend I can get a little while to check things out. I am in the corner of a cinderblock basement, will need to do lots of sonic treatment, but it is a large space and not square and there is plenty of stuff to break up reflective surfaces.
    Ultimately I hope for this to be an audio production facility, for now it is a rehearsal room and ham radio shack.
    Roll 'em Easy,
    Mr Ed
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  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,987
    edited July 2008
    Fire 'em up and tweak it a little. I've had a lot of luck with SDA in not so optimal rooms and placement. Tone aside, with the SDA cable attached - the difference (even nearfield) in the soundstage should become very obvious, very quickly.

    Cheers,
    Russ
    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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  • hoosier21
    hoosier21 Posts: 4,411
    edited July 2008
    with SDAs, you need to be in the triangle also, so the nearfield won't let you hear them at their best, but good luck with them
    Dodd - Battery Preamp
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  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited July 2008
    If they get setup correctly I bet they work great for monitoring your work, especially with positioning your sounds. Should be interesting!
    madmax
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
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  • awe-d-o-file
    awe-d-o-file Posts: 146
    edited July 2008
    """Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... """

    I heard Duo's w/300B's at Deja Vu a few years ago. Beautiful to look at and the best sounding horns I've heard. That said I'd still rather have my 1.2TL's. If had that money I'd invest it a top notch vinyl rig with a Soundsmith strain gauge. I got rid of my vinyl rig cuz my CD was leaving it in the dust. It was good: Thorens 125/Rabco SL-8E/Grado Statement/Concerto plus phono pre but couldn't match my CDP EXCEPT in HF realism where it exceeded it. Every other area like dynamics,separation,image/soundstage was better on my CDP. Someday I' ll have a killer vinyl rig again.


    ET

    System: MF Trivista SACD > Placette passive> CJ passive horizontal bi-amp> MF 2500A(LF) MF2100(HF) > 1.2TL's

    Other: Speltz silver Eichmann IC's & speaker wire, Econotweaks Detail Magnifiers, PS Audio P-300(source), R. Gray 600, Al Sekala's AC R/C filters, R. Gray HT PC's, Oyaide R-1's,WPC-Z , M-1, Herbie's & DIY Isolation
    Room: Qty 7 - 4' tall 18" diam. bass traps, Qty 4 - 4' X 2' X 4" panels. All DIY - man my wife is tolerant!
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    edited July 2008
    I would think they would be boomy in the setup you describe-of course if levels are fairly low, it might not be an issue.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited July 2008
    I heard the duos in a friends room and they were perfect. I heard them in my room and they sucked. I had to buy a new house.
    madmax
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
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  • schwarcw
    schwarcw Posts: 7,337
    edited July 2008
    Greetings and welcome to the Forum!

    If your an audio engineer why not look at what the pro's use. Check out the web pages of some of the more popular recording studios. They usually list their equipment. Steve Hoffman use Rogers LS 3/5A for near fields. Bob Ludwig uses Egglestonworks "Ivy" speakers (look here. I've seen Steve Albini's studio in Chicago, he uses small B&W monitors for near field.

    I own the Polks you have and they are not suited for near field monitors.

    Good luck!
    Carl

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  • ND13
    ND13 Posts: 7,601
    edited July 2008
    Those "Ivy" speakers are crazy. 790 lbs. each!!! Wonder how much those bad boys cost??
    "SOME PEOPLE CALL ME MAURICE,
    CAUSE I SPEAK OF THE POMPITIOUS OF LOVE"
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  • xsmi
    xsmi Posts: 1,798
    edited July 2008
    Monitors I have heard do not sound "good" as a stereo speaker. They sound a little cold and analytical. When I listen to 2channel music I want something a little sweeter sounding. If you have a Guitar Center or the like in your town go in and ask to listen to studio monitors. I think you will hear what I mean. BTW I use KRK8's for nearfield.
    2-channelBelles 22A Pre, Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 2, Marantz SA8005, Pro-Ject RPM-10 Turntable, Pro-Ject Phono Box DS3B, Polk Audio Legend L800's, AudioQuest Cable throughout.
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  • schwarcw
    schwarcw Posts: 7,337
    edited July 2008
    xsmi wrote: »
    Monitors I have heard do not sound "good" as a stereo speaker. They sound a little cold and analytical.

    This is exactly what the engineer wants to hear in the studio. total transparancy without any warmth or color. This allows the engineer to hear any (even the slightest) flaws that might have been picked up by the expensive Telefunken tube mic's during the live session. That's the monitors purpose, not for listening in your living room kicking back and sipping a few cold ones.
    Carl

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