SRT System question

O'Shag

Greetings all.

I have had many speaker systems from different manufacturers and have always loved Polk Audio. I owned the RT5000 package for HT for several years, and last year sold the RT3000p to a friend of mine. I did so regretfully because I was very fond of the sound of that speaker especially for movies, in addition to the clear benefit of using the same 'family' for fronts rears and center. I had no choice though as I was running out of room - you know how that goes. I did keep the CS1000p and I'm still of the opinion that its the best center speaker. I also have the FX/1000s, whcih are excellent rear channel speakers. I'm one of those that feel that bipole/dipole speakers are better than normal radiation-pattern speakers for the rear channel, especially for multi-channel music. I have a hunch that the reason some listeners are not taken with multi-channel music is because of the image confusion of overly strong direct rear information, which could be the result of using regular speakers for surrounds. The bipole/dipole will do a better job of dispersing the sound, therefore allowing it to blend better with the front/ center channel sound. I may be wrong on this but that is my impression.

I have the opportunity now to make amends - I just bought the complete SRT system and I'm thrilled as I;ve wanted this system since way back when but couldn't afford it. I do have a question regarding the configuration of the center channel. In the 'Seismic' ultimate config, two center speakers can be used. How is this accomplished without signal confusion? Is the absolute phase / polarity of one of the centers reversed? Is a second SRT controller required to do this?

Also, does anyone have a copy of the SRT operation manual on line?

Cheers all

ESavinon

So you're the one that stole the SRT in ca. J/K or course.
If you have a fax, I can send you the manual.
The manual addresses your center channel question.

O'Shag

Hi Esavinon,

Yup thats me!!! In fact I'm picking 'em up Tuesday. They're in Culver City just down the road from me. The price I paid may have been an excellent deal, but honestly it was a stretch for me to afford them right now. Worth every penny though!

I will get a fax number for you, and I would be very grateful indeed for your forwarding a copy of the manual. These are not your average beasties, and I like to do things the right way - despite my limited viewing/listening environment.

Can you tell me a bit about your impressions of the SRT performance - strengths, weaknesses - if any? Do you use yours in the control mode where the center channel is used to enhance 2-channel stereo? I did hear these several times many years ago but only in a showroom setting. Don't remember if it was the Good Guys or Circuit City. I do remember being bowled over by the sound - but I only heard the SRT with movie soundtracks, so don't really know how the system will stack up for 2-channel. I'm sure its brilliant.

polkie4life

You will not be dissapointed with the SRT's in music mode. I use mine 80/20 for music/movies. I also heard them in store years ago and only got a movie demo aswell. Here i think they only did movie demos due to the fact that they were aimed at HT, and they never knew how to truly set them up properly.

In the time i've had them theres probably 2 important things;
* The more (quality) power you can give them the better they will sound.
* The other important thing is speaker placement i.e distances, seating position etc.

Ed do you have the manual in PDF. form?

O'Shag

Thanks Polkie4life

My listening room (23.5ftX14ft) is set up so the TV (a 70incher) is placed along the long wall as are the speakers. I did this so as to accomodate two equipment racks, the speakers, and the TV, while allowing the speakers pleanty of room laterally to breathe. I sit about 9ft or so from the speakers/TV and am closer to the back wall than I should be according to the optimal distance. I usually have the speakers about 9ft apart, and I can clearly remember with my previous (and missed) RT3000p their ability to image/soundstage at wider distance apart ie the stereo image is not so delicate as with many other speakers.

Power is definitely a factor, and I hope the built in subwoofer amp will help somewhat. I have two Mark Levinson No. 27 amps that are rated (modestly I feel) at 100watts cont RMS @8ohms 200 @4ohms and 350 @2ohms. The No. 27 is not extremely powerful as compared to some but it has generous current drive. I kept them despite their lower power because I;ve yet to hear a solid state amp that sounds as good. I intend to run interconnects form the Front Outs of my Yami RX-Z9, so the yami will directly driive the center channel and surrounds.


How do you have yours setup (distance and power etc)?

O'Shag

I should add that I am sort of expecting that I'll need more powerful amps, but the No. 27s will have to do for now as the wallet is a little light after the SRT purchase! Also, Polkie4life and Savinon, do you use subwoofers in addition to the SRT on your system. I have no subwoofers at present.

polkie4life

I had to compromise a little with placement. They're close to 3m apart and i sit nearly 4m back. Seating is against the rear wall (no choice there wife says)! I thought they would sound terrible but they sound quite good considering the room i had to work with, (check in the showcase you'll see what i mean). Hopefully a new house soon so we can remedy the room thing.

As for subs, i'd wait and see if you aren't happy with the SRT subs you can always add more. Hard man to please if you aren't....

You thought the 3000's imaged well! Wait till you get these things dialled in!!! LOLOL

O'Shag

Wow, now I'm excited. If they're better than the 3000s they must be awesome! I'm going to check out the showcase..

polkie4life

The SDA thing is just amazing. Its funny to see when people honestly believe the rears are running, even funnier when they put their ear up to the speaker because they dont believe you.

O'Shag

Polkie4life, very nice indeed! My TV is the same as yours but the 70" version. I see you painted your SRT cabinets. Did you remove the drivers before you did this? It must have been quite a job. Very nice results though. I am not 100% sure of the condition of the ones I bought (I haven't seen them in person yet) but they looked good from the pictures. If need be I wouldn't mind tackling a painting job myself.

By the way I'm picking up an old Kenwood KT-8300 tuner today for $75.00. I've heard its a great tuner. I still have to get a blu-ray player. I'm sure the SRT system will sound amazing with Dolby Tru-HD sound

polkie4life

To say it was quite a job is the understatement of the year!!! I totally stripped everything out including the crossovers and stuffing. Heres the process, sand-undercoat-sand-undercoat-sand-spray coat-spray-coat.

It was a hell of a job but they got beat up a bit as they went Fedex ground from NY to Miami. I did feel sorry for the FEDEX man though, the subs alone are 100lbs each, the sats weighed in a respectable 84lbs each.

We filled the holes for the grills aswell so theyre naked forever... LOL

O'Shag

That is a serious undertaking! You must have had a workshed in which to complete such a project. Judging From the pictures, the result was worth the effort. I'll post some pics myself as soon as I have them set up.

ESavinon

polkie4life wrote: »

You will not be dissapointed with the SRT's in music mode. I use mine 80/20 for music/movies. I also heard them in store years ago and only got a movie demo aswell. Here i think they only did movie demos due to the fact that they were aimed at HT, and they never knew how to truly set them up properly.

In the time i've had them theres probably 2 important things;
* The more (quality) power you can give them the better they will sound.
* The other important thing is speaker placement i.e distances, seating position etc.

Ed do you have the manual in PDF. form?

Unfortunately not. I haven't had the time to do the conversion.

PolkWannabie

I have a PDF for the SRT's ... One for the fronts and a separate one for the rears ( SDA's ) which aren't often seen.

I've attached the one for the SDA rears and secondary controller here.

The PDF for the fronts and primary controller is too large to upload here. PM me your email address and I'll forward it if you can take 20+MB attachments.

O'Shag

Hi Polkwannabie,

Thanks much for the PDF. I'll PM my email to you as you suggest.
Cheers
O'Shag

polkie4life

PolkWannabie wrote: »

I have a PDF for the SRT's ... One for the fronts and a separate one for the rears ( SDA's ) which aren't often seen.

I've attached the one for the SDA rears and secondary controller here.

The PDF for the fronts and primary controller is too large to upload here. PM me your email address and I'll forward it if you can take 20+MB attachments.

Thanks guy, very much appreciated. Have you got a set of the SDA rears? Another SRT owner (a friend) here has a set of those aswell, they're an awesome speaker. Do you have any idea how many pairs of those were made?

O'Shag

I bought the SRT system - and I'm hopiong that it includes the rears, but I didn't see any photos of them in the pictures so I may not have those. I still have the FX/1000 and CS/1000p left over from my RT5000 so if necessary can incorporate them.

I'm going to read through the manual information that Polkwannabie sent. I think I'm going to put the main front SRT towers on Irish Limestone Slabs to provide a solid support. I have a friend here who imports high-end tile mosiac and stone from all over the world. Thanks to him, I've tried many different varieties, and I really like the Irish Limestone which is polished and comes in 26"-14" x 3/4 inch thick slabs (deisned for fancy office building implementations I think. This slab is very inert and when you wrap your knuckles on it there is no resonance.

PolkWannabie

PFL,

Yes I do have a pair of the rear SDA's ... For surrounds they're monsters ... Even compared to FX1000's which I'm using on the sides. I have no idea how many were manufactured but they seem to appear much less frequently then the SRT's themselves.

O'Shag,

If you are getting surrounds they are most likely the other non SDA flavor i.e. the SRT FX's ... IMHO these don't do justice to the fronts. The FX1000's would be a much better choice for sides and/or rears.

ESavinon

Approx. 100 pairs of the SRT surrounds were made.

O'Shag

Are you talking about full size speakers? I can't find information on the SDA SRT rears.
I do like the FX/1000s as they can approach delivering full-range impact, although they can't match a full-range/full-size speaker for low-end extension.

The only SDAs I'm aware of are the older audiophile models.

PolkWannabie

They are not a "full size" speaker but they are large for a surround and have SDA capability. They have two tweeters and four drivers configured with one tweeter and two drivers for each of the SDA and Stereo array so the way to think about them is like they are a mini version of the top portion of the main SRT's.

I attached the PDF for these surrounds above ...

I'll try and take a picture of them and get it posted here.

polkie4life

PolkWannabie

Here's a couple of quickly taken pictures ...

If you want to get a feel for size ...

These are 26.5 x 12 x 6.5 and weigh 36 pounds

The F/X 1000's are ... 19.75 x 11.25 x 9.75 and weigh ~27 pounds

O'Shag

These look a step up from the FX/1000, with two additional drivers per speaker. The most obvoius design difference is the flat baffle. I'm interested to see how the SRT center stacks up against the CS1000p. The CS1000p is one helluva center speaker, with that built-in amplifier.

PolkWannabie

The SRT surrounds also have SDA.

The SRT center is bigger and heavier then the CS1000p but does NOT have built in amplification.

It is the equivalent of one of the stereo arrays in the mains.

O'Shag

Went by and saw the SRT system. Could not pick up the speakers as my son who has a 4x4 that can accomodate them could not make it today. They did not come with the surrounds but with everything else. I did pick up the SRT control unit. This unit is of exceptional build-quality, as befits high-end systems. It is in beautiful condition. The speakers; Front Towers and Center, are in very good condition with the exception of a few small scratches on the lower woofer units (on the upper front). All in all - superb. Funnily enough, I remembered them as bigger and wider when I saw and heard them more than ten years ago. My memory is not as good as it used to be, but I also thought I first saw them in grey?
I can see why extra powerful amplifiers are put to good use with this system, presuming there is additional impedence with the SRT network. As it stands, I'm definitely a liitle short on the power front to drive this system the way it should be, although I've not heard my amps with the speakers yet. My guess is a couple of good 300watters (into 8ohms) in bi-amp mode would do very nicely. As it is I'm at roughly 1/3 of that.

Question with respect driving the woofer units from the processor; what connection method do you guys prefer - line-level or speaker wire?

polkie4life

I have a splitter on the sub pre out then to the control center then on to each of the subs. I have stereo selected not mono.

I'm not sure if this is correct or whether or not there are any other options as i have no manual. I do know though that it needs to go through the control center to give any adjustments...

PolkWannabie

The control unit is needed only for the SDA portion of the mains and the subs ...

If you want a manual for the fronts and control unit then PM me your email address and I'll send you the PDF

jsdeprey

PolkWannabie wrote: »

Here's a couple of quickly taken pictures ...

If you want to get a feel for size ...

These are 26.5 x 12 x 6.5 and weigh 36 pounds

The F/X 1000's are ... 19.75 x 11.25 x 9.75 and weigh ~27 pounds

Those things look huge! they look much bigger to me than 26.5 x 12 x 6.5
What are these exactly, my SRT's came with 2 smaller triangle shapped surrounds.

I can take a picture of mine if it helps, I was not the original buyer of my SRT set, but knew the man that bought them, and figured he bought them all as a SRT set, but maybe not.

O'Shag

Many thanks for the manuals Fred et al.

Getting the center channel to be approximately in-line with the tweeter on the front satellites is not going to be possible for me becuase the top of the TV is well above the axis of the front sat tweeters. I already have the CS1000p over the TV (I think I included a pic of this in the system gallery) and am reluctant to remove that just yet. Its a heavy bugger.
I was reckoning to build out a thin strong shelf that slides in and is supported between the top glass shelf and the top metal frame beam of the BDI TV stand, then put the SRT center on this. That would put the center 2.5ft from the floor with the top of the center speaker about 3-4" under the screen area of the TV . Hopefully this will serve ok for the SDA technology. By the way, is SDA similar to the Carver Sonic Holography?

PolkWannabie

jsdeprey,

They are SRT SDA Surrounds ... I posted the doc for them above in this thread. There were relatively few of these made. What you have I believe are the SRT ( or RT ) FX's which are a much more common companion.

O'Shag,

If you put the center lower, which is where mine is, then just angle it upwards if you can so it as pointing at the same height at the seating area.