Bass on SDA II's

Driver_King

So I have an original pair of the SDA II's and the bass is there but it just is not powerful. Would buying some spikes for them help? Are there any other tweaks I should know about? Thanks.

Ender

What's your amp?

gdb

How do you have them positioned ?? That can make a WORLD of difference !:)

thsmith

+1 with above.

Location from back wall
More power = good bass
Air leaks will kill bass, mortite
Check spyder has not come loose from PR.

thsmith

But, I too interested to know what spikes will effect in sound.

Face

Spikes can make a big difference on carpet. On hard floors they'll generally just tighten up bass.

Driver_King

Ohh. Lots of info.:)

Ender wrote: »

What's your amp?

I only have my Onkyo 805 powering my system right now.

gdb wrote: »

How do you have them positioned ?? That can make a WORLD of difference !:)

I have them now about one foot from the wall and about 5 feet apart from each other.

thsmith wrote: »

Location from back wall
More power = good bass
Air leaks will kill bass, mortite
Check spyder has not come loose from PR.

I do not believe there are any leaks on the speakers. What do you mean check the spider? How should the PR's be reacting with songs like Bass, I Love You? They move only a little during that song while the drivers are moving in and out crazily.:) Where can I get mortite for cheap? Can it be found at Walmart or Home Depot?

Face wrote: »

Spikes can make a big difference on carpet. On hard floors they'll generally just tighten up bass.

Should I put some carpet samples underneath the speakers on my hardwood floor and then put spikes or legs on them? How and where should I attach the spikes?

Thanks for all the info so far.:cool:

gdb

5ft. apart seems a little too close together. I like to be the third "point" in an equilateral triangle w/8-9 ft. sides, and also make sure that the speakers aren't close to side walls. If you push GENTLY in on each pass. rad. and hold it there, the 6.5" speaker's cones should extend towards you and then VERY SLOWLY retract to their resting position. If they go back quickly.....you're leakin air somewhere! Everthing about Mortite is in the thread link below. SDAs don't produce the overpowering bass that some speakers do, if you're still not getting enough after checking everything and living with the natural bass they produce for a while.....it's time to go shopping for a subwoofer! Good luck !!!:)

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74524&highlight=mortite

Conradicles

Driver_King wrote: »

I have them now about one foot from the wall

Try them closer to the wall. Maybe 3" to 6".
That will help some.

Driver_King

gdb wrote: »

5ft. apart seems a little too close together. I like to be the third "point" in an equilateral triangle w/8-9 ft. sides, and also make sure that the speakers aren't close to side walls. If you push GENTLY in on each pass. rad. and hold it there, the 6.5" speaker's cones should extend towards you and then VERY SLOWLY retract to their resting position. If they go back quickly.....you're leakin air somewhere! Everthing about Mortite is in the thread link below. SDAs don't produce the overpowering bass that some speakers do, if you're still not getting enough after checking everything and living with the natural bass they produce for a while.....it's time to go shopping for a subwoofer! Good luck !!!:)

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74524&highlight=mortite

Edit: Nevermind.

thsmith

DK, I had a right speaker (SDA-1C) that the output was not as high the left. While mortiting I found the suspension on the PR had come loose, AKA spyder. This was what give the PR its ability to bounce back in forth. When my came loose the PR would just kinda hang there and not move much.

Once I repaied it the bass was now equal in output for that speaker.

Cheap and easy fix but letting it go could ruin the PR.

Driver_King

thsmith wrote: »

DK, I had a right speaker (SDA-1C) that the output was not as high the left. While mortiting I found the suspension on the PR had come loose, AKA spyder. This was what give the PR its ability to bounce back in forth. When my came loose the PR would just kinda hang there and not move much.

Once I repaied it the bass was now equal in output for that speaker.

Cheap and easy fix but letting it go could ruin the PR.

Is it just tightened by some screws or something? I think I have the same issue. My right speaker is not as loud as my left speaker. I keep thinking it is because the original 6001 drivers are in the right SDA and the new 6003 drivers are in the left SDA. I'm not so sure anymore...

F1nut

As Conradicles suggested, move them closer to the back wall as one foot is too far away. Also, they should be parallel to the back wall, no toe in.

I only have my Onkyo 805 powering my system right now.

I'm guessing that is an AVR. If so, it will not have what it takes to properly drive the SDA's, which will result in a lack of bass.

erniejade

also how far are they from the corner of the room? 2-3 feet from the corner and 4" from the wall for me seem to be the magic spot

Driver_King

I do not have them toed in at all. I will try to move them back a few inches and see how it turns out. I had them practically on the wall for awhile to see what would happen.

F1nut wrote: »

As Conradicles suggested, move them closer to the back wall as one foot is too far away. Also, they should be parallel to the back wall, no toe in.

I'm guessing that is an AVR. If so, it will not have what it takes to properly drive the SDA's, which will result in a lack of bass.

The Onkyo TX-SR805 is a powerhouse, no doubt. The issue is powering all speakers at once while powering my SDA's. Here is the link to Onkyo's specifications sheet for the 805. Benchmark tests are almost dead-on with those numbers.

erniejade wrote: »

also how far are they from the corner of the room? 2-3 feet from the corner and 4" from the wall for me seem to be the magic spot

They are at least four feet on each side from the corners of the room.

erniejade

If having them closer to the corner of the room is not possible, just move them to see if that helps. Even if you can't keep them there, you will at least know if it helps.

LBrize

I kinda had the same problem out of my SDA 2 speakers. I don't have room available to place them like other posters said, but if you move around your room, actually your house, you will (if you're like me) find some places in the house where the bass is HUGE. My problem was, I couldn't get that sound in my sound room.

Also, I had 6502 woofers in the SDA 2 speakers, which, thanks to DarkNight, I now know caused impedence problems. I found this out first hand when the speakers activated the protection circuitry in my huge Rotel amp. Yeah, that's right, the SDAs shut down my Rotel. Funny, huh? I wondered if it was the amp, so I hooked up another one, and it did the same thing, so impedence was my problem. I'll have to keep an eye out for two 6501 woofers.

F1nut

The Onkyo TX-SR805 is a powerhouse, no doubt.

There's a huge difference between an AVR and a dedicated power amp. Do you have access to a power amp?

At CF last year I had a 75wpc tube amp running a pair of 1C's, the bass was almost too much.

Driver_King

I have an old Technics amp that can handle a 4 ohm load and does 41 watts per channel at around 0.002% distortion at full volume. I want to try it out on my SDA's. It makes even some leftover HTIB speakers sound good.

F1nut

By all means, hook it up and give it a try. I'm curious to hear the result.

thsmith

Driver_King wrote: »

Is it just tightened by some screws or something? I think I have the same issue. My right speaker is not as loud as my left speaker. I keep thinking it is because the original 6001 drivers are in the right SDA and the new 6003 drivers are in the left SDA. I'm not so sure anymore...

No, you have to take the PR out of the cabinet and turn it over and see if the Styrofoam has come loose from the fabric. if it is then you can use Elmer's or Styrofoam glue. Be careful with the fabric, it is quite brittle.

heiney9

F1nut wrote: »

There's a huge difference between an AVR and a dedicated power amp. Do you have access to a power amp?

At CF last year I had a 75wpc tube amp running a pair of 1C's, the bass was almost too much.

To also add to F1's statement............I now have a 30wpc single ended class A amp that has more bass and better dynamics than my previous 125wpc amp. It's not about the specs on paper so much. A run of the mill receiver (like the Onk) will not get the best out of a pair of SDA's.......that's a known fact.............it will work, but the SDA's are capable of much more.

H9

Schurkey

No bass in an SDA?

The FIRST thing I'd check is to verify that the speakers and speaker wires are connected to provide proper polarity to both speakers.

ONE speaker out-of-phase (backwards polarity) will KILL the bass.

This will make ten times the difference of spikes, distance to back wall or side walls, amplifier power or design, etc.

ND13

I had 2As in my 480 sq ft room, driven by an AMC 2100 and the bass was more than adequate. I've also had SRS 2s in the same room driven by an Anthem Amp One(40 wpc tuber) and the bass was accurate and would pressurize the room fully. No sub required with either. I likes my bass, too. Just not boomy Rap crap kinda bass.

snow

F1nut wrote: »

There's a huge difference between an AVR and a dedicated power amp.

Quoted for truth. I was using a Sony DA5-ES until I heard a little 40 wpc proton amp kick it's ****



REGARDS SNOW

bikerboy

You can't blame the speakers for lack of bass output. SDA-II will cause the house to buzz and rattle, just ask my wife. If you can, use the Cardas golden ratio for speaker positioning. Solved any muddy bass problems for me.

fast1

whats the cardas golden ratio?

heiney9

never mind

heiney9

GOOGLE it????? :rolleyes:

http://www.tnt-audio.com/intervis/cardase.html

Face

The golden ratio did not work for me when I was using SDA's. Imaging and soundstage improved, but the low end dropped off.

nduitch

Just arranged mine according to .276 x room width, from side wall and .447 x RW fromm back wall and it was a huge difference! I can actually feel bass at low volumes and ss is much better.