Opinions on Non-SDA Speakers

JohnLocke88

So back to the SL3000 question, anyone actually done the mod?

concealer404

Face wrote: »

If you like a balanced speaker, you may want to rethink this also.

Won't know til i try.

Hard to put into words.... but my main beef with the 7s is that god-awful "lump" down there... sounds like a johnny one note sub magically appears at a certain frequency range. I'd be happy with them i think if ALL of the bass did that. I don't mind a bassy speaker, but it had better be a bit flatter than this.

gdb

"So back to the SL3000 question, anyone actually done the mod?"



My 10s are at the bottom of my list of speakers to upgrade, but I've never heard of any tweeters for Mon10s other than SL2000, Peerless or RDO-194s. I think the 3000 is now superceded by the RDO-198 which a lot of people prefer to the 194. If it is possible to swap in a 3000/198, I might do that when my 10s turn for upgrades comes up.:)

mhardy6647

I've owned a pair of 7As since 1978 and have every intention of using them 'til they -- or I -- die. They're in our family room and still used regularly.

Nice sounding speakers, 'specially for the price (then or now).

inspiredsports

JohnLocke88 wrote: »

. . . what is your favorite non-SDA vintage speaker set?

SDA-2B's with the Interconnect cable un-plugged

BB3

RTA15TL's.

geppy1

Having compared RTA12Bs directly to RTA15TL (not sure what is RTA about them) and LS 90s with a group of experienced listeners it was the RTA 12Bs hands down. The LS90s sounded almost muddy and not near as open or clear. Much more bass but not realistic. The RTA15s were a little less heavy in the bass but sounded more closed in. The 12bs just sounded more wide open, larger stage in depth width and height ,clear, faster , more accurate tonal balance and more like live music. Your mileage may vary.

vc69

geppy1 wrote: »

Having compared RTA12Bs directly to RTA15TL (not sure what is RTA about them) and LS 90s with a group of experienced listeners it was the RTA 12Bs hands down. The LS90s sounded almost muddy and not near as open or clear. Much more bass but not realistic. The RTA15s were a little less heavy in the bass but sounded more closed in. The 12bs just sounded more wide open, larger stage in depth width and height ,clear, faster , more accurate tonal balance and more like live music. Your mileage may vary.

As with anything related to speakers, it is subjective. I have a pair of LS 90's I love. I would very much like to try a set of the RTA's and am on the lookout.

I gotta say though, my LS 90's are definitely, in no way "muddy". I have heard better speakers, but these are no slouches. I have some pretty good stuff in front of them though.

FTR... I owned some Monitor 7's way back when and didn't keep em long. They didn't pack enough "wallop" for my tastes. The LS 90's definitely dig deep when pushed hard and haven't let me down.

maxilla

One more time, any opinion is subjective and depends of so many factors, mainly of the acoustics of the listening room. Last night I was enjoying my RTA-15Ts fed by a Carver HR-772 and I had once again the exhilarating experience of listening to a Patrick O'Hearn cd. I sat in the love seat that I have in my audio room, turned the volume knob at 3.5 and I was pushed back by this MASSIVE wall of deep bass that I could barely stand. Unbelievable, beautiful, truly awesome. I had to turn down the volume, it was too much.
The speakers delivered that enormous amount of bass energy with ease, no effort at all.
That's why I don't know what geppy is talking about. I heard the RTA-12s way back ago and I did not like them. You cannot even compare them with the RTA-15T or TLs. Honestly.

Dawgfish

For my listening RTA-12Bs. I also prefer the sound of the Peerless tweets in my RTA-12Bs to the RDO tweets in my SDA-1Cs. Of course I like the SDAs better overall though. The thing about he RTA-12s is they are really not a turn the volume way up and shake the house kind of speaker. I can quickly overpower these (I'm running 400 wpc @4 ohms with these) at higher volume levels, but the midrange and highs are incredible at moderately loud to low volumes. These things are really at their best with jazz, vocals, classical, blue grass, etc. The complicated crossover network on the 12s really comes into it's own listening to these types of music. Vocals are incredible with these speakers.

geppy1

I think i was pretty clear about it saying "your mileage may vary" . It is not a personal attack . It is an opinion. If you like your 15s that is great. I hate saying RTA because i do not know how that applies to them. All i said was a group of us who have heard many different things ,worked in the CE biz ,with backgrounds in music liked the RTA 12 better. It is not a right or wrong thing. The RTA 12s are well know and documented as having a 20 to 20,000+- 4db response. Lots of bass does not mean deep bass. it is also well known and written about in many publications that many speakers since around 1990 are designed with home theater and decor considerations in mind. Part of the reason SDAs went away. Having compared LS90s, RTA 15TLs, LSI15 the common feel was of speakers geared with an eye toward home theater. When I listen to the LS90 the word PORT keeps running through my mind. With LSI 15 it feels like the bass is being done by a subwoofer and is not connected to the rest of the music. The RTA 15 is more like the 12s but sounds.more closed in
The RTA 12 and Monitor series which it is a part of where made in a time when music was the first consideration, not decor or HT. The LS 90 and RTA 15S were around for 2 to 3 years . The RTA 12 was around for 8 years. Two time CES Design and engineering winner and speaker of the year. That must say something. Once again it is personal taste and preferences. There is no right or wrong.

heiney9

concealer404 wrote: »

Won't know til i try.

Hard to put into words.... but my main beef with the 7s is that god-awful "lump" down there... sounds like a johnny one note sub magically appears at a certain frequency range. I'd be happy with them i think if ALL of the bass did that. I don't mind a bassy speaker, but it had better be a bit flatter than this.

I would never say the 7 is bass heavy or has a "lump", sounds like a placement issue or possibly a gear synergy thing. The 7 is probably the most balanced of the Monitor series, with the 5 being very close behind.

If anything the 5 and 7 have a nice midrange bloom/presence not bass happy.

H9

maxilla

Fair enough. Thank you.

bluecomet

I have put Monitor 10A's in the front and Monitor 7B's with peerless tweets in the rear. You get the bass of the 10's and awesome mids of the 7's both have the peerless tweets. It's a sweet system. There's an easy way of getting total clarity out of the Monitor 10 mids. You simply EQ the speakers and it makes a major improvement. I use a 12 band EQ on mine and it really brings them to life.

heiney9

EQ's are evil

bluecomet

Normally I would agree but I have had good results concerning the Monitor 10 speakers. I did not have the same results with any other of the monitor speakers. The best sound I was able to get out of the monitor 10's was with a 3 band parametric EQ form SAE. I am not a big fan of EQ's but in some situations they are usefull. They are horrible for any SDA speaker.

concealer404

heiney9 wrote: »

I would never say the 7 is bass heavy or has a "lump", sounds like a placement issue or possibly a gear synergy thing. The 7 is probably the most balanced of the Monitor series, with the 5 being very close behind.

If anything the 5 and 7 have a nice midrange bloom/presence not bass happy.

H9

Probably the lack of stands... or synergy could do it as well. Or personal ears, i have no idea.

I'll mess around with them some this week and see what i can do.

zarrdoss

I have some RTA 11t with upgraded tweets and like them almost as much as my SDA 2B's, definitely my personal fav but would like to hear the bigger RTA TL line.

heiney9

concealer404 wrote: »

Probably the lack of stands... or synergy could do it as well. Or personal ears, i have no idea.

I'll mess around with them some this week and see what i can do.

Yeah, the have to be on proper stands. No wonder they sound like that

concealer404

heiney9 wrote: »

Yeah, the have to be on proper stands. No wonder they sound like that

Yeah, i've been trying to track down a set for awhile, but every time they showed up, i didn't have the funds.

I have the funds now, so we'll see what happens.

I figured it had something to do with the stands, which is why i haven't just dumped them yet. I like to give all my speakers a fair shake before i get rid of them, and i haven't been able to do that yet with the 7s.

maxilla

zarrdoss wrote: »

I have some RTA 11t with upgraded tweets and like them almost as much as my SDA 2B's, definitely my personal fav but would like to hear the bigger RTA TL line.

Go right ahead and treat yourself with a good set of 15T or 15TL.