2.3 vs 2.3TL

Big Dan R · April 2003

Im new at this so bare with me...
Im trying to gather info - opinions on whether to buy the 2.3's or the 2.3TL's. I have the SDA 2A's, love them but want to upgrade and have a chance to buy a mint pair of the 2.3's for $1,000.00. I listened to them recently and loved them but not sure if waiting to find TL's is worth it. Comments?
Thanks,
Dan

F1nut · April 2003

Big Dan,

Welcome to the forum.

The major difference is the tweeters, the 2.3 uses the SL2000 and the TL uses the SL3000. There was a peak in the SL2000 that the SL3000 corrected. I find the SL3000 to be smoother/less bright, but those are my ears. Are you planning on using the 2A's in the same room as the 2.3's or TL's? What kind of power are you planning to drive them with?

F1

Big Dan R · April 2003

Thanks F1,
My 2A's also have the SL 2000 tweeters and I can hear some brightness. I plan to give these to my son, different room. I am deciding whether to buy a pair of the 2.3's for &1000.00. I have a Yamaha RX 1100U receiver rated at 125 per chan but if necessary would buy more power.
Thanks,
Dan

F1nut · April 2003

Dan,

Some folks think the Yammies are on the bright side, although our now departed bro, Nascarmann would argue that point all day long. He ran a big Yammie amp and SDA 1C's, which he loved until he got a pair of SDA 2.3TL's and found a new love. Did you notice any brightness on the 2.3's? What kind of power was driving them, some amps are warmer than others. IC's and speaker cables can make a large difference, even to the point of taming a bright high-end while others will make it worse. A dedicated power line will help too. I quess the question to ask is, why are you considering holding out for the TL's? If that's what you really want, then hold out. From my personal viewpoint, my 2B's were too bright and the 2.3TL's were the answer I was looking for.
You'll also find the bigger Polk's like clean power, I suggest a integrated or seperates.

stubby · April 2003

Big Dan R,
125 WPC is a good starting point but with some 2.3's, TL or not, you're gonna need a bigger boat. You will definitely want at least a high current amp. My 1.2 TL's sounded pretty decent with a pair of Adcom 545 II amps. One nice thing about the Adcoms was their 1% distortion warning lights. Those speakers will absorb the full output of most any amp with virtually no distortion. It was nice to know when they (amps) were getting ready to give up the ghost.

Stubby

Big Dan R · April 2003

The bigger boat might be the Adcom GFA 555ll. 75 w more than my Yamaha. Any feedback on Adcom? Nice specs for the money and Im not looking for lots of bells and whistles. GFP555ll pre amp too? Im leaning towards the 2.3TL's.
Thanks again,
Dan

F1nut · April 2003

Dan,

It's not so much the watts as the current, the 2.3(TL's) need high current. That could be 60 watts or 500 watts, both will make them sing, of course they will sing louder with 500 watts. Also, the lower the input impedance the better, you get a much wider bandwidth. The TL's are sweet.

stubby · April 2003

Dan, like F1nut says, its current you want. The 555II would be a great amp. Lots of headroom, current, and great damping factor to control all those 6.5's. Personally I would spend the extra coin for a 565 preamp. Have heard only good things about it. Definitely a simple design with 3 sets of outputs depending on how many features, and, how clean a signal path you want.

Stubby

kelley · April 2003

I'll second the Adcom 565 preamp. Very clean sounding and can be picked up used for under $300 now

Big Dan R · April 2003

Thanks again guys for the valued info. What are your thoughts about the 555II and 565 (both currently on ebay) driving the 1.2's (in case I take the plunge into the major league)?
Dan

MxStYlEpOlKmAn · April 2003

The adcom amp GFA-545II is 100 watts, it can drive 400 watt speakers with ease. So think a litte, its very conservative power.

Big Dan R · April 2003

Any suggestions on a pre-amp tuner to go with the 555II?
Thanks,
Dan