My first audition of Polk SDA-2
Comments
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inspiredsports wrote: »I don't have hands on experience with your exact model, but think it strange that the soundstage would narrow with the SDA IC in place. In my experience, the soundstage has always been broader with than without the IC. The SDA 2 is different in that it has tweeters placed horizontally versus stacked vertically, but even so it seems suspect that your soundstage shrunk.
It's also a concern that one SDA effect tweeter seem dead, but I do know that with your specific model many disconnect both SDA (outboard) tweeters. At some point Polk quit putting a tweeter in the SDA circuit.
I intentionally avoided using words like "shrunk" because that's not at all what I mean... This analogy may not do much to polish the SDA image but it's the first one that came to my mind and I mean nothing negative by it... but if you imagine the soundfield as a three dimensional volume of smoke or fog, perhaps roughly cone shaped, being projected from the front of both speakers and overlapping a bit than what I experience with my SDA2s with my *improvised* IC in place is like some of the fog/smoke condenses into motes, sharpening the image where it counts. Snare drum hits for example have a much more physical presence with the IC in place and are easier to pinpoint in the soundfield like lights in the distance on a foggy night. The "cones", to continue with analogy didn't "shrink" any, they just seemed to develop more definition.
As to the trend of disconnecting the dimensional tweeters I read that somewhere too (besides earlier in this thread) but since the right one seems to be working just fine I don't think that's the case... and I imagine pulling the suspect tweeter will reveal it's end of the wiring still attached as well. On a tangent I can't imagine why anyone would do this... I spent some time carefully listening to the working tweeters on the right channel speaker and can see how the synergy of the SDA system might have a positive effect. In fact I'm now considering finding another (or a pair of NOS so they match?) to get the effect working in both towers again. -
PolkMaster1 wrote: »KEEP SNIBBY AWAY FROM THE SPEAKERS!!!
This is the ultimate test of any SDA Speaker -
When Snibby is sleeping balled up in front of the speaker during a quiet passage, mute the volume, turn the video to an exploding scene, turn up the knob, and watch Snibby run for his life!!!
Oh that is so much fun! Its a thing of beauty.
Make sure to youtube the results and send us the hyperlink. :cool:
LOL! How cruel
Actually we have always been a multi-cat family. The cats have plenty of cat things to sharpen claws on and such and I consider my furry family members to be exceptionally well schooled in speaker etiquette. I've also loved music all 44 years of my life and due to a career decision in my early adulthood have perhaps over-emphasized since the importance of what I call my "audiophile on a budget" lifestyle. I pay more for rent than I must simply because it provides me a neighborhood where the cops do NOT get called when I'm jamming tunes or watching a DVD at theater reference levels.
That said some of our cats quietly leave the room when the volume starts going up, others come to see what's playing! All our cats have spent their entire lives in a house shared with relatively powerful stereo equipment and are used to big, sudden explosions, whether "The Hurt Locker" (great movie btw) loud enough to move furniture or music played loud enough that you would think from a block away that I had a live band in my living room. "Snibby" is one of those that comes into the living room when the music starts jamming and is also probably the hardest to startle like that! Still, it would be funny to see.
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LOL! How cruel
Actually we have always been a multi-cat family. The cats have plenty of cat things to sharpen claws on and such and I consider my furry family members to be exceptionally well schooled in speaker etiquette. I've also loved music all 44 years of my life and due to a career decision in my early adulthood have perhaps over-emphasized since the importance of what I call my "audiophile on a budget" lifestyle. I pay more for rent than I must simply because it provides me a neighborhood where the cops do NOT get called when I'm jamming tunes or watching a DVD at theater reference levels.
That said some of our cats quietly leave the room when the volume starts going up, others come to see what's playing! All our cats have spent their entire lives in a house shared with relatively powerful stereo equipment and are used to big, sudden explosions, whether "The Hurt Locker" (great movie btw) loud enough to move furniture or music played loud enough that you would think from a block away that I had a live band in my living room. "Snibby" is one of those that comes into the living room when the music starts jamming and is also probably the hardest to startle like that! Still, it would be funny to see.
It was damned funny in high school when I put speakers in my sisters room as they were sleeping and then turned up the volume to I'm So Excited...:D:D The expressions on their faces as they woke up was a thing of beauty. I sure wish youtube was around when I pulled that off. It was one of the highlights in my high school life. (RIP Anita Pointer)
Can I send you my sisters cat to learn proper etiquite? She has complained to me numerous times how he has scratched up the clothed chairs, couch, and expensive rug. I keep telling her a pair of SDA will do wonders, but she has no idea what I am talking about. When I explain it to her, she says that my hobbies are too damned expensive!Statistics show that 98% of us will die at some point in our lifetime.
The other 2% will work for WalMart. -
I think we Polksters should take a vote whether Snibby should be allowed to be in the same room with a Polk Audio Speaker.Statistics show that 98% of us will die at some point in our lifetime.
The other 2% will work for WalMart. -
More on to my "my thoughts" of these speakers:
At first I wasn't going to call them "extremely revealing". I've had other speakers that were much more so, Dahlquist DQ-20i for example, that I noticed one day only played really, REALLY good recordings when I was listening to them. Why? Because bad recordings sounded absolutely TERRIBLE on them... but great recordings, well, they had the magic that's kept me in this "hobby" for so long.
My SDA-2s seemed a bit more complimentary to the recording being played. I could play cruddy 128kbs mp3s or lossless .flac rips of truly HD recordings and they seemed pretty nice with all of them. Anyone who's read this entire thread might be aware that I have initially come away with the impression that the sound stage of these particular speakers was a bit overwhelming compared to what I'm used to and that's still true, to a point. Now a particular recording in my library has changed my opinion of both aspects of these SDA-2s!
The recording is a lossless .FLAC rip of a fairly rare Phil Woods CD, "Musique Du Bois" (the $123 version). To non-jazz people this IS "jazz" but what the SDA-2's did with it made my jaw drop! This is an *excellent* recording and an *excellent* speaker will place instruments very life like... The SDA2's made it sound as if the group were literally in the room with me, on my lap, and even behind my head! I had read that the SDA effect could produce an almost "surround sound" kind of sound field but this is the first recording since I brought these speakers home that really made them shine!
So, in a nutshell, I have to reconsider at least this specific pair as "revealing" in a more than typical way... they play nicely with compressed top 40's stuff and still let truly good recordings come alive. I also have to admit that my comparison to Magnepans (in a sense, a wall of sound) is not quite accurate any more either.
Color me impressed! Maybe I should go look at a pair of SRS-2.3TL that are for sale? -
PolkMaster1 wrote: »Can I send you my sisters cat to learn proper etiquite? She has complained to me numerous times how he has scratched up the clothed chairs, couch, and expensive rug. I keep telling her a pair of SDA will do wonders, but she has no idea what I am talking about. When I explain it to her, she says that my hobbies are too damned expensive!
Well, truth be told, the sectional couch we have is and has been semi-approved cat scratch material for a few years now (as long as they don't touch the speakers!!!) and we have hardwood (laminate) flooring so that isn't an issue either. If your sister has high end speakers I might consider trading her two of my cats for her one "untrained" one but no promises on the furniture or floor rugs -
Snibby has left the room. Now suddenly, I miss Snibby. Funny how he isnt even my cat.Statistics show that 98% of us will die at some point in our lifetime.
The other 2% will work for WalMart. -
Well, truth be told, the sectional couch we have is and has been semi-approved cat scratch material for a few years now (as long as they don't touch the speakers!!!) and we have hardwood (laminate) flooring so that isn't an issue either. If your sister has high end speakers I might consider trading her two of my cats for her one "untrained" one but no promises on the furniture or floor rugs
High end speakers, or high end cats? She does not have either. I on the other hand at least have the high end speakers. And they dont go MEOW. Statistics show that 98% of us will die at some point in our lifetime.
The other 2% will work for WalMart. -
PolkMaster1 wrote: »High end speakers, or high end cats? She does not have either. I on the other hand at least have the high end speakers. And they dont go MEOW.
Hey! Snibby in particular will wake me up when the coffee pot starts brewing! He's the weirdest cat... I know this is off topic but one night I woke up because I felt a paw (and the very tips of his claws) gently raking through the hair on the top of my head... there he was, sitting above my pillow, doing this, at least until I woke up. He's done this same thing on and off for a few months now and it took me a night or two to figure out what exactly he was doing...
... He was PETTING me! Just like I pet him when he's asleep!
Some people are "dog people", some people are "cat people"... Snibby is definitely a "people cat"... and we like the same jazz -
Check out the new pole I put up in your honor (or is it Snibbys?). Hopefully you will find it all in good fun! Enjoy them SDAs you just got!!!Statistics show that 98% of us will die at some point in our lifetime.
The other 2% will work for WalMart. -
Hey! Snibby in particular will wake me up when the coffee pot starts brewing! He's the weirdest cat... I know this is off topic but one night I woke up because I felt a paw (and the very tips of his claws) gently raking through the hair on the top of my head... there he was, sitting above my pillow, doing this, at least until I woke up. He's done this same thing on and off for a few months now and it took me a night or two to figure out what exactly he was doing...
... He was PETTING me! Just like I pet him when he's asleep!
Some people are "dog people", some people are "cat people"... Snibby is definitely a "people cat"... and we like the same jazz
They tend to do that as they get older. Wait until you wake up one day and they are sitting on top of your face. :cool: My sister tells me that all the time.Statistics show that 98% of us will die at some point in our lifetime.
The other 2% will work for WalMart. -
LOL!
A few of my favorite tracks are revealing that at least my particular pair of SDA-2 are maybe a bit weak in the low end. YES "Owner of a Lonely Heart" has a very recognizable bass plunge in the intro and it sounds like these are maybe just a couple db weak around 30 Hz. Still a great speaker and still more bass than anything else I've heard using an array of 6.5" woofers and a radiator! Of course they are 26 years old and I suspect a re-cap might not hurt them... -
LOL!
A few of my favorite tracks are revealing that at least my particular pair of SDA-2 are maybe a bit weak in the low end. YES "Owner of a Lonely Heart" has a very recognizable bass plunge in the intro and it sounds like these are maybe just a couple db weak around 30 Hz. Still a great speaker and still more bass than anything else I've heard using an array of 6.5" woofers and a radiator! Of course they are 26 years old and I suspect a re-cap might not hurt them...
A crossover rebuild is certainly in order after 26 years of service from caps that do well for about 20, but I'll bet using Mortite to reseal the drivers and passives would give you a 3-5 db bass gain in a heartbeat.VTL ST50 w/mods / RCA6L6GC / TlfnknECC801S
Conrad Johnson PV-5 w/mods
TT Conrad Johnson Sonographe SG3 Oak / Sumiko LMT / Grado Woodbody Platinum / Sumiko PIB2 / The Clamp
Musical Fidelity A1 CDPro/ Bada DD-22 Tube CDP / Conrad Johnson SD-22 CDP
Tuners w/mods Kenwood KT5020 / Fisher KM60
MF x-DAC V8, HAInfo NG27
Herbies Ti-9 / Vibrapods / MIT Shotgun AC1 IEC's / MIT Shotgun 2 IC's / MIT Shotgun 2 Speaker Cables
PS Audio Cryo / PowerPort Premium Outlets / Exact Power EP15A Conditioner
Walnut SDA 2B TL /Oak SDA SRS II TL (Sonicaps/Mills/Cardas/Custom SDA ICs / Dynamat Extreme / Larry's Rings/ FSB-2 Spikes
NAD SS rigs w/mods
GIK panels -
A recap is a great place to start. If you have the original caps in there, a recap will give you a GREAT update to the sound. The notice is not subtile. Also other things you can do to enhance the sound is to get some Dynamat Extreme on line and Mortite Weather Stripping from Home Depot. Remove the original dampening ring and apply them both to the gaskets of your speakers. Mortite only to the tweeters. This will help make the bass deeper and dampen internal reflections from in your speakers. I applied the mortite and I notice a deeper bass. Make sure to read DarqueKnights instructions on Mortite in this forum on how much to use. I had to go back into the speakers because I over applied the mortite. The dynamat will be here soon. You should apply the mortite and dynamat together so that you do not have to open your speakers again. I did not follow this rule because I could not wait for the Dynamat, so it will be a next weekend project when the Dynamats come in.
Also think about making your own professional interconnect. Also read DarqueKnights application in this forum regarding on how to do that. DarqueKnight is a pretty good source regarding this.
As for my psersonal experience, you can try replacing the binding posts in your SDA 2s. PM me for recommendations on what to use. I beleive if you apply all of these improvements to your speakers, you will be amazed at the sound coming from them. It will be better than a stock SDA 2 and you would have maximized your speaker to the max, and Snibby will be happy at the improvements you made to these speakers.Statistics show that 98% of us will die at some point in our lifetime.
The other 2% will work for WalMart. -
A local stereo shop has a very nice (so the description would indicate) pair of SRS 2.3TL for just shy of $900. Should I spend the money to upgrade these SDA-2s or throw that same cash plus whatever I can flip the '2s for and check out the SRS 2.3TL? What makes more sense in the mind of a true Polk fan (I haven't had SDA technology long enough to call myself that yet)?
"P.B.", Snibby's brother, thinks spend the dough on a speaker that might not need the upgrades:
P.B. says: "Spend the money on the big speaker, sucker." -
A local stereo shop has a very nice (so the description would indicate) pair of SRS 2.3TL for just shy of $900. Should I spend the money to upgrade these SDA-2s or throw that same cash plus whatever I can flip the '2s for and check out the SRS 2.3TL?
I have never heard the SRS 2.3 TLs, they were second best to the 1.2 TLs from 1987-1991. I have the 1.2TLs. Judging by the 1.2TLs, and that the 2.3TLs are the runner up to the 1.2TLs, I would say easly GO FOR IT! Despite not having the honor to hear it, but I beleive the other Polksters would agree. The 2.3s should be bi-wire/ampable. Expect to perform a cap rebuild and all the other mods I and others have suggested.
I would expect that the 2.3 TLs to be easly impressive and sound beautiful. If you can audition them, make sure all the speakers are functioning. If you can find out if any are not functioning, find out which speakers are not functioning and if Polk has any replacements in stock.
Keep in mind these speakers are TALLER (coffin size) and nearly twice the weight of your current SDA 2s. You should have no problems selling the speakers if you are impressed with them. Just make sure that Snibby doesnt get too attached to the SDA 2s, or he may start giving you funny looks.Statistics show that 98% of us will die at some point in our lifetime.
The other 2% will work for WalMart. -
A local stereo shop has a very nice (so the description would indicate) pair of SRS 2.3TL for just shy of $900. Should I spend the money to upgrade these SDA-2s or throw that same cash plus whatever I can flip the '2s for and check out the SRS 2.3TL? What makes more sense in the mind of a true Polk fan (I haven't had SDA technology long enough to call myself that yet)?
"P.B.", Snibby's brother, thinks spend the dough on a speaker that might not need the upgrades:
[P.B. says: "Spend the money on the big speaker, sucker."
I am with P.B. on this one. But expect to spend extra money after the purchase.
P.B. is a nice looking cat. Does P.B. stand for Peanut Butter Cat?Statistics show that 98% of us will die at some point in our lifetime.
The other 2% will work for WalMart. -
PolkMaster1 wrote: »I am with P.B. on this one. But expect to spend extra money after the purchase.
P.B. is a nice looking cat. Does P.B. stand for Peanut Butter Cat?
Thanks for the feedback guys!
No, "PB" stands for "Polar Bear" because when he was quite young he was mostly white besides the black tip of his nose. This is one after he started developing his colors... yes, that's "Snibby" between him and their brother "Richard":
The shop that has the 2.3TL is a big boutique shop in the Seattle downtown area. They sell high end gear and take trade ins. I think especially in this economy they might be a bit flexible on the price and certainly I know that they have gear similar to mine to demo them on. Every driver that doesn't sound right means $$$ off the sticker price too! Again, they take trade ins so maybe...
$900 buys a lot of speaker. I could buy back the Teledyne AR9LS I posted earlier for $650, there is a pair of Snell Type D that just showed up on the local CL too for right around the same price as the 2.3TL and I'm a bit of a Snell fan (never heard the bigger ones though) and another buddy of mine has pledged his original AR9s, one of the speakers I still most lust after, that if I bought a pair of Ariel 10t and didn't like them that he'd throw his AR9s on top of cash to take them off my hands... but the 10t is twice the money we are talking about here!
Back on topic... how much to mod/upgrade these SDA2 vs. a pair of slightly newer SRS 2.3TL plus whatever they might neeed? -
Sleepy time now. I will come back tomorrow to answer your questions. That is a really cute pic of your cat.
Night all!Statistics show that 98% of us will die at some point in our lifetime.
The other 2% will work for WalMart. -
Further listening made me giggle like a school girl! I've been listening to the Putumayo CD Sampler that I downloaded from Amazon.com for free (did you know that Amazon has over 1,800 mp3s you can download for FREE?!?!?!?) and track #3, Il Girasole came on and every once in awhile the SDA-2s would THROW an instrument up the wall and BEHIND my ears! VERY cool!
I've had a lot of very good speakers over the years including many non-Polk that had amazing sound stage but this SDA thing really has a magic of it's own with the right track -
Further listening made me giggle like a school girl! I've been listening to the Putumayo CD Sampler that I downloaded from Amazon.com for free (did you know that Amazon has over 1,800 mp3s you can download for FREE?!?!?!?) and track #3, Il Girasole came on and every once in awhile the SDA-2s would THROW an instrument up the wall and BEHIND my ears! VERY cool!
I've had a lot of very good speakers over the years including many non-Polk that had amazing sound stage but this SDA thing really has a magic of it's own with the right track
That is the power of SDA Polk Magic. :cool:
MP3s are NOT a true audio format and should be outlawed! PERIOD! If you want to hear full SDA magic, put on a CD (non MP3 encoded) or record to hear the full effect of SDA. Unfortuantely, DVD Movies fall in the same category as MP3s. Compression audio-video technology sucks!
I hate compression technology!!! :mad::mad::mad:Statistics show that 98% of us will die at some point in our lifetime.
The other 2% will work for WalMart. -
Further listening made me giggle like a school girl! I've been listening to the Putumayo CD Sampler that I downloaded from Amazon.com for free (did you know that Amazon has over 1,800 mp3s you can download for FREE?!?!?!?) and track #3, Il Girasole came on and every once in awhile the SDA-2s would THROW an instrument up the wall and BEHIND my ears! VERY cool!
I've had a lot of very good speakers over the years including many non-Polk that had amazing sound stage but this SDA thing really has a magic of it's own with the right track
Speaking of that magic, yesterday I happened to be listening to a Jefferson Starship CD (No Protection) that arrived in a bulk lot of CD's I purchased.
I'm more of an earlier days Jefferson Airplane than Starship fan, but I ended up listening to "Beat Patrol" (track #1) about 10 TIMES due to the SDA effect.
I guess you would call this tune "Techno" as it is very synthesizer and reverb heavy; it throws stuff slightly BEHIND ME and my listening position is 13' back from the front plane of the cabinets! Fantastic! VTL ST50 w/mods / RCA6L6GC / TlfnknECC801S
Conrad Johnson PV-5 w/mods
TT Conrad Johnson Sonographe SG3 Oak / Sumiko LMT / Grado Woodbody Platinum / Sumiko PIB2 / The Clamp
Musical Fidelity A1 CDPro/ Bada DD-22 Tube CDP / Conrad Johnson SD-22 CDP
Tuners w/mods Kenwood KT5020 / Fisher KM60
MF x-DAC V8, HAInfo NG27
Herbies Ti-9 / Vibrapods / MIT Shotgun AC1 IEC's / MIT Shotgun 2 IC's / MIT Shotgun 2 Speaker Cables
PS Audio Cryo / PowerPort Premium Outlets / Exact Power EP15A Conditioner
Walnut SDA 2B TL /Oak SDA SRS II TL (Sonicaps/Mills/Cardas/Custom SDA ICs / Dynamat Extreme / Larry's Rings/ FSB-2 Spikes
NAD SS rigs w/mods
GIK panels -
Thanks for the feedback guys!
$900 buys a lot of speaker. I could buy back the Teledyne AR9LS I posted earlier for $650, there is a pair of Snell Type D that just showed up on the local CL too for right around the same price as the 2.3TL and I'm a bit of a Snell fan (never heard the bigger ones though) and another buddy of mine has pledged his original AR9s, one of the speakers I still most lust after, that if I bought a pair of Ariel 10t and didn't like them that he'd throw his AR9s on top of cash to take them off my hands... but the 10t is twice the money we are talking about here!
Back on topic... how much to mod/upgrade these SDA2 vs. a pair of slightly newer SRS 2.3TL plus whatever they might neeed?
I dont know the costs, but expect to spend anywhere from $300-500 for crossover upgradeds between the SDA 2 or the SDA-SRS 2.3s. From what others are saying, it is worth it and I will be doing it soon to my SDA-SRS 1.2 TLs. I have never heard the ARs you are talking about, but when I sold audio equipment in the RIP Crazy Eddie days, one of the best speaker we had was an AR speaker for $1200. Unfortunately, they never sold Polk Audio Speakers, and that speaker would never sway me from a Polk Audio Speaker.Statistics show that 98% of us will die at some point in our lifetime.
The other 2% will work for WalMart. -
A local stereo shop has a very nice (so the description would indicate) pair of SRS 2.3TL for just shy of $900. Should I spend the money to upgrade these SDA-2s or throw that same cash plus whatever I can flip the '2s for and check out the SRS 2.3TL? What makes more sense in the mind of a true Polk fan (I haven't had SDA technology long enough to call myself that yet)?
"P.B.", Snibby's brother, thinks spend the dough on a speaker that might not need the upgrades:
P.B. says: "Spend the money on the big speaker, sucker."
Get rid of the 2s and go for the 2.3TLs. They are wonderful and some Polkies here believe them to sound better than 1.2TLs. I happen to like them but think they just sound different than the 1.2TLs not better. The 1.2TLs throw a higher soundstage as if you were in an audience at a concert looking up at the stage.
If you buy them, after a while, you WILL get the urge to upgrade the tweeters, update the crossovers, spike them and Dynamat the MW & PR baskets. -
PolkMaster1 wrote: »That is the power of SDA Polk Magic. :cool:
MP3s are NOT a true audio format and should be outlawed! PERIOD! If you want to hear full SDA magic, put on a CD (non MP3 encoded) or record to hear the full effect of SDA. Unfortuantely, DVD Movies fall in the same category as MP3s. Compression audio-video technology sucks!
I hate compression technology!!! :mad::mad::mad:
Eh, it works, and I can't really complain at that price
CDs at my house get ripped to lossless .FLAC and then they are stored away in a cool, dark, dust free environment for posterity. Then the .FLAC files are gently processed by the excellent (and free) Squeezebox Server software on my PC and streamed over good ol' fashioned CAT5 to my router where it's then passed on to a Roku Soundbridge that I use as transport. I prefer an optical cable to carry the signal from the Roku to my pre versus using the Roku's internal DACs. -
Eh, it works, and I can't really complain at that price
CDs at my house get ripped to lossless .FLAC and then they are stored away in a cool, dark, dust free environment for posterity. Then the .FLAC files are gently processed by the excellent (and free) Squeezebox Server software on my PC and streamed over good ol' fashioned CAT5 to my router where it's then passed on to a Roku Soundbridge that I use as transport. I prefer an optical cable to carry the signal from the Roku to my pre versus using the Roku's internal DACs.
You well care for your CDs. I think you keep them in some sort of clean-room somewhere in the Intel Headquarters.
However, I recommend (without knowing the size of your CD collection) that you rip select CD Tracks to a CD or a few CDs (kept in its native WAV format). Although you have went through great lengths to keep the signal as pure as possible coming from the PC, the output from the PC can be a limiting factor. If you do this, you can A-B the sound from CD format vs. the sound coming from your PC. I would love to hear your findings.
I come from the old school that any compression done to any A/V file is a bad thing, no matter how conservative the compression technology can be. As you can see, my viewpoint regarding compression in the A/V world is an unnecessary evil.
Also, have you thought of ripping your CDs to the PC in WAV format instead of using compression? I would recommend that you buy a MASSIVE size hard drive, stick it into the PC, and rip all your CD tracks in uncompressed format. Then see if there is any improvement in sound coming from your PC. I still recommend using your CD player as a reliable audio source over your PC.Statistics show that 98% of us will die at some point in our lifetime.
The other 2% will work for WalMart. -
hearingimpared wrote: »Get rid of the 2s and go for the 2.3TLs. They are wonderful and some Polkies here believe them to sound better than 1.2TLs. I happen to like them but think they just sound different than the 1.2TLs not better. The 1.2TLs throw a higher soundstage as if you were in an audience at a concert looking up at the stage.
If you buy them, after a while, you WILL get the urge to upgrade the tweeters, update the crossovers, spike them and Dynamat the MW & PR baskets.
2.3TLs sound better than the 1.2TLs??? :eek::eek::eek:
Blasphamy!
Maybe they sound better in smaller rooms compared to the 1.2TLs? I have yet to hear them myself, but I would not mind hearing them.Statistics show that 98% of us will die at some point in our lifetime.
The other 2% will work for WalMart. -
hearingimpared wrote: »Get rid of the 2s and go for the 2.3TLs. They are wonderful and some Polkies here believe them to sound better than 1.2TLs. I happen to like them but think they just sound different than the 1.2TLs not better. The 1.2TLs throw a higher soundstage as if you were in an audience at a concert looking up at the stage.
If you buy them, after a while, you WILL get the urge to upgrade the tweeters, update the crossovers, spike them and Dynamat the MW & PR baskets.
+1 ^^
If coming up with the cash difference is possible, the above is spot on. However the $900 tag is more than you should pay unless they have already been upgraded. Troy just sold his for $900 a few weeks ago and they had RDO-198's, not sure about crossovers being redone.
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93450VTL ST50 w/mods / RCA6L6GC / TlfnknECC801S
Conrad Johnson PV-5 w/mods
TT Conrad Johnson Sonographe SG3 Oak / Sumiko LMT / Grado Woodbody Platinum / Sumiko PIB2 / The Clamp
Musical Fidelity A1 CDPro/ Bada DD-22 Tube CDP / Conrad Johnson SD-22 CDP
Tuners w/mods Kenwood KT5020 / Fisher KM60
MF x-DAC V8, HAInfo NG27
Herbies Ti-9 / Vibrapods / MIT Shotgun AC1 IEC's / MIT Shotgun 2 IC's / MIT Shotgun 2 Speaker Cables
PS Audio Cryo / PowerPort Premium Outlets / Exact Power EP15A Conditioner
Walnut SDA 2B TL /Oak SDA SRS II TL (Sonicaps/Mills/Cardas/Custom SDA ICs / Dynamat Extreme / Larry's Rings/ FSB-2 Spikes
NAD SS rigs w/mods
GIK panels -
PolkMaster1 wrote: »You well care for your CDs. I think you keep them in some sort of clean-room somewhere in the Intel Headquarters.
However, I recommend (without knowing the size of your CD collection) that you rip select CD Tracks to a CD or a few CDs (kept in its native WAV format). Although you have went through great lengths to keep the signal as pure as possible coming from the PC, the output from the PC can be a limiting factor. If you do this, you can A-B the sound from CD format vs. the sound coming from your PC. I would love to hear your findings.
I come from the old school that any compression done to any A/V file is a bad thing, no matter how conservative the compression technology can be. As you can see, my viewpoint regarding compression in the A/V world is an unnecessary evil.
Also, have you thought of ripping your CDs to the PC in WAV format instead of using compression? I would recommend that you buy a MASSIVE size hard drive, stick it into the PC, and rip all your CD tracks in uncompressed format. Then see if there is any improvement in sound coming from your PC. I still recommend using your CD player as a reliable audio source over your PC.
FLAC is a *lossless* format meaning it makes an *exact* copy of the original source material. No kidding! You can personally test this fact by converting anything into a .wav by simply changing the file extension, say an .exe, a .pdf, whatever, and then compressing it with flac, email it to yourself, transcode the flac back into wav, change the .wav extension back into what it's supposed to be and viola! The original recreated! So, in a nutshell, playing FLAC files = playing the original WAV (or 24/96 rips of vinyl too, in my case).
The benefits of using FLAC as opposed to raw wav are two fold... first, it IS a compression method. It doesn't make the wav much smaller than the original but when you are talking about thousands of files every bit helps. Second, the FLAC format also contains ID3 tags... artist, album, track names and titles, genre, etc... raw WAV files do not
Big storage? 500GB x 2, one the "play" disc and the second a mirrored and sync'd copy for when that first drive eventually breaks down. A pair of 1TB are in the near future I think! 12,000 tracks and counting. -
inspiredsports wrote: »+1 ^^
If coming up with the cash difference is possible, the above is spot on. However the $900 tag is more than you should pay unless they have already been upgraded. Troy just sold his for $900 a few weeks ago and they had RDO-198's, not sure about crossovers being redone.
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93450
Thanks! I'm thinking the same. audiogon suggests that their price is below market value and past experience with this store suggests that their pair are probably in excellent condition (they actually rate them an 8/10) or they wouldn't have them in their inventory in the first place. Also, like shopping for a "used" car, used hifi equipment prices at a brick-and-mortar store are usually open for a little negotiation
I'm going to try and get up there this week and have a listen.
