SDA 2B or 1C for large space?
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joebass3
Posts: 252
Seems like the 2B's are highly regarded by CP members, and generally get the nod over a set of 1C's. But what about in a larger room? Would the bigger 1C's with more drivers fill the space better?
My family room is about 20' x 20" with a high ceiling and I know it is far from being in ideal music room. I recently decided to get some vintage SDA's and found a pair of 1C's locally. They will be doing double duty for music and home theater. I connected them to see how they looked and to make sure all the drivers worked properly, and then completely stripped them down to do all the mods. Everything is complete (crossovers, hurricane nuts, sonic barrier, etc.) and they just need to be re-assembled.
I see a post a couple of days ago from VSAT88 (thanks!) in the SDA speaker deals thread for a pair of 2B's at an amazing price, and there are now sitting in my house. The price was too good to resist.
So now I'm stuck with a choice. Which to use and which to sell? If I tried to sell the 1C's, I'd never recoup the money I've spent to mod them. Leaning towards just rocking the 1C's, but looking for suggestions from those of you who have owned both.
My family room is about 20' x 20" with a high ceiling and I know it is far from being in ideal music room. I recently decided to get some vintage SDA's and found a pair of 1C's locally. They will be doing double duty for music and home theater. I connected them to see how they looked and to make sure all the drivers worked properly, and then completely stripped them down to do all the mods. Everything is complete (crossovers, hurricane nuts, sonic barrier, etc.) and they just need to be re-assembled.
I see a post a couple of days ago from VSAT88 (thanks!) in the SDA speaker deals thread for a pair of 2B's at an amazing price, and there are now sitting in my house. The price was too good to resist.
So now I'm stuck with a choice. Which to use and which to sell? If I tried to sell the 1C's, I'd never recoup the money I've spent to mod them. Leaning towards just rocking the 1C's, but looking for suggestions from those of you who have owned both.
Comments
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For a 20 ft by 20 ft space I'd stick with the 1Cs. You could consider going up to one of the SRS models too.
I used the smaller SDA speakers in smaller rooms and sometimes with a subwoofer. -
Keep both sets and move them in and out of your room because it will satisfy your curiosity which ones sounds the best (to you). Then you could sell one set, if desired."Sometimes you have to look to the past to understand where you are going in the future"
Harry / Marietta GA -
For a 20 ft by 20 ft space I'd stick with the 1Cs. You could consider going up to one of the SRS models too.
I used the smaller SDA speakers in smaller rooms and sometimes with a subwoofer.
The SRS option was quickly dismissed by my wife! Even took her some time to warm up to the 1C's 😀 -
BlueBirdMusic wrote: »Keep both sets and move them in and out of your room because it will satisfy your curiosity which ones sounds the best (to you). Then you could sell one set, if desired.
That's a good idea. Since I have the 1C's in pieces, I'll set up the others for now and see how they sound. -
The only problem I see with this is that you will have to modify the 2B's as well, to do the comparison properly. Have fun! George / NJ
Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
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IME, the 2B modded to TL is the better balanced speaker with better tone. They would have no problem filling your space.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
I connected the 2B's today and also installed the B&K amp that I recently purchased. The 2B's sound damn good even in there stock form! They are replacing a pair of RTA 8T's that were connected to my Denon AVR, so obviously it's an improvement.
So I guess my next step is to button up the 1C's and give them a listen. But since most on here feel the 2B's with the TL mod are the way to go, I think the 2B's might be staying.
Only problem is, if I sell the 1C's I doubt I could recoup the cost of the speakers plus the money invested in the mods. Would it make sense to strip the new caps off of the 1C's and use them for the 2B's, since most of the values are the same? Or just sell them advertised as fully modded? I have a total of about 600 in them. -
I would swap the caps and use the 2b's and sell the 1c's. The 2b's are the better sounding speaker especially with the mods.
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I have yet to hear the 1C’s but I do enjoy my fully rebuilt and fully modded 2B’s.2 channel: Anthem 225 Integrated amp; Parasound Ztuner; TechnicsTT SL1350; Vincent PHO-8 phono pre; Marantz CD6005 spinner; Polk SDA2BTL's; LAT International speaker cables, ZU Mission IC's and power cables all into a PS Audio Dectet Power center.
Other; M10 series II, M7C's, Hafler XL600 amp, RB-980BX, Parasound HCA-1500 amp , P5 preamp, all in storage. All vintage Polk have had crossover rebuilds and tweeter upgrades.
The best way to predict the future is to invent it.
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I've owned both but haven't heard the 2Btl's and I don't know of anyone here who have A/B' d 2Btl's and 1C's in the same room with the same equipment. I would bet money you'll like the 1C's better. Build them both and do the side by side review. We'll help you sell the ones you love the least.
Gustard X26 Pro DAC
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B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
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Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)
There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus -
I do not have 2B's or CRS+, but I do have 1C's, modded 2.3TL's and some 1.2TL's. Base on the 1Cs and the 2.3s, I think the comment about the CRS+ having a bigger sound stage is due to the speaker spacing. The 2.3 and 1.2 have a similar sound stage. Both have a larger sound stage than the 1C's. I have heard the SRS2's also have a larger sound stage and more bass. They are basically a 1C in a larger cabinet (and larger PR?) with the same speaker spacing as the 2.3 and 1.2. People also really love there modded SRS2. Based on this I think the sound stage will be the same for the 2B and 1C. Provided you have good space on the sides of your speakers, you could go with wider spacing, so if the larger series is not an option, maybe a set of CRS+ could be in your future. The CRS can be TL modded to use the RD0-198 tweeter.
The 2B with the TL mod is highly praised in this forum, but depending on the day, there are comments that the 198 tweeter is not much better than the 194, to the 198 tweeter sounds much better. I do think the 2B hits a synergy point on size and design for 2 channel listening based on a number of peoples comments. The 1C's will provide more bass, and I think fill your room more for HT. The 1C's definitely rock, and IMO still do great on imaging. I would finish building the modded 1C's and break them in. See how things sound. See how you thing the modded sound compares to the original and then see how you like the 2B's.
My guess based on comments throughout the forum is that in the end a modded set of 2B's will sound slightly better than the modded 1C's. If you like good bass rumble for HT, I feel the 2B's will not do as well unless you get a sub.
On a side note, I have not yet modded my 1C's because I want to figure out a crossover to use the 198 tweeter. I have been told to give that dream up because a modded 2B sounds near as good as a TL modded 2B, and that I would not notice much difference.
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I have 2Btl's and upgraded 1C's. Using the same source amp, the 2's had better imaging then the 1c's. The 1C's could go louder but they didn't sound better. Sold the 1C's and kept the 2B's.SDA SRS 2.3TL's
Silk Audio MS-90-BT integrated tube amp
Yaqin MS-20L integrated tube amp
SDA 2B TL's -
Heresy to some perhaps.....but I think the 2B's and the CRS's are the sweet spot for SDA. I don't have a ton of experience with the 1C's but never warmed up to them to be honest.
BDTI plan for the future. - F1Nut -
michaeljhsda2 wrote: »I have 2Btl's and upgraded 1C's. Using the same source amp, the 2's had better imaging then the 1c's. The 1C's could go louder but they didn't sound better. Sold the 1C's and kept the 2B's.
I also have both. Modded in the same ways. The 2Btl sound better to my ears also. The 2Btl sit in my office right next to a pair of Zu Audio Omen. I listen to the 2B much more often than the Omen. The 1C have been relegated to the closet. The 1C were out for a few weeks when I modded my living room speakers and they sound good for sure, just not as good as the 2Btl.SDA SRS 2.3tl, SDA 1C, SDA 2B (TL mod), Reserve 200 -
2B vote here. Got em, modded em, (inc. TL mod.) room size 7.5 x 14.9 x 23 and I can turn up AC/DC For Those About to Rock so loud that it will nearly run you out of the room. Plenty of speaker for my size room for sure. I have not heard a 1C to be honest but I do have many other speakers like a set of Snell C/V's and to me the SDA 2B sounds just as good if not better in some ways. Happy for you getting those speakers BTW. They went to a good home !
