Documenting: My SDA-1c upgrades from start to finish

I invoke the wiener clause to pause current hostilities

Jack's, in Midland, MI, has an amazing assortment of hotdog-like sausages.

The brats are amazing.

When I came back last week, after setting up the modded 5(B) for my ailing Dad, on a spur of the moment trip from WV, I stopped off and bought a selection:



^Jalepeno cheddar.

Sometimes, $90 worth of wieners to share with the extended family is just... awkward.

Running the GFA-555ii again (fixed the bias, but still need to replace the caps).

Imaging and separation is fantastic.

Bass is still there, but the room eats more of it in this orientation. I've got twice the room to fill as before. I just have to turn it up a bit more to feel it in my skull. I don't feel the lined passive chambers hurt anything but boomy, exaggerated, *inaccurate* bass. My opinion.

Definitely more presence/force of presentation than with backup amp.

How much better is the 800 than these old SDAs?

I came here to chew bubblegum and upgrade my 1C.

And I'm all out of bubblegum.

Tonight's feature: Looking for Mr. Fubar

I'll have a more formal comparison of stock vs mods, eventually.

- First test was the 194 vs Wuhan, 2000, and Dayton. Not a fan of the 194 in both slots. Best combo so far = Dayton (with lamb's wool in back chamber) on top and 194 on bottom. Still need to try Daytons in both slots to complete the test combinations.

- Comparing passive chamber and stuffing mods = prefer mods. No boomy bass. Everything is very clear and defined. Listened to everything from tone tests to reference tracks for hours last night to compare. Much more controlled. At first, I thought a lot of bass was gone. But test tones showed the speakers are capable of producing the frequencies, but a huge chunk of distorted bass is gone, so the clean tones sound different, more defined, smaller, and balanced to the rest of the music. I miss the exaggerated low end on some tracks, but the gains on everything else is great. I might play with moving the BH5 higher and lower on the side walls.

- Cabinets = I think the slight changes in the Real Wood front face, extra mass top and bottom, plus the grill differences and different side treatments, results in a better sound- stock setup to Studio stock setup. I would love to hear impressions from people who A/B'd them both.

- Next stop, mids. But I'm busy and that might take a while.

So far, pleased. A little surprised, too. For example, I really expected to like the 194. Didn't like them in the 5(B), either. Nor did my daughter when I had her listen w/o telling her what I changed.

Current status:

Still looking for Mr. Fubar
or
It takes two to Tango, and Cash

pitdogg2 wrote: »

Believe it or not...

I believe it!

I didn't believe there'd be a real difference I could point to, but I was wrong.

I think there are 2 things that pushed my soundstage out anywhere from a foot to... well... based on last night's marathon... 4 feet wider in this long-wall orientation than the Studio:

- The cabinets/grills/fabric, absolutely. And that was totally unexpected for me. At least, that noticeable.

- The stuffing changes behind the mids. I played around with stuffing as-is before I changed it. To my ear, it made things airier and wider on ambient'ish sounds (synth effects on Living for the City, for example).

I listened with the grills off for hours, too.

Unlike the Studio, I like the RW better with the grills on.

I don't know about off-axis listening though... I need to see how that sounds.

My Studio and Real Wood have another structural difference

The divider on the RW is longer than the Studio.


The Studio's divider^ separates about 35% of the space between the lower two mids.


The RW's divider^ separated by over 75% of the space between the lower two mids.

I'm curious about how that extra space affects the bass and the sound of the lower 2 mids.

I didn't notice that difference in divider size until today at lunch.

The Studios, anecdotally, had slightly heavier bass before I made the stuffing changes in the RW. The mids are closer to passive, it has smaller passive chamber, and it has more driver-sharing-direct-path-of-air-between sides...

My midrange on the RW is better than the Studios. Voices are improved (and they were nice before). The biggest gains (I thought) were the stuffing change, but there could be subtle differences related to the interior of cabinet, too.

Offhand, and contradictorily, I think the Airwolf theme was better on the Studios...

Update

The 1C continue to bring smiles to faces, but no new listeners the past month or so.

It's too bad Post Pandemic Time still makes it hard for people to get back into the swing of visiting. I've got this unfinished room set up for 5 seats, but it's a challenge getting Gen X nerd parents together. I'll have some over at Christmas, so I'll just have to wait for some new opinions.

- The best setup. so far, for the 1C on the long wall is:

8ft 6in between cabinets
2-3in from front wall
7ft from side walls
13ft from center of either speaker to where my head is in my chair

- The Daytons just keep getting better. BUT! I wish there was a way to calculate out caps and resistors (and inductors?) that would more closely match its values. If it sounds this nice in a slot it wasn't made for, I'd love to hear them more closely matched to ideal.

- I put the cabinets on wheeled trucks. MUCH easier to move around. The wheels can lock. No noticeable difference in sound than on elevated blocks.

- I'd like to try larger felt pads that cover all the face around the tweeters- from the top of the mids to the top and sides of the cab.

I had to adjust the pads to fit with the RW's grilles:




Th grille frame went over the tweeter plate, so I cut a strip of felt off. I took that and put it on the inner lip of the grille frame above the tweeter, so the felt is kind of in an L shape with the grille on.

- I listen with the grills on 90% of the time now. Am interested to see differences with felt pads, since I just installed and made the changes tonight.

- I worry every now and again that they don't have the visceral impact they did along the short wall, when the room was split in half. But, it makes sense. They have to fill a much larger space, and the sweet seat is a lot further away. Then I'll hit a song that has some great low end, and I realize they sound fantastic. I'm still debating a pair of subs, just for the air pressure. But I'd hate to lose any of the accuracy, speed, and... texture?... I get right now.

I took the pre off Direct/Bypass and turned the bass up a click. Made a big difference without muddying the sound.

- Trashing the Studio cabs and putting most of the non-modded bits up for sale soon. It pains me, but I don't have room for 3 pairs of big speakers, and those cabs are a mess. Plus, I can get more parting them out. Good news is, I'll get to keep a couple of mids for backup. Maybe a passive, too.

- Wires, inductors, a mini Dread, and a refurb for the 555ii are all on the menu for mid-to-late 2024. Maybe a better DAC/streamer, too, if finances permit. And a better phono pre, if things go well and the world doesn't degenerate into chaos. But... honestly... I could fund a lot if I got rid of my albums and turntables... [thinks about it].

- I created a couple playlists of great mixes on Quboz. Listening for songs that showcase the soundstage is a new hobby.