RD0-194 upgrade in SDA SRS2 was a big disappointment

Don't take this the wrong way, but you may have high frequency hearing loss that makes the sl2000 sound more pleasing

I think it's like plus 8db at 13khz which is a significant bump

Make sure they have 50-75 hours of music to break in. They will sound much different after break in.

H9

VR3 wrote: »

Don't take this the wrong way, but you may have high frequency hearing loss that makes the sl2000 sound more pleasing

I think it's like plus 8db at 13khz which is a significant bump

Even before my high-frequency hearing loss, I preferred the SL2000, and I still do—largely for its particular textural character, especially since I listen at relatively low levels. The RD0194 is clearly smoother, yet it still strikes me as somewhat hot in its own way, almost as though there's a sustained lift above 10 kHz.

Even with stoooopid amounts of treble attenuation (EQ + tone controls), I find the SL2000 produces a more engaging presentation right out of the box. I could probably sculpt some excitement into the RD0194 with EQ, but during the one day I could tolerate listening to it, I was disappointed by how much smaller everything seemed. For reference, I connected black/blue to red tab.

What struck me most was the apparent lack of integration between the tweeters and midwoofers. There seemed to be a sharp spatial transition: the SDA effect remained wide, but the treble sounded narrow and close-in. With the SL2000, the presentation feels much more uniform in width and overall scale, even with substantial treble attenuation.

The RD0194 genuinely seemed to shrink the SDA presentation and the soundstage as a whole. It became reminiscent of the more restrained, "polite" presentation of my 3.1TLs, rather than the enormous, continuous spatial presentation I enjoy from the older Polks.

The RD0194s did, however, teach me something valuable: what people mean when they describe treble as "grainy." And yes, the SL2000 is noticeably grainy on vocals. But that wispy, papery, slightly scratchy high-frequency texture gives music an almost ASMR-like quality.

I suspect that's part of what made me fall in love with Polk SDA speakers in the first place. That peculiar sense of texture, combined with their otherwise smooth, relaxed, warm, almost liquid presentation, creates something I find extraordinarily engaging. My first pair was the SDA 2B, and that combination left quite an impression.

I worked around a lot of loud machinery and equipment in my life.

I was one who liked the SL2000s because of the pronounced midrange volume. I've owned enough Polk monitors to know that some of the SL2000s would come unglued, and the sound was raspier with those. You can see the delamination around the fisheye rim where some is black, and some becomes clear.

I saw and heard what people on this forum talked about and paid the 200.00 for 4 of the RD-0194s.

I knew the sound would be lacking in the mids, per what everybody said would happen. I knew the new tweeters would get louder after a week or a month. AND they did. The new RD-0194s got louder and fill in the sound range pretty darn well now. I don't notice a lack in the mids through the highs at all.

Playing Yello's Pocket Universe through my SDA-SRS2s was a musical experience I think I'll never forget. It lacked nothing. The sound seemed PERFECTLY rendered.

I don't know why you would change the wire hook-ups.

I don't hear above 11 kHz. But below that, the RD-0194s DO smooth out the output. Not as loud, but still, the music seems to be there without the HORN-blaring volume the SL2000s are known for.

Remember, I liked the SL2000s that weren't coming unglued in some of my Polk speakers. But after replacing all of my SL2000s, I don't need to think I maybe should go back to them.