Regarding my new SRS 2's

I was reading the "WAF" thread earlier, so I though I'd post this here.

My wife LOVES the SRS 2's.

I was a little worried at first, because they look a lot bigger in person than you're expecting if you've just looked at the dimensions. And I knew it was going to be a challenge getting them to "fit" anywhere in my house. Turns out it still is, since I just basically got them into the den, sitting in front of my other speakers and, at least partially blocking view of the TV. They were supposed to go in the living room. I hooked them up, though (maybe a mistake?), and that's where they've been sitting for nearly a week. We both enjoy listening to music, and they sound so good...! They're far from optimally placed, and one of them (I can hear the groans already) is hooked up with alligator clip leads, since my existing speaker wires wouldn't quite reach. But, man, they just sound wonderful. Associated gear is a modded Tosh 3950 CD player, a Dodd ELP (currently running JAN 6922's), and a Sunfire 300 x 2 amp.

These were the first SDA's that I had ever heard 2 years ago at TX PFII, and though Russ had some higher-zoot gear than I do, I'm happy to say that they sound just as impressive at my house as they did at his. I can just sit down and listen to whole CD's, for hours at a time: Something I rarely did before. I've been digging through my CD collection and ordering a few new ones.

These speakers already have the updated tweeters, and though I never heard them with the SL2000's, I don't hear anything that they're doing wrong. I don't have many people around who are "into" audio, so I'm having fun getting people to come in and sit down for a listen. They come in thinking I'm crazy for having such big speakers sitting in my room, but when the music starts playing they get that funny amazed look on their face. Fun to watch. Then they don't want to leave. I bet Russ has had this problem.

Some observations I've made so far (keep in mind the placement):

The SDA effect is a cool thing. Some may consider it a gimmic, or whatever, but it works, and works well with almost all material. What I like about it, as opposed to some of the other "processing"-based soundfield enhancement techniques, is that it works on the right parts of the signal and basically leaves everything else alone. In other words, on material that's not "SDA demo material" -- stuff that doesn't have especially wide separation or whatever-- it doesn't mess it up. It just sounds normal. A strong center image is always maintained. The only exception I've noted, and others have too, is that piano, depending on how it's mic'd, can sound like it's 50ft from one end to the other.

The bass from these is incredible. I've seen the specs, but still it's hard to imagine those 6.5" active drivers being capable of pumping out bass with such authority. They dig deep, and it's tight, fast.. natural-sounding. Even sitting out 3 ft from the wall. Already on several recordings I've found bass notes that I didn't know were there. And I'm going to have to go "rattle-hunting" in my kitchen cabinets. I talked to someone on the forum a while back who was using a PSW1200 with SRS 2's. He felt like the sub added considerable bass below what the SRS 2's would produce. I disagree. I think it's obvious that the SRS 2's go deeper. It's a different kind of bass, and not as "in-your-face", but it's fantastic for music.

They're very efficient. Though I'm a believer in having big power, at least big S.S. power, it certainly doesn't require large amounts of it to produce a lot of sound from these speakers. I thought my RT800i's sounded big. These sound much bigger. Not quite as big as Russ's line arrays, but close.

These may just put a damper on my enthusiasm for DIY speakers. Maybe my enthusiasm for hording speakers, in general. I feel like I stepped up several notches: Everything else I had was on one level. Would I drive my Camaro if I had a Ferrari sitting in the garage next to it? Maybe not a good car analogy, but you get the idea. I guess I could build some line arrays...

If you can't tell, I'm pretty enthused about these speakers. Maybe rational thought will return once the new wears off. Or maybe not.

Thanks Polk forum friends!
Jason