Sda 2.3 wow!

motorstereo · March 2006

Hello; this is my 1st post here. This weekend I acquired a pair of sda's2.3 with the umbilical cable for the princely sum of $600. I think this is a bargain since these monsters are in perfect condition. I've owned and listened to my share of speakers over the years (I'm 50) but never ever anything quite like these. Still own some walsh 4's, boston acoustics a400 hpm 100's, infinity monitors and a few other pairs of inconsequential speakers. These 2.3 absolutely stomp everything including a pair of dq10's that I recently sold. Imaging, soundstage, bass, presence, and clarity. They seem to do everything right. Now I have a few questions. What can I do to take these big guys to the next level of performance? I've read something about a tweeter upgrade. Is it worth it? I've also seen someone doing a crossover upgrade. Does this add anything to an already incredible sounding speaker? I also was wondering about what appears to be a wooden ring attached to front of some of the woofers. Can anyone shed some light on this? Thanks for allowing me into Club Polk and I look forward to hearing from some members.

sda2mike · March 2006

welcome to the forum!!:D yes, tweeters are the 1st upgrade you should consider. however, i would listen to them for a while before you do. the new tweets will smooth the sound big-time. when your new speaks start to be a bit fatiguing after a bit, get the new tweets. just my opinion.:)

$600 is a veritable steal!!! i paid with shipping for my sda2b"s $500! and i have zero regrets!! congrats!

another popular upgrade if you're brave is the crossover...some of those brave souls, i'm sure will chime in. otherwise do a search on the site:cool:

hoosier21 · March 2006

The SDA 2.3 came with the donuts on those two drivers because Polk felt like it had too much mid range. The donuts slow down the drivers, therefore reducing the mids.

motorstereo · March 2006

Hey thanks for the quick answers to my questions. I don't find the tweeters fatiguing at all. If anything I'd have to say they're a little on the soft side. Kinda like how a tube amp rolls off the highs just a tad. That idea that polk had about the wooden rings seems to work well as I think it's the most well rounded sounding speaker I've ever heard. I do have another question though. I don't understand this common ground issue. Never heard it mentioned before with any other speakers. Is a proton d1200 a common ground amp? I'd like to bi-amp them with the proton running the highs and an adcom gfa 555 running the bottoms. Think this arrangement will work? Thanks for your help.

george daniel · March 2006

My brother has an adcom 555 running the lows and a carver tfm -45 on the highs,(2.3 tl)coupled with a tube pre they sound magnificient, enjoy your new aquisition, BTW- welcome

motorstereo · March 2006

Wow thanks for the quick reply. I forgot to add that I'll be using a mac mx110 tube pre once it gets back from being worked on. Sounds like I got real lucky and hit the nail on the head with the 1st shot. Does bi-amping open these speakers up like I'm hoping they will? Sorry for all the questions. I'm just really psyched to finally have a "real" pair of speakers after 30 years of dreamin and droolin. Cheers Brian

schwarcw · March 2006

Welcome to Club Polk Brian! I have a pair of 2.3's that I picked up last Fall (I'm also over 50:eek: ) Those speakers really light up with clean power. I was surprised how nice they sounded with a 100 wpc Adcom. When I moved up to a 250 wpc Parasound Halo, I heard a lot more detail and smoother sound. Don't rush to get the replacement tweeters. Enjoy them for what they are. But I do recommend the replacement tweeters. They are worth the $300 investment! I'm sure they would love tubes. I lot of Forum members use tubes with their SDA's. Glad to have you around!

F1nut · March 2006

Motorstereo,

This is important, call Polk and ask them to send you a copy of the owners manual before you do anything else.

motorstereo · March 2006

Hey guys thanks for the responses and great advice. Here we go again I have one more question. My tweeters have silver domes on them. Are these original 2.3 tweeters or did I really get lucky and score a pair of these polks with the tweeter upgrade? Some guys have mentioned that that the highs are "fatiguing" on these polks. I cannot use the word fatigue and sda's in the same sentence. The highs are to me are pretty darn nice. Thanks again for the nice welcome to this great forum and yes I'm going to have fun. Hey Schwarcw; life begins at 50 doesn't it?

schwarcw · March 2006

motorstereo wrote:

Hey Schwarcw; life begins at 50 doesn't it?

Life begins, but our hearing begins to impair. That's why we need big speakers and high power amplifiers!:D

danger boy · March 2006

motorstereo wrote:

Hey guys thanks for the responses and great advice. Here we go again I have one more question. My tweeters have silver domes on them. Are these original 2.3 tweeters or did I really get lucky and score a pair of these polks with the tweeter upgrade? Some guys have mentioned that that the highs are "fatiguing" on these polks. I cannot use the word fatigue and sda's in the same sentence. The highs are to me are pretty darn nice. Thanks again for the nice welcome to this great forum and yes I'm going to have fun. Hey Schwarcw; life begins at 50 doesn't it?

my hearing isn't the best.... i have hearing loss in both ears.. and even to me.. the SL2000 tweeter is harsh sounding and fatiguing to me. the replacement tweeter is much smoother.. some people can't hear a difference. I really can't either, but i don't get fatigued with them.

BSUfbfan · March 2006

motorstereo wrote:

My tweeters have silver domes on them. Are these original 2.3 tweeters or did I really get lucky and score a pair of these polks with the tweeter upgrade? Some guys have mentioned that that the highs are "fatiguing" on these polks. I cannot use the word fatigue and sda's in the same sentence. The highs are to me are pretty darn nice.

The silver domes are the original SL2000 tweeters. The replacement RDO soft dome tweeters are all Black.

If you are very happy with the highs, leave them alone & save the money. I was able to compare the soft domes of my CRS+ to the silver coil SL2000 in my 5b's and the soft domes are much flatter in frequency response (no 5db spike at 13khz). As long as your happy with em' just enjoy em'.

ckpiv · March 2006

Enjoy your 2.3's! I picked up a pair the first of the year to replace my SDA2B's and have never been happier. The 2b's are nice but the SDA 2.3's are unbelievable. I upgraded both my 2b's and 2.3's with the new tweeters and do not regret the investment. I also run mine with a Parasound Halo A21 and a Halo Preamp and they are very smooth. Hope to ugrade to a tube pre in the near future. Everytime I sit down and listen I become more and more amazed at their performance.

candyliquor35m · March 2006

Welcome to the forum. I am also a big fan of the 2.3 series but I've never heard a polk I didn't like

. I still enjoy my 2b's also.

I am a big fan of the original sl2000 tweeters until I upgraded to solid core speaker wire which made them a little harsh.

motorstereo · March 2006

Hey thanks for all the replies. I'm thinking I can't hear the 5db spike at 13khz. Probably age related hearing loss. I am going to give the new tweets a shot though in the near future. I do want these big guys to be performing at their best. Right now I have a fairly involved remodeling project on tap to get them to fit into my current set up. That means removal of all my electronics, cd collection and paneling from the old wall. Extend the old wall about a foot more, repanel, might as well upgrade the wiring while I have it exposed, a new rack, and then I can have the proper placement for these speakers. I think it will be worth the effort. I'm still amazed at these speakers. The bad thing is that they show the shortcomings that I have in other areas. For instance I used to think that satellite radio sounded "ok" on my other lesser speakers. Now I find it barely tolerable at best. To bad as I like their programming as opposed to fm. I'm also thinking now that a new polk xm tuner might be added to the mix. Again guys thanks for the warm welcome and all the great advice. Cheers, Brian

Zen Dragon · March 2006

Motor
Congrats!
For what it is worth also, as I have not seen it mentioned yet in this post, the placement of the speakers themselves can also influence the way they sound. The speakers just plain sound good in most configurations, however there is usually a "sweet spot" both for placement of the speakers, as well as where the listener sits while listening.
There are likely many discussions on this within the forums, and some info in the manual as well regarding placement. Room dynamics do come into play, so the same set of SDA's may not have the same "sweet" configuration in different rooms.
Generically speaking a good place to start is with the speakers set out 12-18 inches from the wall, aligned along the same plane, and 6-8 feet apart. The sweet listening area is dead center between the speakers about the same distance away from them as they are apart. From there you can make minor adjustments based on room dynamics and personal preferences.
As I said, they just plain sound great in just about any configuration, but there is usually that one ideal.

Enjoy

F1nut · March 2006

As Zen has stated, placement is important and that's one reason I suggested you get a copy of the owners manual. I will say that 12 to 18 inches from the back wall is pretty far out. The closer they are to the back wall, the better the bass response. I'd suggest starting at 5 or 6 inches.

Zen Dragon · March 2006

Thanx for the correction F1. I was going from memory as it has been a while since I did the last placement on my SDA's. I checked today and mine are about 7-8 inches or so out from the wall. I don't know what i was thinking. :rolleyes:

motorstereo · March 2006

I'm a long way away from having a really nice listening room. Space dictates that I have them as close as I can to a back wall. I can only spread them apart about 8 or 9 feet. There's also a side wall that has to be close to one of them. My room is somewhat "hard" without any fluffy curtains or stuffed furniture to soak up the standing waves. Still these 2.3's sound awesome. Can't play an album or a cd without shaking my head in disbelief that they sound that good. I also have found that they do have a rather small "sweet spot." What an incredible sound though when you're directly in the "sweet spot." Bad thing is that they make me not enjoy my other lesser speakers as much. Yup I've been totally spoiled by these 2.3's.

reeltrouble1 · March 2006

hoosier21 wrote:

The SDA 2.3 came with the donuts on those two drivers because Polk felt like it had too much mid range. The donuts slow down the drivers, therefore reducing the mids.

You are a GURU!!!!!!!!!!!!

Motor, I cant really add much to all of this just agree with the guys. The small sweetspot you refer too is likely the SDA effect area. As you know the speakers image and have a soundstage like nobody's business, but on some tunes you will actually hear things coming from beside or behind you. This was not the original intention Matt Polk was looking for in the design but rather a very pleasing anomoly. There is a thread about which albums/tunes most display the SDA Effect. Sounds like we have anothe SDA convert in our mix.

I have heard some well set up DQ-9's and have to say that speaker has a depth and heigth to it that is very impressive, so now you need some of those too!!!!!!! Great Grab on your SDA and Welcome to our little club.

RT1

BobMcG · March 2006

Welcome to CP and congrats on the 2.3s.

My experience with 2Bs was finding them to be very enjoyable but fatiguing over time. Not so with the 2.3s. I can only guess it had to do with synergy. (Different cables and equipment being used in driving them.) However, I did upgrade to the new tweets last summer at the same time I rebuilt the crossovers and don't regret doing so. Although as I said not to the point of fatiguing on my system, the old tweeters are brighter and more in your face than the replacements. It's something you could consider doing at some point.

motorstereo · March 2006

I finally got a chance to sit down and just plain listen to these 2.3's. Spent most of the evening playing and replaying cds and records that I've had for years. They all sound so different now. Best upgrade I've ever done hands down is getting these speakers. You're right reeltrouble1 you do hear sounds coming at you from everywhere at times. Today I'm starting a faily involved remodeling project to allow for proper placement. These speakers are well worth the effort I'm sure. I have another question and it's probably a foolish one given the size of these behemoths. Has anyone ever used a stand with their big polks? I saw a really neat looking pair of solid cherry wood stands the other day and it got me to thinking. Figured I'd run it by the polk gurus before I end up in a back brace trying to hoist these guys onto a stand.

schwarcw · March 2006

The 2.3's are floorstanding speakers. They should have either carpet spikes or the back brace that was sold with the speakers attached to the speaker and the wall behind the speaker. Carpet braces are somewhat a problem with these speakers if you want to move the speaker to access your audio rack or speaker wires. The spikes would require them to be lifted as opposed to sliding the speaker on the floor to get rear access. The rear bass brace helps reduce cabinet resonance and improves not only bass but midrange response from the speaker. If your speakers didn't come with the brace, you can make one with some all thread. On the rear of your speaker cabinent there is a threaded hole for the brace. Screw a piece of all thread into the rear of the speaker, screw the other in into a wall bracket (homemade or Polk supplied) and tighten down each end with a wing nut. This simple brace helps reduce cabinet vibration and resonance, allowing the radiator to absorb and transmit additional sound from the cabinent.

motorstereo · March 2006

Thanks for the advice schwarcw. I'll scrap the stand idea. Nice to hear that the brace improves things a bit. I'll definately try that out. I'm in sda withdrawel right now as I had to disassemble my entire system to rebuild the wall behind it. The new polks were taller than the shelves I had mounted on the wall for equipment. I'll make plans for that bass brace now since I have the wall down to the studs right now. Everything was just hunky dory for years and along come these polks. Ahh I needed a good project anyway.

Sda 2.3 wow!

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