SDA bass brace

I am sure there is a sonic advantage if anchored correctly (if they are connected in the wrong place they might create problems instead of benefits), but many owners do not use the braces. I didn't use them in mine and was happy with the overall performance. Bass is earth shaking

If you see inconvenient to use them, go without them.

Welcome to the forum.

danger boy wrote:

i think the bass brace was also designed to keep the heavy SDA"s from tipping over.. as well as help the bass response.. i don't use one either. but then i don't have children to knock them over either.

I think that if that was part of the design, all the big SRS's would have the brace, and this is not the case. For sure it would help, but those speakers are stable enough and heavy enough that tipping them over is not an easy task.

danger boy wrote:

why would some SRS's have the brace and other's not? I agree they do not tip over easily.. but would you want 190lbs of wood falling on your 2 yr old?

I don't know, but the original SRS don't have it, and no, I wouldn't like 190 pounds to fall over a child or the dog.....Just saying that that's not the purpose of the brace, and that tipping them will not be easy, and impossible for a two yr old, or the dog (or your cat)

I think it tightens up the bass. Not a huge impact but a worthy benefit. Also, it's easier to use the braces than the spikes. The spikes will make it almost impossible to move those big SDA's without damaging the floor or mutilating your foot.

HTrookie wrote:

I don't know, but the original SRS don't have it, and no, I wouldn't like 190 pounds to fall over a child or the dog.....Just saying that that's not the purpose of the brace, and that tipping them will not be easy, and impossible for a two yr old, or the dog (or your cat)

HEY! are you saying my cat is a wuss?

The 2.3 model with the donut drivers have them also.

I gave up trying to figure out the "exact" use of the bass braces. I have 1.2TLs and the bracing parts are still in their original bag. At first I was told the brace was needed to improve low end response, then told that spikes did the same thing and finally told that the brace was meant to control the movement caused by bass. That the brace would stiffen the cabinet and therefore allow the low and mid bass to be reproduced more faithfully.

I got my 1.2TL's with metal stands/legs and use spikes with them. Am very happy with the bass, but never been able to compare with the braces as I can't move them closer to the rear wall than 26". I know they need to be closer to the rear wall in general, but not gonna happen. I use my PSW-650 to fill in the lows for now.

Wish I could say for certain that the brace actually servered a purpose, but with what I know, it's still un-certain.

I am also confused as to the "death" of the SDA line, but there are a few things that I believe helped to bring about their end.

1. All but a few people/friends I know, and or, care about stereo. Seems most have never truely experienced a properly setup system and are happy to go through life in a "MONO" mode.

2. SDA (to me) gives the best soundstage no matter the media. I can get praise of the 1.2TLs playing a K-Tel record from '76. Again, for many, it seems that if you give them access to music they will run with it even if they are sad MP3s at 128 and missing much of the sonic impact, etc. If they can listen to crap and love it, they'd never get SDA.

3. The vintage SDA line is dominated by monster units. I know mine could sound better than they do if I had the ideal room for them, but I don't. I have them set the best my room will allow. I use them for my HT with a CS-5, two LSI/FX dipoles for the sides and two RT-800is for rear. Can't say this setup for movies doesn't give me a woody, but I know it could be better, but it would still focus around the SDAs.

4. Requirements of the SDAs scare many. Large, room requirements, etc. Being a male I don't deny that seeing such a large speaker makes me grin. Being single I can get away with having them, but all but one ex GF complained about the size of them.

5. At the time of the SDA's there was little knowledge in the area of power. Anyone that dared to look at amp power levels was faced with specs beyond their understanding. They could go out and buy an EQ for their car that claimed 300 or more watts. If you read the manual closely you'd know that the 300 was peak and the RMS was lower (much lower) and the distortion was shocking. For those looking towards home use with the SDAs looked at what was needed wattagewise and many abandoned the SDAs to save money and/or making the wrong setup.

Just a few reasons I see. Might be wrong on some/all, but I'll stick to it. SDA is the only way to go and I want to be burried with mine and playing AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and any OZZY with Randy Rhodes.

Hope everyone had a good holiday.

F1nut wrote:

We have a winner!

Only the TL series (and maybe the 1.2) came with the bass brace......one of the improvements of the later models.

Yes, 1.2's have them as well. Got those installed (with permission, of course! ) by pointing out the reasons stated above which were the same ones stated in the owner's manual.

fact :For good bass responce you must have 1 or the other on speakers spikes or braces if the cabinet moves even slightly the frequency reproduction suffers. sometime you cant hear the difference sometimes you can depends on who you are..... and wether or not your hold a rta in your hands

When I went to audition my 2.3TL’s, the previous owner had the bass braces installed. After getting them home and setting them in their resting place, I refused to use the braces only because I couldn’t believe (or understand how) they served any purpose. Well, I was wrong. After much time listening without the braces, I decided to install them and give them a try (One Saturday afternoon without anything to do). What a difference they made. Not only did they tighten up the bass but also improved both midrange and treble and made the soundstage sound even wider. I think they work by better securing the cabinets resulting in less vibration and a much cleaner sound.

Here is a quote straight from the owner’s manual:

“Low bass response can be enhanced in impact and definition by use of either the included Bass Brace or spikes. The purpose of these accessories is to couple the speaker to either the wall or thickly carpeted floor more securely to minimize the potential of low frequency energy being affected by cabinet movement. The Bass Brace, while more permanent, is the more effective of the two.”

Leave it to Polk for always trying to improve the sound of their speakers. I always thought of Polk Audio of being unconventional and the Bass Brace is definitely unconventional.