Polk SDA's

[Cornbread]

I've had a pair of SDA 2's set up since I got them in 1986. They currently serve as the mains in a home theatre. The room is 16 X 13 and they are set-up along the long wall 5 1/2 feet a part, 4-5 feet from the side walls and less than a foot from the back wall. Center position is 8 feet away. This is not an ideal set-up to realize the best SDA effect but there are times that this sytem sounds down right scary. I often do a double take while watching TV shows in stereo to ensure that the AV receiver is not putting out surround. Not only do they spread a soundstage beyond the speakers but the depth can be immersive.

This past weekend I heard a pair of recapped and retweetered 2B's in an even smaller room sound absolutely fantastic. They easily beat a pair of Spica 60's in the same system. Imaging was very good, width was good, but depth was lacking. The owner and I agreed that the room was probably limiting in getting the most from the SDA effect.

As others have said, they love power and like to be spread out in bigger rooms. But, the wide soundstage and very good sound can be realized in smaller rooms as well.

 

[bigaltx24]

My 1Bs replaced a pair of DCM TF-350's in my main system. The Timeframes are really great speakers, but don't have anywhere near the bass and overall balance of the Polks.
My listening room is 15' x 24'. I've tried a bunch of different placements, wound up with them on the 15' wall, 2' from the sidewalls and 8'' off the back wall. Listening to U2- The Joshua Tree right now, these things are scary good.

 

[tubed]

As to size, one doesnt have to "go large" to enjoy an SDA speaker.
Here's a glowing review of the Polk SDA-1c(with the SL-2000 tweeter) http://www.polksda.com/sda1creview.shtml

 

[NJPOLKER]

I've had a pair of SDA 2's set up since I got them in 1986. They currently serve as the mains in a home theatre. The room is 16 X 13 and they are set-up along the long wall 5 1/2 feet a part, 4-5 feet from the side walls and less than a foot from the back wall. Center position is 8 feet away. This is not an ideal set-up to realize the best SDA effect but there are times that this sytem sounds down right scary. I often do a double take while watching TV shows in stereo to ensure that the AV receiver is not putting out surround. Not only do they spread a soundstage beyond the speakers but the depth can be immersive.

This past weekend I heard a pair of recapped and retweetered 2B's in an even smaller room sound absolutely fantastic. They easily beat a pair of Spica 60's in the same system. Imaging was very good, width was good, but depth was lacking. The owner and I agreed that the room was probably limiting in getting the most from the SDA effect.

As others have said, they love power and like to be spread out in bigger rooms. But, the wide soundstage and very good sound can be realized in smaller rooms as well.

My 1Bs replaced a pair of DCM TF-350's in my main system. The Timeframes are really great speakers, but don't have anywhere near the bass and overall balance of the Polks.
My listening room is 15' x 24'. I've tried a bunch of different placements, wound up with them on the 15' wall, 2' from the sidewalls and 8'' off the back wall. Listening to U2- The Joshua Tree right now, these things are scary good.

You guys got it and got it right. Speaker placement is critical and has a tremendous pay back when set-up properly. Its not a matter of "its good enough" unless good enough is acceptable. Acceptable performance is generally not well regarded.

 

[HypnoToad]

Your wife isn't gonna let you visit anymore if you keep buying stuff.

She doesn't know I bought a pair, I told her you loaned me yours, so if she asks you.......shhhssss.

She might be on to me though once her car gets repo'd!

 

[HypnoToad]

As to size, one doesnt have to "go large" to enjoy an SDA speaker.
Here's a glowing review of the Polk SDA-1c(with the SL-2000 tweeter) http://www.polksda.com/sda1creview.shtml

I think my 1C's are large.

Not humongous like the SRS's though.

 

[tubed]

I think my 1C's are large.

Not humongous like the SRS's though.

Yes, I should have said you don't have to "go really large".

The SDA-1's are rather large but with a small footprint:yes:

 

[NJPOLKER]

I may be the exception when it comes to placement but I can put mine anywhere I want and they sound awesome even within inches of sidewalls and rear walls.



I tried the replacement tweeters for months and they were dull and lifeless and a complete waste of money. If you are into clarity and detail the stock tweeters are unbeatable. I fine tuned the slight brightness for $2 per tweeter.

This is not the proper way to set up Polk SDA's. You will loose the majority of the speakers performance set up improperly. No toe in or out, and should be a few feet from the outer walls and at least 6 to 7 feet apart. The distance from the back wall can be fun to play with depending on the room and the bass response you perfer.

 

[motorstereo]

This is not the proper way to set up Polk SDA's. You will loose the majority of the speakers performance set up improperly. No toe in or out, and should be a few feet from the outer walls and at least 6 to 7 feet apart. The distance from the back wall can be fun to play with depending on the room and the bass response you perfer.

Agreed. They especially need to be kept a couple of feet (more if you have the room) away from a side wall.

 

[jwalker]

I may be the exception when it comes to placement but I can put mine anywhere I want and they sound awesome even within inches of sidewalls and rear walls.



I tried the replacement tweeters for months and they were dull and lifeless and a complete waste of money. If you are into clarity and detail the stock tweeters are unbeatable. I fine tuned the slight brightness for $2 per tweeter.

Back when I had my 2.3tl's set up more than a year ago, I was able to get good SDA cancellation performance with my speakers placed less than a foot from a sidewall. I can't remember exactly how much but I eventually did put some foam absorber on the wall to cut down on reflected sound since the SDA effect became annoyingly strange on certain solo acoustic recordings. I also don't remember if it really helped or not.

I've heard an A-B of the SL-2000 vs. the new polk tweeters and while sounding different, I don't believe it was a revelation and a "must upgrade". We did however find a remarkable improvement by using a Seas 27TDFC tweeter via an active crossover so we could easily tweak the response. It does all come down to personal preference.

 

[jwalker]

You guys got it and got it right. Speaker placement is critical and has a tremendous pay back when set-up properly. Its not a matter of "its good enough" unless good enough is acceptable. Acceptable performance is generally not well regarded.

From a practical standpoint, "acceptable performance" is all we can realistically obtain. Unless you have unlimited monetary resources and an infinitely adjustable listening room.

Or you can look at it in a different way, would an audio ethusiast find listening to 25 year old Polks "acceptable" if he/she had Bill Gates' bank account? Probably not....

For some speaker set ups I've needed to sacrifice the stereo imaging to get decent bass response. In other words, "acceptable performance." And I was ultimately still happy.

 

[NJPOLKER]

My point is simple and I know you understand where I am coming from as I understand where your coming from, I think.

Set up is critical especially with the Polk SDA's. They lose a tremendous amount of performance/sound quality/imaging when set up improperly, like inches from the side walls.

If a person does not have the "right" room for them maybe they are not for that person or room. So, my point is for the people who may consider this speaker to give a lot of thought to room size/dimensions. Look to Polk Audio for PROPER SET UP and they give clear and concise direction for maximum performance.

Who wants anything less than max performance? Not me:nono:

 

[HypnoToad]

When I first got them and without reading the manual I had them way too close to the side walls with seemed to kill a lot of the dimensional effect for me at least.

After a little experimenting I came up with this setup.

4 1/2 feet from the side walls, 6 feet between them and 9 inches from the rear wall. I sit at least 7 feet away.

It sounds like I am in an opera house with the sound all around, it sounds really eerie at times.

I switched back to my BA150's and it sounded like the sound was coming from two fixed points by comparison.

I am sure not everyone would be comfortable with the SDA effect but I have always been intrigued by surround sound and this seems to be as good as it gets.

 

[motorstereo]

If all you're looking for is "acceptable performance" you could always unplug the sda interconnect. They're still acceptable speakers even doing this to them. The real magic though appears through the use of the sda interconnect and proper room placement.

 

[HypnoToad]

If all you're looking for is "acceptable performance" you could always unplug the sda interconnect. They're still acceptable speakers even doing this to them. The real magic though appears through the use of the sda interconnect and proper room placement.

I compared them to my A200's without the interconnect and there wasn't that much in it, the SDA's had a more authoritative sound the A200's a little brighter.

With the interconnect it was a whole different story though.

 

[motorstereo]

I compared them to my A200's without the interconnect and there wasn't that much in it, the SDA's had a more authoritative sound the A200's a little brighter.

With the interconnect it was a whole different story though.

That pretty much mirrors my experience when I compared my sda's to my a400's. Without that interconnect in place the sda's are pretty much just an ordinary speaker.

 

[tubed]

Without the intereconnect in place my SDA-1's measure 5.5 ohms, when connected 3.2 ohms. So I'd also say they are a different speaker without the IC. Without the cable the crossover points are out of skew so the speaker will not sound as good as it was intended.

 

[HypnoToad]

Without the intereconnect in place my SDA-1's measure 5.5 ohms, when connected 3.2 ohms. So I'd also say they are a different speaker without the IC. Without the cable the crossover points are out of skew so the speaker will not sound as good as it was intended.

You are right.

Like a lot of people I used to think speakers were a box with a few round things in front and they were all pretty much the same.

There is so much more to it than that, the best ones are works of scientific art.