Modded 2B's Vs. Stock 1C's Shoot Out

[MillerLiteScott]

Tonight I decided to do a little comparison shoot out between my modded 2B's and Stock 1C's. Bare with me this is my first time doing this so I am learning as I go.

Equipment: Nothing Fancy
Jolida JD100 / Nakamichi CA-5 / HK Signature 2.1 / AQ Copperhead IC's / AQ X2 speaker wire.

SDA 2B's with 4.1TL modifications born 12/19/88. Sonicaps and Mills resistors w/ RDO 198's and Dynamated driver baskets

SDA 1C's born 11/18/88. Dynamated driver baskets

I used the same volume setting for each artist selection and speakers were placed in the exact same location for both run throughs. I started with the 2B's because they were hooked up and switched to the 1C's then back to the 2B's. I used redbook versions of Toad the Wet Sprocket, Dulcenia, tracks 3,4,5 and Diana Krall, Live in Paris, tracks 8 and 11.


Here we go:

First up Toad the Wet Sprocket. Two guitar's, bass, drums and smitherings of Lesley cabinet keyboard. I think it is very well recorded and has the crunchy tube amp guitar sound that I like.

My notes for the 2B's

Very precise highs. Cymbals have a very live sound. No sense of harshness.
The mid range was very pleasing and reproduced tube guitar amp sounds nicely. Imaging and SDA soundstage blended very nicely.
Bass is very authoritative, deep,tight and engaging. Sounded like the deep weight of a sub.

My notes for the 1C's

Highs were somewhat veiled in comparison and sounded less focused.
Midrange was very strong, maybe a little to strong. Imaging was very good and SDA soundstage was very forward and in your face but off to the sides.
Bass did not have the authority and weight that the 2B's have.

Next was Diana Krall Live in Paris tracks 8 and 11. No need to describe the sound.

My notes on the 1C's

Piano had somewhat of a veiled tone. Imaging and SDA soundstage were spot on. They projected the feel of a live venue from about the 3rd, 4th or 5th row/table back on a flat floor. ( that is the image I have in my head from listening.) Diana's vocals were very engaging and (after listening to the 2B's) stronger in the midrange. Bass seemed fine for this genre of music, though nothing special.

My notes on the 2B's

More natural piano tone. Very focused imaging but vocals seemed about 18" higher than the 1C's. SDA soundstage was a little more subtle. Same live venue sound and presence. Diana's vocals, again very engaging but with a little ( I mean a little ) less authority. Vocals had much more detail than the 1C's. Again the bass had more weight, authority and depth.

Conclusion

I will have to say the modded 2b's have an edge over the stock 1C's. The TL mod put the 2B's in another league in the high end range and the Sonicaps seem to seal the deal in overall sound and bass authority. The 1C's did accel in the midrange probably due to the additional drivers. It was most noticeable in Diana's vocals in track 11 and the amount SDA soundstaging. One thing I have learned is how much an inch here and an inch there can change the bass response. It should be interesting to see how a Sonicap upgrade and the RDO 194's stand up to the 198's. I am confident the bass will also excel and surpass the current level of the 2B's. YMMV.

A comparison like this is harder to do and put down on "paper" than I thought.
My hat is off to marcmarc and the others that do this on a regular basis.

Scott

[F1nut]

Nice review, thanks for posting it.

[danger boy]

cool findings, but not totally unexpected.. since you did mod your 2B's.. and the 1C's have 20 yr old crossovers in em.. but a fun read nontheless.

glad you posted it.. i have 2B's unmodded, and I want 1C's. so I was very interested to read this.

[engtaz]

Nice review.

Thanks,
engtaz

[george daniel]

Thanks for the review,,the bass improvement wass the first thing that I noticed after my 1C cap upgrade/replacement.I'm going to be running tubes thru mine,,I digress,,, back to polkfest---SDA 1c/Stingray combo,,, :)

[sda2mike]

Hey! Great info! eff that bastage that said the 2b was some kinda cheapo sda speaker! I love mine! anyway, what's involved in the 4.1tl upgrade? do you have a link?:D thanks!

[heiney9]

Nice review but, it's like comparing a Mustang GT to a GT500. Not really a fair comparison as I would expect the 2B's with all those wonderful caps and the RD0's to handily better a pair of stock speakers.

I'll be anxious to hear your thoughts when your done doing the same to the 1C's.

Good luck and happy listening

H9

[strider]

Hey! Great info! eff that bastage that said the 2b was some kinda cheapo sda speaker!

My thoughts exactly, though I don't think he meant any harm in the comment.

I love mine! anyway, what's involved in the 4.1tl upgrade? do you have a link?:D thanks!

Here's the link that I have saved on my computer regarding the TL upgrade.

I'm gonna try my hand at soldering some kind of electronics kit before I start tearing apart my 2B's, though.

[strider]

Nice review, Scott. Looking forward to hearing them for myself some time.

Any thoughts on how that jackass in Krall's audience with the cough sounded on the 2B's vs the 1C's??;):D

[MillerLiteScott]

I had some notes on that but did not write in my little review. From memory the first cough is more to the left of the center but and the second cough right before she starts singing is to the right of the center but not all the way to the right speaker and and sounds like it is about 2 rows in front of me. The 2B's have better detail for that but the 1C's utilize more drivers in the frequency range and I don't remember much of a difference. YMMV and I have never really listened to place the coughing.

As I stated I am interested to see the difference between the 198 and the 194 with the Sonicaps. I think I am going to concentrate on an integrated amp before I do the caps and tweeters in the 1C's.

Scott

[schwarcw]

Congrats on the nice writeup and your modified SDA-2B's. I really like the SDA-2 series. All my mods have used the RDO-194's. I haven't had a chance to hear the 198's in action!