Bought a pair of SDA 2.3TL's today

pavlograd

They are in mint condition with the 2 'donut' drivers and with upgraded 198 tweeters (I personally like the SL2000's better - more airy). Got them in original boxes for $825, but will have to drive 8 hours 1 way to get them. Hope it will be worth it.

[Deleted User]

shut the front door! Take your time w/ the tweeter eval. Give yourself a couple of weeks. What are you driving them with?

dkfreebird

Those would be the 2.3's not the 2.3tl's.Nice price and enjoy!

dkfreebird

Also the tweeter upgrade for those is the RDO 194 not the 198.

F1nut

I saw those....as dkfreebird noted they are 2.3's with RD0194-1 tweeters.

That's not airy, that's an unnatural 5dB spike around 12-13kHz.

OldSchoolPolk

Are the donut drivers a version 4 or earlier? Do they add anything to the mix?

pitdogg2

OldSchoolPolk wrote: »

Are the donut drivers a version 4 or earlier? Do they add anything to the mix?

Yes they do. AFAIK they are just heavy mass loaded drivers they should be active not passive radiator like.

Sorry I'm not sure what your question about "version4" is about.

pavlograd

Guys, I apologize. I was excited and tired when I posted that message. Yes, they are only 2.3's, and yes, those replaced tweeters would have to be 194's. I'm basing my tweeter evaluation on a pair of 1C's I have fully modded with Sonicaps and resistors and Erse inductors, deadening, hurricane nuts, new seal tape, etc. I just find the SL2000's more detailed and 'airy'. I've swapped the 4 SL2000's back and for with the 194's to test them. I'm driving them with a Yamaha A-S801SL with input from Raspberry Pi with Hiberry DAC Pro and Volumio. I'll see if they sound better on the 2.3's. Is the price I paid good or just ok?

F1nut

That's not a bad price especially when you consider having the original boxes because they are extremely rare. I still have the original boxes for 2 pair of my SDA's along with the original boxes for some other speakers. It adds to the value and makes shipping a whole lot easier.

Just spitting here, but maybe you've lost some hearing in the upper regions because most feel listening to SL2000's isn't much different than shoving ice picks in their ears.

nooshinjohn

Agreed with Jesse on the older SL tweets.

pavlograd

It might be possible that I have some hearing loss. I probably need to get it checked. I'll be 68 in September, but otherwise in very good health. Do the 194's have to 'break in'? I'm also breaking in the Sonicaps on the 1C's and they only have about 20-25 hours do far. I'm going to use an epoxy putty product called Apoxie to shove in the crevasse between basket and magnet.

daddyjt

F1nut wrote: »

...most feel listening to SL2000's isn't much different than shoving ice picks in their ears.

Officially the funniest thing I've heard today - Incidentally, that's also exactly how I would describe listening to anything by Kanye West.

F1nut

pavlograd wrote: »

It might be possible that I have some hearing loss. I probably need to get it checked. I'll be 68 in September, but otherwise in very good health. Do the 194's have to 'break in'? I'm also breaking in the Sonicaps on the 1C's and they only have about 20-25 hours do far. I'm going to use an epoxy putty product called Apoxie to shove in the crevasse between basket and magnet.

Of course the tweeters have to break in, takes about 50 hours. The caps will take 200.

I've found the 1C's to have a thick sound to begin with and also found the RD0194-1 slightly veiled compared to the RD0198-1. I did not care for the sound of 1C's with 194 tweeters. Therefore, I can almost understand your preference for the SL2000.

Do not shove anything in the crevasse between basket and magnet. That's not how or where material should be applied to prevent magnet shift.

OldSchoolPolk

Congratulations pavlograd!

You sound excited and I bet you're going to love them. I live 10 miles from the seller and was maybe one call behind you. I missed my chance but its great to hear that a fellow Polkie will be getting them.

Still a question on the donuts; why did Polk discontinued their use?

Enjoy!

leftwinger57

Not to throw more snow on the the pile but I noticed a clear and better,smoother sound out of the RDO-194s when I changed out the sl2000s Silver Domes from my formerly stock '87 2Bs. Personally I liked the original Peerless I had in my '78 Monitor 7s.

pavlograd

Is there a link out there that explains in detail how to fix the magnet to basket issue?

pavlograd

OldSchoolPolk - Wow! That is something! I'm having to promise to take my wife to Biltmore in order to convince her to ride with me! I didn't tell her that I really want to see it too! Then, we'll head down to Atlanta to visit my mother, and then couple days later back to Cincinnati.

pavlograd

My wife is from Ukraine, therefore my alias - her hometown.

F1nut

pavlograd wrote: »

Is there a link out there that explains in detail how to fix the magnet to basket issue?

Do a search for power grab.

machone

Here is link to a thread I started when I rebuilt my 2.3TL's.
Shows lots of photos that may answer some of your questions.

http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/171502/2-3tl-rebuild-starts-now#latest

pavlograd

So, how would one know if the magnets on their woofers are aligned properly BEFORE staking them down with power grab? And why is a bead of power grab in the magnet to basket frame ok, but 4 pieces of epoxy putty placed up in there is not advised?

F1nut

It doesn't go on the basket frame. It goes around the top and bottom of the magnet structure.

You should able to see if the magnet has shifted by looking directing down. Everything should be centered.

Schurkey

Isn't the bottom of the magnet attached to the top of the basket?

F1nut

The magnet is sandwiched between the two metal plates. The bottom metal plate is attached to the basket, not the magnet.

pavlograd

Can 2.3's be converted to 2.3TL's without too much difficulty? Tweeters would need changing I know, but could the crossover be replaced with one from 2.3TL?

lawdogg

pavlograd wrote: »

So, how would one know if the magnets on their woofers are aligned properly BEFORE staking them down with power grab? And why is a bead of power grab in the magnet to basket frame ok, but 4 pieces of epoxy putty placed up in there is not advised?

Here's a picture showing two things, (1) where to put the bead between the magnet and pole piece (do the same between the magnet and the basket on the other magnet edge), and (2) how power grab fails after an impact (use a 2-part epoxy which won't).

Schurkey

There's a dozen variations of Power Grab, some do require a porous surface.

http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/170827/loctite-henkel-power-grab-for-speaker-magnets/p1

I applied the recommended PowerGrab to the drivers of my SRS 2 pin/blade speakers, but I never had a good feeling about it. Next time, it'll be real, live epoxy.

F1nut

pavlograd wrote: »

Can 2.3's be converted to 2.3TL's without too much difficulty? Tweeters would need changing I know, but could the crossover be replaced with one from 2.3TL?

It is so involved you'd be crazy to attempt it. It would also require you to make the right speaker your left and vice versa.

pavlograd

[quote=It is so involved you'd be crazy to attempt it. It would also require you to make the right speaker your left and vice versa. [/quote]

Thanks F1. I just had to ask just in case.

F1nut

I don't know, you could be crazy.

westmassguy

lawdogg wrote: »

pavlograd wrote: »

So, how would one know if the magnets on their woofers are aligned properly BEFORE staking them down with power grab? And why is a bead of power grab in the magnet to basket frame ok, but 4 pieces of epoxy putty placed up in there is not advised?

Here's a picture showing two things, (1) where to put the bead between the magnet and pole piece (do the same between the magnet and the basket on the other magnet edge), and (2) how power grab fails after an impact (use a 2-part epoxy which won't).

As with any glue/adhesive, using the correct product, and installation technique is critical. The original 6oz tube, Clear Power Grab, All Purpose Construction Adhesive, which I discovered, must be applied correctly.
You apply a bead to the grove where the front plate AND back plate sandwich the ceramic magnet. You must also smooth-out the beads with your fingertip, which is critical, as this forces the glue into gap.
At this point, I've done at least 75 woofers for myself, local customers and shipped cross country.
I've never had one fail.