SRS Lab Prototype set For Sale.....Just A Heads Up.

Dennis Gardner
Dennis Gardner Posts: 4,860
edited October 2017 in Speakers
On Facebook Polk fanpage, a guy from Delaware has run into a former set of Lab Testing Prototype SRS. He is located in Zip 19805, his name is Frank Mckeefrey. I told him that I would post pics over here as he wants to keep them in a Polk Audio fan's ownership and doesn't want them just flipped or parted out. They are in very rough cosmetic shape and I'm certain that he doesn't know the audio shape, but I found them cool enough piece of history to share here on this forum just in case some one wants to pick them up for their historical value. He is asking $750 for the pair.

They were won by Helen Yarbor I believe as a Christmas raffle at the company Christmas party.

p312spxeu5di.jpg
ladsbhm86ecm.jpghrmtnpepay9c.jpgy65pggfm08cv.jpgp0cqprbwmurx.jpg



HT Optoma HD25 LV on 80" DIY Screen, Anthem MRX 300 Receiver, Pioneer Elite BDP 51FD Polk CS350LS, Polk SDA1C, Polk FX300, Polk RT55, Dual EBS Adire Shiva 320watt tuned to 17hz, ICs-DIY Twisted Prs, Speaker-Raymond Cable

2 Channel Thorens TD 318 Grado ZF1, SACD/CD Marantz 8260, Soundstream/Krell DAC1, Audio Mirror PP1, Odyssey Stratos, ADS L-1290, ICs-DIY Twisted , Speaker-Raymond Cable
Post edited by Dennis Gardner on

Comments

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,711
    That's very cool. Too bad they weren't treated better though.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,034
    edited October 2017
    I would love to see some better pictures of these.
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
  • Viking64
    Viking64 Posts: 6,646
    That PR looks like it was used for target practice.
  • HT Optoma HD25 LV on 80" DIY Screen, Anthem MRX 300 Receiver, Pioneer Elite BDP 51FD Polk CS350LS, Polk SDA1C, Polk FX300, Polk RT55, Dual EBS Adire Shiva 320watt tuned to 17hz, ICs-DIY Twisted Prs, Speaker-Raymond Cable

    2 Channel Thorens TD 318 Grado ZF1, SACD/CD Marantz 8260, Soundstream/Krell DAC1, Audio Mirror PP1, Odyssey Stratos, ADS L-1290, ICs-DIY Twisted , Speaker-Raymond Cable
  • Seems way cool to me. B)
    As a museum piece, do you restore of leave it as is?
    Drop some MIT cables on these and you are golden!
  • Dennis Gardner
    Dennis Gardner Posts: 4,860
    edited October 2017
    I think dust cap repair, grill cloth cleaning/ shaving or replacement, finish oil, and general cleaning will put them back into the cosmetic realm of museum barn find acceptability. I think that someone in the area should snag them while they are being offered. A factory correct barn find Corvette wouldn't get a brand new LS engine just to make it run again. Just my thoughts.

    I think the lab markings are part of the charm on these and efforts to save that aspect of them would be cool. The cat stains aren't factory and should be dealt with. They are really unique. One of a kind, like that pair of promo SRS with the city skyline grill cloth. Do a search on those, odd but cool!
    HT Optoma HD25 LV on 80" DIY Screen, Anthem MRX 300 Receiver, Pioneer Elite BDP 51FD Polk CS350LS, Polk SDA1C, Polk FX300, Polk RT55, Dual EBS Adire Shiva 320watt tuned to 17hz, ICs-DIY Twisted Prs, Speaker-Raymond Cable

    2 Channel Thorens TD 318 Grado ZF1, SACD/CD Marantz 8260, Soundstream/Krell DAC1, Audio Mirror PP1, Odyssey Stratos, ADS L-1290, ICs-DIY Twisted , Speaker-Raymond Cable
  • FestYboy
    FestYboy Posts: 3,861
    Where's my paycheck....
  • vmaxer
    vmaxer Posts: 5,116
    On Facebook Polk fanpage, a guy from Delaware has run into a former set of Lab Testing Prototype SRS. He is located in Zip 19805, his name is Frank Mckeefrey. I told him that I would post pics over here as he wants to keep them in a Polk Audio fan's ownership and doesn't want them just flipped or parted out. They are in very rough cosmetic shape and I'm certain that he doesn't know the audio shape, but I found them cool enough piece of history to share here on this forum just in case some one wants to pick them up for their historical value. He is asking $750 for the pair.

    They were won by Helen Yarbor I believe as a Christmas raffle at the company Christmas party.

    p312spxeu5di.jpg
    ladsbhm86ecm.jpghrmtnpepay9c.jpgy65pggfm08cv.jpgp0cqprbwmurx.jpg



    I noticed these yesterday, was thinking about posting them here but saw your comment that you were.

    Seems cool to me, if I could afford them I would buy them.
    Pio Elete Pro 520
    Panamax 5400-EX
    Sunfire TGP 5
    Micro Seiki DD-40 - Lyra-Dorian and Denon DL-160
    PS Audio GCPH phono pre
    Sunfire CG 200 X 5
    Sunfire CG Sig 405 X 5
    OPPO BDP-83 SE
    SDA SRS 1.2TL Sonicaps and Mills
    Ctr CS1000p
    Sur - FX1000 x 4
    SUB - SVS PB2-Plus

    Workkout room:
    Sony Bravia XBR- 32-Inch 1080p
    Onkyo TX-DS898
    GFA 555
    Yamaha DVD-S1800BL/SACD
    Ft - SDA 1C

    Not being used:
    RTi 38's -4
    RT55i's - 2
    RT25i's -2, using other 2 in shop
    LSI 15's
    CSi40
    PSW 404
  • Gerres26
    Gerres26 Posts: 859
    Just saw these on CL, they are about a half hour from me. I actually bought my first set of SDA's from this same guy a couple years ago (2b's). He was very friendly but thats not him in the above picture. If i had the cash and didnt already have my 1.2tls, id pick them up for sure.
  • FestYboy
    FestYboy Posts: 3,861
    That's his son in the picture, I picked up my NAD from him. Super nice guy, loves to talk.
  • Given that they are believed to be "prototypes", I wonder what generation these actually are? Given the experimentation that generally occurs with "prototypes", these are most likely some mongrel version of a SDA SRSs. And I wonder what year they were made? And what Serial numbers they are? Perhaps a look inside to see?
    HT
    Adcom GFP-565 Pre-amp, Adcom GFA-565 Mono Block Amps (Front), Adcom GFA-585 Amp (Side), Adcom GFA-555 Amp (Rear), Adcom ACE-515, Pioneer CLD-3070 Laserdisc, Sony CDP-605esD, Sony BluRay BDP BX59, Samsung 50" Plasma, Polk Audio SDA SRS 1.2TL Front (Walnut), Polk Audio SDA SRS Side (Walnut), Polk Audio SDA SRS Rear (Walnut).
    2 Channel (Living Room)
    Adcom GFP-565 Pre-amp (w/Big Sky Audio Upgrades), Adcom GFA-565 Mono Block Amps (w/Big Sky Audio Upgrades), Adcom ACE-515, Sony CDP-705esD, Magnum Dynalab FT-101A Etude, Polk Audio SDA SRS 2.3TL (Walnut), Polk Audio SDA SRS 2 (Walnut), STAX SR34 Electret Earspeaker System.
    2 Channel (Office)
    Adcom GFP-555 Pre-amp, Adcom GFA-555 Amp, Sony CDP-605esD, Adcom GFT-555 Tuner, Polk Audio SDA 1C (Walnut).
    2 Channel (Garage)
    Hafler DH-110 Pre-amp, Hafler DH-220 Amp, Sony CDP-505esD, Hafler DH-330 Tuner, Polk Audio SDA 2B (Walnut).
  • They were most likely among the first gen SRS that came out in '85, which fell within the 3rd generation of the SDA line. There could obviously be something different from the production versions as anything that was discovered during testing most likely came from this set. I'm sure that they worked as intended or Matt Polk wouldn't have given them away as a prize.

    I do think that the lab markings are kinda cool, easily covered by the grill, but nice to be able to show to someone that might care about the provenance of the particular pair.
    HT Optoma HD25 LV on 80" DIY Screen, Anthem MRX 300 Receiver, Pioneer Elite BDP 51FD Polk CS350LS, Polk SDA1C, Polk FX300, Polk RT55, Dual EBS Adire Shiva 320watt tuned to 17hz, ICs-DIY Twisted Prs, Speaker-Raymond Cable

    2 Channel Thorens TD 318 Grado ZF1, SACD/CD Marantz 8260, Soundstream/Krell DAC1, Audio Mirror PP1, Odyssey Stratos, ADS L-1290, ICs-DIY Twisted , Speaker-Raymond Cable
  • Dabutcher
    Dabutcher Posts: 2,588
    Do not look to be in that bad a shape? Belong in the Polk museum if you ask me. Peace. D
    MIT Magnum MH-750, Monster HTS 5100MKII, Sony 77" Class - A80CJ Series - 4K UHD OLED,PS4, Def Tech 15” sub,LSIM 706c, Sunfire Signature Grand 425 x 4,Parasound hca 120, LSiM 702 x 4, Oppo 103D, SDA SRS 1.2, Pioneer Elite SC63 , Pioneer Elite BDP-05 “Why did you get married if you wanted big speakers?”
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,034
    Looks like Uncle Jesse needs to step up. Matt Polk might like to be reacquainted with these.
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson