SDA SRS 3.1TL $150 rehabbers

gwh
gwh Posts: 1,451
edited May 2010 in Vintage Speakers
Just picked these up for $150. They are a little on the rough side but I hope to slowly rehab them. Obviously need tweeters and all the grills have cat scratch fever and maybe a (please god don't let it be) **** stain or two.

All the drivers move freely with no scratch. Dented dust caps on one speaker.

Came with a pin/blade cable.

Wood finish shows wear but not beat up with the exception of one back edge that has a few dings.

I've never owned or heard a pair of SDA's, I think I glimpsed a pair at Sammi's a couple years back when I picked up a sub from him.

I'm assuming I can run these off an Adcom 555.

Would really suck if all/most of the drivers were blown, but hell the buzzz I got rushing across town to pick them up was worth the $150:)

http://lawton.craigslist.org/ele/1728775695.html

Rock on!




G
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Post edited by gwh on

Comments

  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,464
    edited May 2010
    I will take them if you are within 300 miles of me.


    ***EDIT***


    Lol... I thought you were selling them. CONGRATS on the score and best of luck on the rehab. If I can help, let me know.
    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

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  • gwh
    gwh Posts: 1,451
    edited May 2010
    Lol... I thought you were selling them. CONGRATS on the score and best of luck on the rehab. If I can help, let me know.

    Sorry man it does kind of look that way on the re-read.:o

    I worked all night and probably should take a nap before posting on the forum.




    G
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  • Bobsama
    Bobsama Posts: 526
    edited May 2010
    Looks like a nice deal, even if the speakers need a lot of work. Are you going to try to find a pair of SL3000's or are you going direct for RDO-198's? I think you can stick a pair of SL2500's in there if you need a stop-gap measure... ie: make sure at least the woofers works.
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  • gwh
    gwh Posts: 1,451
    edited May 2010
    Looks like a nice deal, even if the speakers need a lot of work. Are you going to try to find a pair of SL3000's or are you going direct for RDO-198's? I think you can stick a pair of SL2500's in there if you need a stop-gap measure... IE: make sure at least the woofers works.

    Honestly this is a whole new thing for me and I don't have a clue. I'll have to do some searching on the forum to figure out which tweeter to go with, what to do about the grills (I might be able to take a sweater shaver to the side grills), etc.

    I certainly would not object to one of the SDA Jedi here to tell me what to do to get these functional and presentable.




    G
    HT:
    Martin Logan Motion 40
    Martin Logan Motion 50XT
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    Signal Cable speaker wires & interconnects.
  • Tony M
    Tony M Posts: 11,192
    edited May 2010
    Keep your wallet out and good luck to you.

    They look like a great project pair. Better looking than mine were.;)
    Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them.
  • zarrdoss
    zarrdoss Posts: 2,562
    edited May 2010
    New tweeters from Polk RDO 198, mention you are a member of this forum and you will get a discount and free shipping.

    Grill cloth
    http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=260-335

    you can get those domes out by using tape or a vacuum.
  • zingo
    zingo Posts: 11,258
    edited May 2010
    I would just upgrade to RDOs as you might want to one day anyway, and that way you aren't paying for two pairs of tweeters.

    If it makes you feel better, I've seen SDAs in worse condition, so I would just verify that all the woofers work, buy new tweeters, then you can slowdown, listen to some tunes, and make your next move from there.

    Congrats on the great grab!
  • headrott
    headrott Posts: 5,496
    edited May 2010
    As suggested I would go with the 198 tweets. I have the same speakers and they sound much better with the 198's than the 3000's. Interesting that on the left speaker every dust cap is pushed in and on the right not one is? Heck, for $150.00 though, I would have bought them.

    Greg
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  • cstmar01
    cstmar01 Posts: 4,424
    edited May 2010
    nice grab! wow never knew what the 3.1s looked like and strangly kinda look like RTA 15TL's in a way. have fun with the project! and for 150.00 you can't really go wrong!

    now to find some SRS's for 150.00 to fix that would be fun!
  • gdb
    gdb Posts: 6,012
    edited May 2010
    Great buy !! If they're played with the grilles in place, it won't show if the dust caps are pushed in or not. Parts Express sells dust caps in case you need any.;)



    http://www.parts-express.com/wizards/searchResults.cfm?srchExt=Cat&srchCat=827&CFID=2811292&CFTOKEN=25738844
  • billbillw
    billbillw Posts: 6,865
    edited May 2010
    I thought those had more of a natural wood color. I'm guessing they were painted black? Still, should be a decent speaker for <$15 of grill cloth and $100 of tweeters, that is, if there are no blown drivers.

    BTW, if you have a Hancock fabrics near you, you can get some fabric there that makes excellent grill cloth. I think its called Ponte Knit or something similar. Darqueknight has a thread that talks about the fabric and it is cheaper than getting from Parts-Express. Not sure if the original fabric is stapled or glued, but if you choose to glue them, I'd recommend using something called Amazing Goop, or just Goop. It worked great for me and you can get it at most ACE HW stores.
    For rig details, see my profile. Nothing here anymore...
  • gwh
    gwh Posts: 1,451
    edited May 2010
    Verified all the drivers/woofers do work and sound fine........that did surprise me somewhat figuring they were being driven hard by the electronics pictured in the ad.

    Ordered the RDO 198's from Polk.

    I'm just going to clean them up, get acquainted, and do a little at a time.

    I appreciate all the input and suggestions.




    G
    HT:
    Martin Logan Motion 40
    Martin Logan Motion 50XT
    Emotiva Airmotiv E2
    SVS SB16 Ultra
    Def Tech Reference Sub
    Yamaha RX-A3070

    Signal Cable speaker wires & interconnects.
  • engtaz
    engtaz Posts: 7,664
    edited May 2010
    Great buy. Congrats
    engtaz

    I love how music can brighten up a bad day.
  • chandler9a
    chandler9a Posts: 878
    edited May 2010
    Awesome buy! Tape works pretty well to get those dust caps out, just be gentle.

    Keep us posted!
  • Toolfan66
    Toolfan66 Posts: 17,336
    edited May 2010
    Nice score!!! Price is more then right.

    A vacuum works great to pull the dust caps out, put the hose over the cap then turn on the vacuum hold it there till you hear it pop. Before you pull the hose off turn the vacuum off first.
    Polk Audio SDA 2.3tl Fully Hot Rodded. 😎

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