Polk SDA 1C's
rromeo923
Posts: 1,513
So prior to a month ago I had lived all my life never hearing a Polk speaker. At the same time, I had gotten the idea in my head that I wanted a smoker. I wanted to smoke some meat,pork, salmon etc. So I go on to craigslist and look for a smoker and a grill. I see a post that says Polk Monitor 7Bs with extra grill. Hmmmm. I need speakers for my basement set up. These sound interesting and aren't too expensive ($90). I come home set them up and am blown away. Awesome speakers!! Now I own Def Tech speakers and know about Polk audio but I had never heard them before. I was simply amazed. Now being the type of obsessive compulsive personality that I am, I immediately went online and learned all about Polk Vintage Speakers. SDA. SDA is what I find. SDA 1,2 SRS etc, etc,.. SDA technology made Polk famous is what I hear. Well now I need to get some SDA speakers. Back to Craigslist! This time I am actually looking for speakers.
As of today I am the happy owner of a pair of SDA 1C's that have had only one owner and haven't been out of the box in over 10yrs. That owner is Sandy Gross, co-founder of Polk Audio. Suffice it to say, I am psyched about this find!
I came home and set them up and listened to Rush 2112 with my 16yr old son (he was impressed). My wife however looks at me and says " Do we have to keep the boxes?"
As of today I am the happy owner of a pair of SDA 1C's that have had only one owner and haven't been out of the box in over 10yrs. That owner is Sandy Gross, co-founder of Polk Audio. Suffice it to say, I am psyched about this find!
I came home and set them up and listened to Rush 2112 with my 16yr old son (he was impressed). My wife however looks at me and says " Do we have to keep the boxes?"
I got static in my head
The reflected sound of everything
The reflected sound of everything
Post edited by rromeo923 on
Comments
-
Congrats. By all accounts, those are a very nice set of speakers.
-
Very cool! I just purchased a nice pair of SDA 1Cs last weekend and I am extremely impressed (even after owning a pair of monitor 10Bs since they were new). Its a bit scary, I'm starting to become obsessive compulsive about such things as new RDO tweeters and frayed pin/blade interconnect cables. I guess I've caught the bug.
By the way I saw your speakers when the were listed on Craigslist (using something like searchallcraigslist) and thought "wow" but they were way too far away. I'm glad you are enjoying them.
System 1:Nakamichi PA-7Kenwood Basic C2Polk SDA 1C moddedSystem 2:Dynaco ST-70Polk Monitor 5B modded -
Congrats!!! Enjoy!!! and Welcome!!!
-
.
As of today I am the happy owner of a pair of SDA 1C's that have had only one owner and haven't been out of the box in over 10yrs. That owner is Sandy Gross, co-founder of Polk Audio. Suffice it to say, I am psyched about this find!
I came home and set them up and listened to Rush 2112 with my 16yr old son (he was impressed). My wife however looks at me and says " Do we have to keep the boxes?"
The provenance of those speakers is amazing, having been owned by one of the founders.... WOW! Congrats on the find. Just wondering if you thought to have him sign those bad-boys for you before you brought them home?
In response to the wife's question.. HELL YES you need to keep the boxes as I will be there in an hour or so to bring them to my place.
Again, congrats and welcome to CP.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 -
I saw those speakers on craigslist, did you get the picture of Sandy Gross with them? Welcome to the club, enjoy those C's.
-
Nice find! I recently picked up a set of 1C's as well. It's a great model in the line of SDA's! Welcome to the forum...
-
audio_alan wrote: »Nice find! I recently picked up a set of 1C's as well. It's a great model in the line of SDA's! Welcome to the forum...
Alan are you going to try and get a set of all the different SDA models lol...
You will shortly need to move because your SDA family got too big hehehehehe"....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963) -
Welcome aboard rromeo923. Fellow 1C owner right here, you've purchased a heck of a pair of speakers for yourself, congratulations.
If they're in stock condition, understand that you can get them to sound a whole lot better than they already do. If you're any good with a soldering iron, check out my thread here:
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70931
At the least, you should see if you should do a tweeter upgrade. Is the dome on the tweeters clear plastic? Or black?Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance. -
EndersShadow wrote: »Alan are you going to try and get a set of all the different SDA models lol...
Probably. LOL ... If a set of 1.2TL's pop up, I'm sure I'll be checking them out! :biggrin: I mean, how are you supposed to know which model you like the best unless you buy them all?!
rromeo923 - Tread lightly. You're on the verge of becoming a Polk addict. Before you know if you'll be hounding Craigslist every day. -
audio_alan wrote: »Probably. LOL ... If a set of 1.2TL's pop up, I'm sure I'll be checking them out! :biggrin: I mean, how are you supposed to know which model you like the best unless you buy them all?!
Let me know when to look for you on the "Hoarders" TV show:biggrin: "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963) -
It's going to be a special show for me... "Speaker Hoarders". :rolleyes::biggrin:
-
Welcome aboard rromeo923. Fellow 1C owner right here, you've purchased a heck of a pair of speakers for yourself, congratulations.
If they're in stock condition, understand that you can get them to sound a whole lot better than they already do. If you're any good with a soldering iron, check out my thread here:
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70931
At the least, you should see if you should do a tweeter upgrade. Is the dome on the tweeters clear plastic? Or black?
The dome is clear plastic. Is that good?
I do not have the skills to do any work on these. I would be afraid to try.I got static in my head
The reflected sound of everything -
The dome is clear plastic. Is that good?
I do not have the skills to do any work on these. I would be afraid to try.
Not good but not surprising. They're in original condition, which is to be expected. In later years, Polk reengineered that tweeter using silk instead of plastic, yielding a much more positive sound and a much smoother frequency response. You can get them from the company, they'd cost you about $200 for the four of them. The tweeters just unscrew and then the wires to the crossover are attached with pull tabs, so you just pop them on and off. There is no soldering required for the tweeter upgrade. Just cash
Huge improvements to sound quality can also be achieved by dissecting the crossover boards and replacing electronics with higher end components. There are folks on here who can help you out if you wanted to go that route.
Where are you located?Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance. -
Not good but not surprising. They're in original condition, which is to be expected. In later years, Polk reengineered that tweeter using silk instead of plastic, yielding a much more positive sound and a much smoother frequency response. You can get them from the company, they'd cost you about $200 for the four of them. The tweeters just unscrew and then the wires to the crossover are attached with pull tabs, so you just pop them on and off. There is no soldering required for the tweeter upgrade. Just cash
Huge improvements to sound quality can also be achieved by dissecting the crossover boards and replacing electronics with higher end components. There are folks on here who can help you out if you wanted to go that route.
Where are you located?
I live about 30 min Northwest of Baltimore. Oh my what am I getting myself into.I got static in my head
The reflected sound of everything -
Hah, there are definitely people who can help you out close enough to you! You're not far from Polk headquarters.Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
-
rromeo923, do you even know who Sandy is?~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
-
rromeo923, do you even know who Sandy is?
Yes. I have owned def tech speakers for about 10 yrs. I met him at CES a few years back too. Plus I need to go get my picture taken with him and the speakers.I got static in my head
The reflected sound of everything -
OK, just checkin'. Welcome to the forum and enjoy the 1C's.~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
-
Given the history of those speakers...I would not even consider modding...I would leave them stock."Just because youre offended doesnt mean youre right." - Ricky Gervais
"For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible." - Stuart Chase
"Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago." - Bernard Berenson -
Given the history of those speakers...I would not even consider modding...I would leave them stock.
+1... at least enjoy them in their stock condition first. Maybe they could be made to sound a little better, but they're going to sound really nice stock. -
Well due to not wanting to spend any more money at the moment they will stay stock for a bit. I still need to dial in the sound. I have room issues.I got static in my head
The reflected sound of everything -
Sooooooo
If I did mod these speakers ( I am finding that listening fatigue is a problem)
how much would it cost?
Tweeter upgrade and crossover work??I got static in my head
The reflected sound of everything -
The fatigue is almost definitely the result of the old tweeter. There is nasty spike in the high frequency response of the SL2000, the replacement RD-0194 should be much more pleasant. If you call Polk customer service and order the replacements, I think you'll be much happier. Mention that you're a clubpolk member, you'll get a discount. I'm not exactly sure where current pricing is, but they should be ~$50 each, and you will need four of them.
I'd start there and reevaluate, you should be able to do this work without any help from others. Just unscrew the four screws in each tweeter, pop the quick-connects off, swap the tweeter, and screw the new one in.
Then give the new tweets some time to settle in with some playing hours before listening too critically, and then see how you like things.
Save the old tweeters, people do buy those...Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance. -
So about $200 for new tweeters. How much for crossover parts?I got static in my head
The reflected sound of everything -
It varies quite a bit depending on the caps you go with. Prices are all over the place. I used Sonicaps - pricey, but the sound is oh so good. I think I spent about $400 on my crossovers.Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
-
Ok. Thanks for all the info. I appreciate it.
Looks like I will do the tweeter upgrade and then crossovers later. I will report on progress. I got static in my head
The reflected sound of everything -
1Cs after upgrading are revealing speakers.
Better the chain of audio gear you have the better they sound.
I have no idea how far you upgrade before you no longer hear an improvement, I have not found it yet.Speakers: SDA-1C (most all the goodies)
Preamp: Joule Electra LA-150 MKII SE
Amp: Wright WPA 50-50 EAT KT88s
Analog: Marantz TT-15S1 MBS Glider SL| Wright WPP100C Amperex BB 6er5 and 7316 & WPM-100 SUT
Digital: Mac mini 2.3GHz dual-core i5 8g RAM 1.5 TB HDD Music Server Amarra (memory play) - USB - W4S DAC 2
Cables: Mits S3 IC and Spk cables| PS Audio PCs -
Ok. Thanks for all the info. I appreciate it.
Looks like I will do the tweeter upgrade and then crossovers later. I will report on progress.
Definitely the way to go - tweeters are first order of biz.Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance. -
Well ordered the RD-0194s. Since I am in Maryland I get to pay the 6% tax. However they are being shipped from California and I also get to wait a week for them arrive. The best of both worlds!:rolleyes:
$203.52 is the current cost with 20% club polk discount and free shipping but with Md. Tax.I got static in my head
The reflected sound of everything -
Curious to hear your impressions. RD-0194 vs. SL2000 is a very talked about topic on this forum....Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
