SDA SRS (Originals) - Fully Upgraded

dbaldus
dbaldus Posts: 730
edited February 2013 in For Sale (FS) Classifieds
Description
I never thought this day would come, but I'm offering up for sale my SDA SRS (Originals). I purchased these speakers from fellow forum member Hamatym, who I believe purchased them from forum member bluecomet, so these have been in the family for a long time and I'd like to keep it that way!

I've put a lot of love and care into these speakers during my time with them and have performed the following upgrades:

-Replaced SL2000 tweeters with the RDO-194's
-Had ben62670 upgrade the crossovers (Sonicaps on the highs, Daytons on the lows)
-Refinished the wood in a dark cherry / mahogany color
-Mortited the drivers (still have original rubber gaskets if needed)
-Added speaker feet

As far as I can tell, the only tweaks I haven't performed on these are adding Larry's rings, the damping material on the inside, or upgrading the binding posts / interconnect cable, so these are about as fully upgraded as you can possibly get.

I'm going to break the speaker rating into two parts: cabinet and sonics

Sonics: 10/10
These speakers have had the tweeters and crossovers upgraded in the last 18 months, so they are performing better than when they rolled out of the factory. All drivers appear to be in perfect shape as well, with no fading or discoloration at all.

Speaker cabinet: 7.5/10
When I received the speakers, the cabinets were in fairly rough shape. There were dirt stains in the wood on the top and a few chips here and there. I took the wood pieces out, sanded everything down to get rid of the chips, and then re-stained and finished the wood in a dark cherry / mahogany color. The wood looks great now, but there are still a few minor scuffs in the grill cloth and a few scratches on the backside of the cabinets. In addition, the wood has split down the middle on the bottoms of both speakers due to the weight of the speaker, which is apparently a known issue which Polk fixed in later versions of these speakers.

Overall, they look great, but once you get up close and personal with them, you notice the flaws, so I wanted to get those out in the open for all to see. Refer to the pictures below for close-ups of all of the cosmetic flaws I could find.

Pictures
1frontgrills.jpg

2fronts.jpg

31topsfront.jpg

3topgrills.jpg

4side2.jpg

5side1.jpg

6topside.jpg

7backs.jpg

8logo.jpg

Now for the cosmetic flaws. There is some slight discoloration on one of the speaker grill clothes, as can be seen in this photo:
9grillbottom.jpg

The wood piece on the bottom of each speaker has cracked down the middle. Apparently, this was due to the weight of the speakers and the wood that Polk used in the first run. This was fixed in later versions of the speaker.

10crack.jpg

Finally, there are a few scratches on the back of the cabinet, likely incurred during the moves that these have gone through:
11backscratch.jpg

Price
I'd like to get $1600 for the pair. I am not willing to ship these due to the weight. Considering the perfect condition of the drivers and the ~$900 in upgrades performed, I feel this price is more than fair.

In addition, I'd be willing to work out a payment plan with established Polkies to make this work for them.

I'm located in Minneapolis, MN and would be willing to drive up to a couple of hours one way to help with delivery if you'd be willing to help out on gas. If you're concerned about picking up a pair of speakers that you haven't seen in person, there are 3 forum members who have seen these that I believe would vouch for the condition if that would make you feel better.

Please post here or shoot me a PM if you're interested.

Thanks!

2-channel
Squeezebox Touch| MSB Analog DAC | Audio Research Ref 40 Anniversary Edition| Pass Labs X350.8 | Wilson Audio Sasha 2

Home Theater
Arcam AVR 550 | GoldenEar Triton One | GoldenEar SuperCenter XXL | GoldenEar Aon 3 | JL Audio Fathom F113v2
Post edited by dbaldus on

Comments

  • Toolfan66
    Toolfan66 Posts: 17,340
    edited June 2011
    If the bottom caps are a problem for the new owner to be, I have a set of bottom wood caps that the new owner can have!!!! just pay for shipping!!!!

    GLWTS!!!
    Polk Audio SDA 2.3tl Fully Hot Rodded. 😎

    SVS SB16 X2

    Cary SLP-05/Ultimate Upgrade.
    Cary SA-500.1 ES Amps
    Cary DMS 800PV Network
    OPPO UDP 205/ModWright Modification
    VPI Scout TT / Dynavector 20x2
    Jolida JD9 Fully Modified

    VPI MW-1 Cyclone RCM

    MIT Shotgun 3 cables throughout / Except TT, and PC’s
  • dbaldus
    dbaldus Posts: 730
    edited June 2011
    If the bottom caps are a problem for the new owner to be, I have a set of bottom wood caps that the new owner can have!!!! just pay for shipping!!!!

    GLWTS!!!

    Awesome - thanks!

    2-channel
    Squeezebox Touch| MSB Analog DAC | Audio Research Ref 40 Anniversary Edition| Pass Labs X350.8 | Wilson Audio Sasha 2

    Home Theater
    Arcam AVR 550 | GoldenEar Triton One | GoldenEar SuperCenter XXL | GoldenEar Aon 3 | JL Audio Fathom F113v2
  • Toolfan66
    Toolfan66 Posts: 17,340
    edited June 2011
    No Problem!!:wink:
    Polk Audio SDA 2.3tl Fully Hot Rodded. 😎

    SVS SB16 X2

    Cary SLP-05/Ultimate Upgrade.
    Cary SA-500.1 ES Amps
    Cary DMS 800PV Network
    OPPO UDP 205/ModWright Modification
    VPI Scout TT / Dynavector 20x2
    Jolida JD9 Fully Modified

    VPI MW-1 Cyclone RCM

    MIT Shotgun 3 cables throughout / Except TT, and PC’s
  • bluecomet
    bluecomet Posts: 1,118
    edited June 2011
    Nice job on my old speakers. The price your asking is more than fair with all of the mods done to them. They were hard to let go but I traded for 1.2tl's. It worked out for me and Dan at the time. I hope the set stays in the family. I got them from a musician in Woodstock and he had some very nice gear. Good luck with the sale.
    Polk HT system 1: LSIC, LSI25 mains, LSI F/X rears, Lsi F/X rear centers,
    Yamaha RX-V2500 System, Carver A753 3 channel amp.

    Polk HT system 2: , SRT system with f/x 1,000's rear speakers on 7.1 system currently using Onkyo TX-RZ820 receiver, powered by Sunfire Grand Theater amp

    Polk Speaker collection: SDA SRS 1.2tl x 2, SRT system, SDA SRS 2 P/B, SDA 2A, SDA 1C Studio, SDA CRS+, Monitor 7B & 4, SRS 3.1tl, RTA 15tl, LS90, LSI 9
  • cstmar01
    cstmar01 Posts: 4,424
    edited June 2011
  • WGDB
    WGDB Posts: 162
    edited June 2011
    Man dbaldus. I sure wish you were close enough to pick these up.
    Pioneer Elite SC-35, Polk RTA (Real Time Array) 12's,
    Polk Monitor 40 surrounds, Polk CSiA4 Center,
    Polk PSW125, Sharp LC-46D62U,
    Panasonic DMP-BD85, Harmony One,
    iMac streaming an Apple TVII, or Squeezebox Touch
    Bedroom Rig~Sony STRDG-920, Polk Monitor 60 fronts, Polk RM6750 Satellites and Sub, Panasonic DMP-BD85
    Rabbit Hole Rig~Yamaha CA1010, Yamaha CT1010, Polk SDA 2A's, Teac A1500 R2R
  • salukixr4ti
    salukixr4ti Posts: 5
    edited June 2011
    Wish I were closer too - Deal would be done!
  • dbaldus
    dbaldus Posts: 730
    edited June 2011
    Club Polk, welcome a new SDA SRS owner... cstmar01!

    It took ~15 minutes for Chris (cstmar01) to reach out to me - that has to be some kind of record sale for the big boys! :eek:

    2-channel
    Squeezebox Touch| MSB Analog DAC | Audio Research Ref 40 Anniversary Edition| Pass Labs X350.8 | Wilson Audio Sasha 2

    Home Theater
    Arcam AVR 550 | GoldenEar Triton One | GoldenEar SuperCenter XXL | GoldenEar Aon 3 | JL Audio Fathom F113v2
  • cstmar01
    cstmar01 Posts: 4,424
    edited June 2011
    I'm so pumped to get my ears and hands on these. WOOT!

    Thanks again!
  • TNRabbit
    TNRabbit Posts: 2,168
    edited June 2011
    Those are beautiful~

    Congrats to both seller & buyer!
    TNRabbit
    NO Polk Audio Equipment :eek:
    Sunfire TG-IV
    Ashly 1001 Active Crossover
    Rane PEQ-15 Parametric Equalizers x 2
    Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature Seven
    Carver AL-III Speakers
    Klipsch RT-12d Subwoofer
  • Toolfan66
    Toolfan66 Posts: 17,340
    edited June 2011
    Congrats!!!

    I responded to your PM on the woodcaps!!!
    Polk Audio SDA 2.3tl Fully Hot Rodded. 😎

    SVS SB16 X2

    Cary SLP-05/Ultimate Upgrade.
    Cary SA-500.1 ES Amps
    Cary DMS 800PV Network
    OPPO UDP 205/ModWright Modification
    VPI Scout TT / Dynavector 20x2
    Jolida JD9 Fully Modified

    VPI MW-1 Cyclone RCM

    MIT Shotgun 3 cables throughout / Except TT, and PC’s
  • cstmar01
    cstmar01 Posts: 4,424
    edited July 2011
    picked these up yesterday and have to say Derek is an awesome seller and these things are awesome! I kinda didn't realize how big they were until I got them home and set up but listening is awesome and just beautiful. Great seller that was willing to take time of out his day to meet me half way and everything.

    The sad thing is that when they are upright they are taller than me.... just wish I would grow some.....
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,467
    edited July 2011
    certain things will grow while listening to SDA's.:biggrin:


    Congrats to both of you.:cool:
    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
  • Toolfan66
    Toolfan66 Posts: 17,340
    edited July 2011
    What about the wood caps?? do you still need them?? I PM'ed you some time ago but never heard back from you..

    Shipping will be about $25
    Polk Audio SDA 2.3tl Fully Hot Rodded. 😎

    SVS SB16 X2

    Cary SLP-05/Ultimate Upgrade.
    Cary SA-500.1 ES Amps
    Cary DMS 800PV Network
    OPPO UDP 205/ModWright Modification
    VPI Scout TT / Dynavector 20x2
    Jolida JD9 Fully Modified

    VPI MW-1 Cyclone RCM

    MIT Shotgun 3 cables throughout / Except TT, and PC’s
  • dbaldus
    dbaldus Posts: 730
    edited July 2011
    Glad you got them home safely, Chris - it's always interesting to see what people come up with to transport the big boys as it's no easy feat!

    It sure has been cool to see this set move around the forum from bluecomet -> Hamatym -> me -> you.

    Enjoy, and be sure to let us know if you perform any more cosmetic upgrades!

    2-channel
    Squeezebox Touch| MSB Analog DAC | Audio Research Ref 40 Anniversary Edition| Pass Labs X350.8 | Wilson Audio Sasha 2

    Home Theater
    Arcam AVR 550 | GoldenEar Triton One | GoldenEar SuperCenter XXL | GoldenEar Aon 3 | JL Audio Fathom F113v2
  • michael1947
    michael1947 Posts: 775
    edited February 2013
    FINALLY. I found the origin of MY SDA's. I have the new plates and connecters for the back coming from Vr3 and a full set of steel rings coming from Larry. These will be complete!!!:razz:
    Main Family Room: Sony 46 LCD, Sony Blue Ray, Sony DVD/VCR combo,Onkyo TXNR 708, Parasound 5250,
    Polk SDS-SRS with mods, CSI 5 center + Klipsch SC2, Polk RT2000P rears, Klipsch KG 1.5's sides, Polk Micro Pro 1000, Polk Micro Pro 2000, Polk SW505, Belkin PF60, Signal Cable Classics,Monster IC's, 2 15 amp circuits & 1 20 amp circuit.

    Living Room: Belkin PF60, Parasound HCA2200, MIT ProlineEXP balanced IC's,Emotiva XDA-1 DAC/Pre,Emotiva ERC2 transport,MIT AVT2, Polk LSI 9's.
  • tophatjohnny
    tophatjohnny Posts: 4,182
    edited February 2013
    totally cool!!!
    "if it's not fun, it's not worth it & remember folks, "It's All About The Music"!!
    *****************************
  • dbaldus
    dbaldus Posts: 730
    edited February 2013
    FINALLY. I found the origin of MY SDA's. I have the new plates and connecters for the back coming from Vr3 and a full set of steel rings coming from Larry. These will be complete!!!:razz:


    Awesome - glad to see they're still getting some love.

    Enjoy!

    2-channel
    Squeezebox Touch| MSB Analog DAC | Audio Research Ref 40 Anniversary Edition| Pass Labs X350.8 | Wilson Audio Sasha 2

    Home Theater
    Arcam AVR 550 | GoldenEar Triton One | GoldenEar SuperCenter XXL | GoldenEar Aon 3 | JL Audio Fathom F113v2
  • cstmar01
    cstmar01 Posts: 4,424
    edited February 2013
    I do miss these. I know Michael will take good care of them though.