sda 1

soundfreak1

Where do the sda 1's. Fit into the big picture? Have 12b's and 12c's and love them but have always wanted to try the sda's . A nice looking pair are available to me ay what seem a decent price and just trying to deside if its worth spending the money and if they compair to the 12's. I know they are diff and not a direct equal or better but that my referance is the 12's. but where do they stand with other sda models? Cost to me between 200/250.00 for the pair. Again they look very nice condition. Input would be helpful. Thanks.

heiney9

SDA's are totally different than Monitors/RTA's. Which SDA 1's are they? They vary significantly and the only way to help is to know which generation they are. Photo's would help a lot.

There is no comparison to the RTA 12's because they are a different design. Depending on which SDA 1's they are, IMO the SDA's are superior. Of course other RTA 12 owners may disagree.

H9

soundfreak1

Waiting for the driver #'s but they have sl1000 tweets mounted horizontly and 4 drivers stacked 2 on 2 wood cabs. Owner says there marked sda 1's.

heiney9

Those are most likely SDA1A's, the second horizontal tweet is a dimensional tweeter. They did away with that later as they refined the SDA approach. Some like the dimensional tweeter, most don't. I suppose for the right price it's not a deal breaker. The sl1000 tweeters aren't that great either, no better or worse than sl2000's.

The ideal SDA 1 to get is the last generation "C" model with the single x-over board and oak end caps, Pin/Blade. They also use the side wound voice coil MW6211 and MW6210 drivers.

H9

soundfreak1

Is the 1c the one with the virticle tweets as opposed to the horz. Tweets?

heiney9

soundfreak1 wrote: »

Is the 1c the one with the virticle tweets as opposed to the horz. Tweets?

Most 1B's and all 1C's have that, but be aware there was a lot of cross over in models and later 1C's are a little different than earlier 1C's. There is no clear line of delineation.

Clues, like x-over boards, pin/blade, cabinet types, driver models #'s all need to be looked at to verify which model is actually for sale.

H9

nwohlford

1Bs also have vertical tweeter alignment. The easiest way to tell between the 1B and 1Cs is that the 1Cs have wood trim above the grill on the front.

heiney9

nwohlford wrote: »

1Bs also have vertical tweeter alignment. The easiest way to tell between the 1B and 1Cs is that the 1Cs have wood trim above the grill on the front.

The "wood trim" is the over hang of the oak endcap, the front grill was designed to "butt" up against the overhang and sit flush. 1C studio versions look just like 1B's so you can't say all 1C's have the end caps. Also there are some 1B look-a-likes that are actually early 1C's.

Like I said, there is no clear delineation so there isn't a "blanket" statement that can be made.

H9

soundfreak1

Were the polk guys smoking grass on the job back then

heiney9

soundfreak1 wrote: »

Were the polk guys smoking grass on the job back then

Probably :biggrin:

It's more about using up parts inventory than anything else. Not a lot of difference between 1B's and early 1C's other than the cabinets on the 1C's being better, more rigid, better quality. Later 1C's had some distinct advantages, the drivers were better, as well as the simplified 1-board x-over, pin/blade, and certain serial #'s could be used with AI-1 interconnect so you could use a non-common ground amplifer.

H9

soundfreak1

So confusing, if there speakers didn't sound so Damn good I'd be pissed. LOL.

flason

For the $260 asking price, how could you go wrong? You could sell the parts for more than that (though that would be a shame).

soundfreak1

Got a point on the parts thing, but think I'll wait for the c's. Have 12 b's and c's now might as well wait for the right ones.