I just bought some SDA compact series speakers and now I need guess what?

Brusco

The interconnect cable.
I understand Polk doesn't sell these anymore. Does anyone have instructions to making your own? After looking at the speakers it appears I will need the blade/blade type.

Toolfan66

Brusco wrote: »

The interconnect cable.
I understand Polk doesn't sell these anymore. Does anyone have instructions to making your own? After looking at the speakers it appears I will need the blade/blade type.

Call Polk Audio they can get you the blade/blade type..

Big Dawg

And tell them that you are a member of Club Polk - you will get a discount.

Brusco

The speakers cost me $10 bucks for the pair. I don't want to spend $40 bucks for a cable if it can be made simply. Thanks for the info.

heiney9

Brusco wrote: »

The speakers cost me $10 bucks for the pair. I don't want to spend $40 bucks for a cable if it can be made simply. Thanks for the info.

Yeah, you wouldn't want to invest $50 in a $300/pr of speakers, I totally understand :rolleyes::question:

H9

codyc1ark

heiney9 wrote: »

Yeah, you wouldn't want to invest $50 in a $300/pr of speakers, I totally understand :rolleyes::question:

H9

More like he needs to invest $400.00 into those puppies and make them really sing.

Brusco, you have an EXCELLENT pair of speakers there. Don't be afraid to put some money into them, your investment into those SDAs will be more than satisfying. If you don't want to put the time and money into them, I'd really consider unloading them and going with something that more plug and play, which those are not.

inspiredsports

I think the cable configuration varies depending upon year.

Schematics are a few posts doen on the page here . . .

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?55888-POLK-AUDIO-Speaker-Wiring-Schematics-amp-More-Stereo-Dimensional-Array(SDA)

Let us know what matches yours and we can help.

evhudsons

I have some computer speakers I'll trade you. Just pm me. I'll even cover the postage.

evhudsons

By the way I'm only kidding. Read up on here what to do. Those are priceless speakers.

Toolfan66

Brusco wrote: »

The speakers cost me $10 bucks for the pair. I don't want to spend $40 bucks for a cable if it can be made simply. Thanks for the info.

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

I have put more money in my SDA's then I paid for them with no regretes.

drumminman

TOOLFORLIFEFAN wrote: »

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

I have put more money in my SDA's then I paid for them with no regretes.

Mee too, way more! And yet the ROI is quite good:exclaim:

dorokusai

Brusco wrote: »

The speakers cost me $10 bucks for the pair. I don't want to spend $40 bucks for a cable if it can be made simply. Thanks for the info.

The cable can be made for about $20-25 or you could have Polk make you a much better one with a much longer cable for $40. There's a point where being too cheap just doesn't make any sense....you're there.

pitdogg2

codyc1ark wrote: »

More like he needs to invest $400.00 into those puppies and make them really sing.

Brusco, you have an EXCELLENT pair of speakers there. Don't be afraid to put some money into them, your investment into those SDAs will be more than satisfying. If you don't want to put the time and money into them, I'd really consider unloading them and going with something that more plug and play, which those are not.

TOOLFORLIFEFAN wrote: »

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

I have put more money in my SDA's then I paid for them with no regretes.

drumminman wrote: »

Mee too, way more! And yet the ROI is quite good:exclaim:

dorokusai wrote: »

The cable can be made for about $20-25 or you could have Polk make you a much better one with a much longer cable for $40. There's a point where being too cheap just doesn't make any sense....you're there.

yep agree 1000% all great advice.

drumminman

dorokusai wrote: »

The cable can be made for about $20-25 or you could have Polk make you a much better one with a much longer cable for $40. There's a point where being too cheap just doesn't make any sense....you're there.

evhudsons

Consider your SDA's like a puppy. You have to put in a little money at a time but the love you get is worth it and you don't even think about it. So get a SDA cord or make one, and take your newly leashed SDA speakers for a walk. Eventually your puppy will get thirsty get him some spikes and rings. Then he will be hungry. Add a proper high current amp. Keep doing the mods and tweaks in steps and stages and before you know it your SDA's are full grown dogs. But these dogs you can enjoy for your lifetime.

vstarkwell

Dude it's WORTH the money!!!!!!! I'd couldn't call Polk Audio quick enough and then gladly spend the $40.

sda2mike

or, i'll give you $80 for them...as long as they're not derelicts, of course...btw, welcome to the club....listen to the advice and stick around

mike

WilliamM2

dorokusai wrote: »

The cable can be made for about $20-25 or you could have Polk make you a much better one with a much longer cable for $40. There's a point where being too cheap just doesn't make any sense....you're there.

I made my own just so I could run it through the walls like the rest of my speaker wires. Didn't cost anywhere near $20, not even $10. Besides, I thought DIY was cool these days?

dorokusai

WilliamM2 wrote: »

I made my own just so I could run it through the walls like the rest of my speaker wires. Didn't cost anywhere near $20, not even $10. Besides, I thought DIY was cool these days?

That's great and I was just guessing based on what I would choose to build it personally because I'm a fancy cable maker. I'm acutely aware that it could be made cheaper William.

Brusco

I bought the SDA's because they appear to be a quality pair of speakers and I know that Polk is a good name in audio. They are in nice shape too. I was a little confused to see speakers on the back of speakers?? I will probably just buy the interconnect cable from Polk. I'd love to upgrade them with the best wiring and whatever else they may need to make them sound even better but I'm just not good with real technical stuff. Thanks for all the responses and for posting the schematics/diagrams though. I have to hook these up to a receiver first to see if they even work without the interconnect cable.

Jstas

They can be run without the interconnect and the "speaker" on the back is a passive radiator.

pitdogg2

for the time being to make sure all drivers work you could stuff speaker wire into the sockets of the interconnect. Just make sure you have the right wire on each end in the right socket. I believe that only one driver will work in each speaker without the cable.

Brusco

I don't want to mess anything up. I believe the interconnect port has 2 different blade sizes. A large and a small (squarer blade). Reading from the small badge on back of left speaker. L SDA-CRS 5643 (serial#)

Joe08867

So in one sentence you state you spent $10 on the speakers and don't want to spend $40 for a cable. And a couple posts later you want to rebuild and mod and everything else.

Like pitdogg said, grab some speaker wire and connect the interconnect that way temporarily. This way you can see if the speakers work.

falconcry72

pitdogg2 wrote: »

I believe that only one driver will work in each speaker without the cable.

Not true. Both drivers will play below a certain crossover point even without the IC. That point and above won't play without the IC.

right?

Brusco

Joe,
After posting on this forum, I've realized that I have a puppy and I want to see him grow up to be a big healthy dog.

So just to confirm the procedure for testing, I will take some 16 gauge speaker wire and insert it into both interconnect blade sockets on the Left speaker. Then insert the same wire ends into the same blade sockets on the right speaker? (making sure they're not crossed). And do this while they are being powered by the amp/receiver playing the FM tuner or CD etc.? And what are my listening for?
Thanks

Joe08867

Brusco wrote: »

Joe,
After posting on this forum, I've realized that I have a puppy and I want to see him grow up to be a big healthy dog.

So just to confirm the procedure for testing, I will take some 16 gauge speaker wire and insert it into both interconnect blade sockets on the Left speaker. Then insert the same wire ends into the same blade sockets on the right speaker? (making sure they're not crossed). And do this while they are being powered by the amp/receiver playing the FM tuner or CD etc.? And what are my listening for?
Thanks

No problem, just confused by your post and we do get trolled from time to time.

As far as the procedure goes you have the right idea, I would use something a bit heavier than 16ga maybe 12ga if you have it, for both the speaker wire and the interconnect. I would only change that you should do this before you power up the amp/receiver. if you do something wrong the amp/receiver could be harmed. Make sure they do not cross.

As far as what you will hear, if the speakers are placed about 5-7 feet apart, not toe'd in at all Facing perfectly straight forward and you stand in the sweet spot about 5-7 foot away in the middle of the two. You should hear a very focused musical experience. The drummer will be dead center and if the recording is worth a darn the musicians will sound as if they are on a stage in front of you and not coming from the speakers.

Trust me, if those CRS's work you found yourself a winner for pennies.

If you could post a pic with the grilles removed I would like to know which version you have. It will help with the discussion later.

codyc1ark

Did you get the stands with them?

Brusco

No stands and no interconnect cable. Stands would be nice since they lay on their side, not the vertical standing type that sit on the floor. Here are some pics. Front is shown with the grill popped off.

Brusco

I want to hook them up to a receiver but wasn't sure what determines a "Common Ground" Amplifier. Does common ground have anything to do with being a 3-prong AC cord? I was a liitle nervous because the amp I was going to use is an old Lafayette receiver (looks like it's from the 60's).

gwg_97

You paid $10 bucks for those! That was a score! Enjoy.