SDA II accident

BernieHall

Hi All,

I have a pair of SDA II speakers I was using for my home theater system (surround position, with a pair of SDA 2 in the front). The right unit was tipped forward and fell on its face w/cover on while being powered. It worked fine before the poster child for birth control, now the top left tweeter works, the top right doesn't, and the top left driver works, the other 2 do not. Are they ruined? I don't use the interconnect cable for either set as they seem to have better spacial placement without them.

I would also like to know which set of speakers is the older. The SDA-II has 2 tweeters, 3 drivers, and 1 reflex; the SDA-2 has 1 centered tweeter, 2 drivers, and 1 reflex.

Thanks
Bernie

Toolfan66

If you have never used the interconnect cable then they never worked. If you can connect the cable then report back, I would also push on the passive and see if the drivers move out just to make sure you don't have a frozen driver..

The one you dropped is the older set.

Toolfan66

Without the interconnect cables you are using half of the speakers drivers,and only one tweeter on the set you dropped..

BernieHall

Thanks for your reply

I connected the cable and no luck.

After pushing on the passive, the only cone that moved was the single driver on the bottom (no sound), the top left sounds as though it is trying to make sound (it vibrates) the top right neither moves with the passive or makes sound.

The left speaker of this pair works fine, as did this one before it fell on its face.

Bernie

Toolfan66

My guess is you have two drivers that are frozen caused by the magnet shifting on the back of the driver. You can fix the speaker by finding a couple replacement drivers and a tweeter.

Did the tweeter make any sound with the cable connected between the speakers? You could just swap the two tweeters and see if they work when you do this.

evhudsons

I did this very same thing and now look what happened! Welcome to club Polk! Dropping that speaker might be the most expensive mistake you've made in the long run, but you'll be glad you did it!

Toolfan66

evhudsons wrote: »

I did this very same thing and now look what happened! Welcome to club Polk! Dropping that speaker might be the most expensive mistake you've made in the long run, but you'll be glad you did it!

LOL!!! Don't scare the new guy just yet let's help him get back up and running..

BernieHall

Just what I needed to hear....

The speaker was tipped over while watching a movie. A small, as yet to be sold to the railroad, human got behind it and pushed it over onto a wood floor. WHAM!!! then no sound.

I just did a search on "frozen driver" after reading toolfan's reply. I think that is my problem. I came across this thread - http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=202963 and think I might give it a try for starters. It also seems finding a new driver(s)
could be problematic. Any suggestions as to where I might find one, if my attempt at repair fails? And if I'm not using the IC can I swap those drivers (assuming they are not frozen) for the bad ones?

To evhudsons - I am already sliding down the slippery slope and gaining speed exponentially. I'm in my late 50's and never owned/watched a TV till 2 years ago, the wife gets a bigass 55" hdmi flat screen tv. Who knew the speakers on the TV are useless!? Out comes the old stereo equipment, HK 795i and a pair of SDA-2's, who knew you needed a center channel to hear?! and where do you hookup a center channel on the HK? So a new Onkyo TX NR 809 and a new Definitive Technologies 2000 center and pull out the other old pair of SDA-II's for the surround. All this to listen to Sirrius deep tracks for me, (although the movies are a new experience). Now I'm reading about crossover mods, internet, etc etc etc. What started as a partial cashendectomy is turning into a removal of my whole wallet........

Thanks for the help and welcome folks

evhudsons

It's the most fun I've had in years. Each step is just a step. Start by getting new drivers first. Get them from Polk audio by calling them and telling you are a club Polk member.
Before you do finish verifying that they are Indeed frozen, and then get the right ones. After that make a cheap

evhudsons

SDA cord from speaker wire. There are expensive things, but most mods are actually cheap and are huge improvements. You will learn a lot here, and the hobby pays for itself in satisfaction. WAF is one thing it sounds like won't be much of an issue. (wife acceptance factor). We love out SDA's and very soon you will rediscover your love of music. I'm going in 44 and I feel young as heck again with this hobby. It's the weekend but soon you'll get some more responses. When I get home I'll post sOme good links to get you going. This hobby keeps you out of bars and trouble and you'll never want to go to a movie or shopping mall again.

evhudsons

Here's a link to my first post in the forum. It is a great thread. As you can see I found invaluable information. Nspindle has a list of things to upgrade after you get the driver situation fixed.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?120728-Polk-Audio-SDA-CRS-Mods...&p=1599867#post1599867

I think your sda 2 sounds like an sda 2b, which is very very good! The other is also a great speaker from what I understand. The good thing is that you only dropped one speaker, and it is quite possible you are only noticing some drivers not working because you dropped it not because you heard something wrong. You might have to open it up and make sure the connections are secure, and adding the sda cord is essential. You basically haven't heard anything much yet. I know they sound good now but wait until we get you going, you'll be smiling then! You also already did much of the wallet grabbing already. That HK is a nice thing to keep, you may need to deoxify it. You can get a can at radio shack quite cheap. You won't need a center channel with properly set up sda. In fact it is of my humble opinion that a center channel detracts from the whole sda experience. It is lack of sda that one would need a center channel. For now go ahead and use it if you like, but as you progress you will find the sda's will take over that function. I had a center because I had a hard time hearing voices well. With the newer tweeters and improved sda cord I can hear fine (understatement) and got rid of the center channel. Keep it though, you may want to use it as a surround back eventually.
The receiver you got is a good choice. It has preouts so you can add amps later to your fronts. All in good time though.

Don't forget a good turntable is in the near future so keep an eye out for goodwill stores and used record stores. You will be reborn an audiophile by the end of the year.

It's never too late to learn and love, and the only regret is that you didn't do this sooner. I laugh at being so mad at myself for dropping the speaker, but I am so grateful I did or I wouldn't be here, (cause we're not all there).

I'll post some more links as your thread continues.

BernieHall

thanks for the help folks, just wanted to update with the result.

2 of the 3 drivers were toast, and while pulling them I managed to ruin one of the tweeters. Who thought those little buggers would be so hard to get off? So I called Polk and they sent me 3 new drivers and 2 new tweeters. Got em yesterday and put em in and we are a happy camper!

So now I am using a pair of SDA II s for front right and left, and a pair of SDA 2s for the rear right and left (only cause I had em) and a Definitive PC 2000 for the center.

I have read elsewhere on here that folks say to use the IC and no center. I have tried that and don't get good results for 5.1. I have also tried using the IC and not using the IC for the front set and find the bass is much flabbier with the IC than without. I remember when I bought the first pair new the 3d stage effect, and looking behind the couch for some of the instruments occasionally. Roxy Music's Avalon was a good test if I recall. I get that now through the 5.1 and it seems fuller. My room is fairly bright, 30' wide and 20' deep with 13' ceilings. The system is set up on the 30 foot wall with about 20' between right and left and seating is about 18' back.

I just started to read about the cabinet veneer and how some folks like to remove the vinyl and replace with real wood veneer. I have not gotten too far, but veneering is a large part of what I do for a living. If I can figure out how to get some photos on here I would be glad to show some of the possibilities. I mostly do furniture and architectural work, but after looking at my speakers I think they would be very easy to recover with custom veneer. Might try one of mine to see what it entails.

Again - thank you all for the help, I was thinkin the worst, and was pleasantly disappointed.

Bernie

dudeinaroom

Did you open it up and check to see if any of the wiring came loose? It is unlikely, but possible.

inspiredsports

Welcome to Club Polk.

Just as a caution as you had not previously been using an SDA interconnect, (I'm guessing it is), but you should verify the amp you are using is common-ground.

evhudsons

If you use a calibrating mic as many new surround recievers do, re-run your calibration after removing your center. Otherwise the receiver is sending signals to a phantom center and the signal may not properly play back. It will be split somehow between the speakers but not split the way it should be. Also I agree with checking wiring. Try listening fairly loud and plug the ic cord in, then out, do that and make sure you hear a change. If not something is still not right with SDA. A properly functioning SDA improves voice clarity and makes it much easier to hear voices (IMHO) but if no SDA then I would agree a center channel would help. Also calibrate or adjust your EQ or tone controls for the bass. The SDA bass is wonderful. The only reason I have a sub is because my speaker size is too small to fill the room I have with bass. Yours should be fine without a sub.
There's a lot to this and you will read elsewhere the gospel truth that "everything matters". I didn't come up with that but I will preach it.
Theres a few tests to troubleshoot SDA.
How do you like those new tweeters? You haven't. Even broken them in fully so don't make final decisions or opinions just yet. They are so much better but they will continue to improve and once your SDA is working I really feel you will see what I mean with the center. Before I upgraded my tweeters and with an ancient receiver I had to use a center and even wired small speakers immediately behind my head also wired to the center channel output so I could hear voices and dialogue better. But don't do that, get your setup right first. Do you have a picture Of your speaker and room alignment? There may be factors affecting SdA that you haven't noticed yet. Let us know, I and we would love to help.