Help! Picked up SRT Satellite/Subs without Controller

absolve2525

I got a set of these today for a good price, but I didnt realize there was a controller I need. DOH! How can I hook up them up without the controller/processor? Do they have crossovers built into them? Can I make my own? I have the main front speakers (sub+sats), no center or surrounds, or controller. THANKS!!

nooshinjohn

nope... they wont work. Send them to me and I will be more than happy to put them to use.:cheesygrin:


J/K. Welcome to the club. As you can guess already, I have no useful information to offer on these, but I am certain that someone the does wil chime in soon and help out. You are in an exclusive club with those speakers and are in the right place to get your learn on.


Welcome to CP!:cool:

absolve2525

Haha thanks for the welcome! Ive been enjoying some Monitor 5As for a while, and jumped on the chance for the SRTs... but I didnt know about the controller lol.

Toolfan66

For some reason I think you need the controller.. Congrats either way!!

EndersShadow

Interesting given this thread earlier today......

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?127734-STR-s

Looks like we found the buyer for them lol....

Toolfan66

Can I ask what you paid for them?

absolve2525

Lol yeah it looks like I might be that guy - it was a little after noon when I called about them.

bzpolksda

Welcome to Club Polk

Did you get the Receiver & DVD player too?

EndersShadow

LOL, well either way Welcome to Club Polk. You already have some of us envious of you as those are the best speakers Polk ever made.

absolve2525

Haha, thanks. I passed on the receiver and dvd player. It was a nice Harmon/Kardon, but I already have an older Pioneer Elite receiver, along with some vintage gear. Price was $250 for speakers alone, $300 with the gear. I was only really there for the speakers... now to figure out what to do next with them!

bzpolksda

The guys on here are really knowledgeable & will help out any way they can.
You've come to the right place!

Toolfan66

How bout some pics??

EndersShadow

absolve2525 wrote: »

Price was $250 for speakers alone

HOLY ****! Thats all you paid?

schwarcw

Welcome to Club Polk! Very nice price for some great speakers!!! Show us some pics if you can!!!!

absolve2525

Thanks guys - I'll post some pix as soon as I can get them together. I had to wash the grills and they're drying now. I'm still investigating how to hook them up properly, without the SRT processor. I was unfamiliar with "SDA" and how it works, until I found a copy of the manual online. Each top box has three inputs (+/-), well actually 2 if you have the jumpers attached for the "stereo" tweeters/mids. So there is one regular set of inputs, and another for "SDA". The regular inputs are considered "stereo". The manual says you can connect the "stereo" inputs directly from your amp/receiver, but the "SDA" inputs need to come from the processor, which has screw type connectors for speaker-level in/outputs. The processor itself lets you select SDA "off", "normal", or "wide". Since I dont have the processor, I'm thinking I can wire up a speaker cable and hook it into the "SDA" input - the older SDA speakers use this design, but without a processor obviously. Is it some sort of out-of-phase wiring? If anyone knows how the speaker cable is wired for SDA on their speakers, I'd love to know how to make my one own for this speaker! Thanks for any suggestions! -A

F1nut

You bought a pair of stereo only speakers. You will not be able to get the SDA feature to work as it was controlled actively, not passively as the other SDA speakers are.

absolve2525

Hmmm... okay thanks. I didnt know if there was a work-around to make it work passively. Maybe an SRT processor will pop up some day! I wonder what is in the active circuit, since it uses speaker level inputs. I'll have to play around with the setup as soon as I get it together. I'm wondering if it will sound better to run "full-range" sound into the SDA drivers, along with the stereo set. They're all the same driver, I believe. I dont know how that would affect soundstage, or balance. Has anyone tried?

F1nut

Like any active crossover, electronics.

absolve2525

Haha who'd have thunk it!

[Deleted User]

absolve2525 wrote: »

I got a set of these today for a good price, but I didnt realize there was a controller I need. DOH! How can I hook up them up without the controller/processor? Do they have crossovers built into them? Can I make my own? I have the main front speakers (sub+sats), no center or surrounds, or controller. THANKS!!

The control center contains the circuitry to control the SDA function for the front satellites. It also houses the controls for the subwoofers (low pass, phase and volume). The high pass and EQ was built into the sub amps. There is also a remote for control center which is even harder to come by.

tonyb

Parts alone are worth more. Considering what you paid, resell them. Finding what you need may not happen for along time. Plus you probably don't know if anything is blown on them or not. Given what you paid, I'm guessing they may not be in the best working condition. Add to that they really need an amp to shine and a older receiver isn't going to do them justice.

dpowell

You got a fantastic price on the speakers but like others have said, you need the control center for the SDA and subwoofer control. If you plug those subs directly in to your sub/lfe out on your reciever and play something, you might be looking for hearing aids very quickly since the internal amps on the subs have no volume control.

For stereo use, you can run the stereo array in each satellite directly from your receiver but the dimmensional array in each satellite won't do you any good to hookup. Each driver array is 8 Ohms individually or 4 Ohms when paired up via the control center.

Someone on the forum bought a control center by itself I think with the intent of trying to make SDA work with regular stereo speakers. There was a thread on the forum about it maybe a year or two ago. You might try contacting that person to see if he still has it and would be interested in selling it. I know they've sold for a lot in the past because they are so rare so be prepared to drop some coin to get one.

The control center gives you a lot of options to dial in the subs but a regular preamp might at least give you the basic volume control over them. Don't take that advice to the bank though. I'd ask someone knowledgeable at Polk about that to be sure.

BTW, I'm driving mine with three Parasound HCA-1200's; 1 for each channel. That gives them 415wpc @ 4Ohms. I can tell you that while they sound great, it is not enough power to fully maximize their potential.

Good luck!

dpowell

absolve2525 wrote: »

Hmmm... okay thanks. I didnt know if there was a work-around to make it work passively. Maybe an SRT processor will pop up some day! I wonder what is in the active circuit, since it uses speaker level inputs. I'll have to play around with the setup as soon as I get it together. I'm wondering if it will sound better to run "full-range" sound into the SDA drivers, along with the stereo set. They're all the same driver, I believe. I dont know how that would affect soundstage, or balance. Has anyone tried?

I haven't tried it but you can pair the stereo and dimensional arrays together by using a jumper cable between the bi-amp binding posts on the stereo array with the single binding posts on the dimmensional array. Just remember it's a 4Ohm load and a regular receiver will puke trying to drive that. In older SDA models, the dimmensional drivers are different than the stereo array drivers. You might pull one from each side to confirm.

absolve2525

Thanks for the replies! I've been busy cleaning up the speakers, but I'm almost done. I opened up both subwoofers to check the woofers. The top driver in each box measures fine (there are 2 10 inchers per sub) - a little under 4 ohms, but the bottom woofer in each unit doesnt show a reading. Is there a passive in each box? The top woofers have bucking magnets, while the bottoms do not. I'm going to check the manual and see if it says anything about this.

halo71

Wow $250??? Congrats!

dpowell

While you have the subs open, check the spiders. SRT subs are notorious for having the spiders come loose. Might as well repair them if necessary while you're in there. I've repaired all 4 of mine....

PICS?

absolve2525

Thanks for the suggestion dpowell. I tried to feel around inside of each woofer to see if the spiders were still glued. I thought they were okay, but it looks like I may have to remove them to make sure. What kind of glue did you use for the spiders? I'm still working on the pics lol. I assure you I will have them at some point soon! Every thing is scattered around at the moment. I did test the top boxes briefly. The midranges and tweeters all sound fine. I used a jumper to play the stereo side, and then hooked up the SDA side.

schwarcw

nap wrote: »

The control center contains the circuitry to control the SDA function for the front satellites. It also houses the controls for the subwoofers (low pass, phase and volume). The high pass and EQ was built into the sub amps. There is also a remote for control center which is even harder to come by.

Nap, I often wondered if it were possible for Polk to license a reputable member or 3rd party to build replacement controllers? I know they are not in high demand, but there maybe a few members who would build these controllers for SRT owners. I've seen the controller and it's guts, not a big deal to have some boards made, catalog boxes, etc. I know Polk doesn't see any money for them to be building these. Why not license a third party?

dpowell

absolve2525 wrote: »

Thanks for the suggestion dpowell. I tried to feel around inside of each woofer to see if the spiders were still glued. I thought they were okay, but it looks like I may have to remove them to make sure. What kind of glue did you use for the spiders? I'm still working on the pics lol. I assure you I will have them at some point soon! Every thing is scattered around at the moment. I did test the top boxes briefly. The midranges and tweeters all sound fine. I used a jumper to play the stereo side, and then hooked up the SDA side.

Glad they seem to be in good shape. Polk recommended regular super glue. Seems to have worked fine for mine.

[Deleted User]

schwarcw wrote: »

Nap, I often wondered if it were possible for Polk to license a reputable member or 3rd party to build replacement controllers? I know they are not in high demand, but there maybe a few members who would build these controllers for SRT owners. I've seen the controller and it's guts, not a big deal to have some boards made, catalog boxes, etc. I know Polk doesn't see any money for them to be building these. Why not license a third party?

As far as I know Polk still does some repair on the controllers but that is in the case where you own one already. As far as building the controller it is probably more expensive than you think. The huge toroid transformer was a custom winding for Polk. By the time you factor in the controls, enclosure, connectors, remote, etc it adds up. Now to do the line level circuit for the sub control probably is not a big deal. I think I remember most of the schematic for that (if not then pretty close) but then you would need to develop the PCB which requires the correct software. From there you need to get pc boards made so you would have to line up your buyers ahead of time to get the best cost. Cheers. :cool:

dpowell

nap wrote: »

As far as I know Polk still does some repair on the controllers but that is in the case where you own one already. As far as building the controller it is probably more expensive than you think. The huge toroid transformer was a custom winding for Polk. By the time you factor in the controls, enclosure, connectors, remote, etc it adds up. Now to do the line level circuit for the sub control probably is not a big deal. I think I remember most of the schematic for that (if not then pretty close) but then you would need to develop the PCB which requires the correct software. From there you need to get pc boards made so you would have to line up your buyers ahead of time to get the best cost. Cheers. :cool:

Makes me glad my Control Center is sitting behind a large UPS with plenty of power protection. Would hate for anything to happen to it!