Getting Gimpods 2.3tl boards today
musky1963
Posts: 275
They should arrive today. I still have to order the caps, resistors, etc. Should I just get what is listed on his site for parts or is there better to get, within reason? Should I get all parts shown or is it okay to use some from my stock boards, ie: the 3 harness plugs, inductors, etc.? If anyone happens to have a specific list, then it would be great.
Jeff
Post edited by musky1963 on
Comments
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They should arrive today. I still have to order the caps, resistors, etc. Should I just get what is listed on his site for parts or is there better to get, within reason? Should I get all parts shown or is it okay to use some from my stock boards, ie: the 3 harness plugs, inductors, etc.? If anyone happens to have a specific list, then it would be great.
You should use the stock inductors as there don't seem to be any in regular production that match all the values (inductance and dcr). I've looked everywhere and I can't find a complete set. Polk feels that it's important that these values be adhered to in order to maintain the voicing of the speaker.
Other parts look/sound good - they're what I used. I would get new connectors as the install will be easier than desoldering the old ones and resoldering on the new boards. One less step.
I used the stock boards, but am thinking about buying Gimpods custom ones if he makes another batch.
Good luck with your mod!"Science is suppose to explain observations not dismiss them as impossible" - Norm on AA; 2.3TL's w/sonicaps/mills/jantzen inductors, Gimpod's boards, Lg Solen SDA inductors, RD-0198's, MW's dynamatted, Armaflex speaker gaskets, H-nuts, brass spikes, Cardas CCGR BP's, upgraded IC Cable, Black Hole Damping Sheet strips, interior of cabinets sealed with Loctite Power Grab, AI-1 interface with 1000VA A-L transformer -
drumminman wrote: »You should use the stock inductors as there don't seem to be any in regular production that match all the values (inductance and dcr). I've looked everywhere and I can't find a complete set. Polk feels that it's important that these values be adhered to in order to maintain the voicing of the speaker.
Other parts look/sound good - they're what I used. I would get new connectors as the install will be easier than desoldering the old ones and resoldering on the new boards. One less step.
I used the stock boards, but am thinking about buying Gimpods custom ones if he makes another batch.
Good luck with your mod!
You are in luck:
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?128613-SDA-Custom-Circuit-Boards-Round-2-Anyone-InterestedSDA2BTL
Marantz CD5004
Adcom GFA-545
Bottlehead Quickie Tube Preamp -
They should arrive today. I still have to order the caps, resistors, etc. Should I just get what is listed on his site for parts or is there better to get, within reason? Should I get all parts shown or is it okay to use some from my stock boards, ie: the 3 harness plugs, inductors, etc.? If anyone happens to have a specific list, then it would be great.
I would recommend thinking about buying some of Rob's (quazilla's) Clarity Cap ESA capacitor set for 2.3TL's and getting some Duelund resistors to do the crossover boards. I won't fully comment yet about the sound as mine are only about 80 hours into the burn in process, but I can say that there was an immediate improvement in detail by about 25 to 30%. I won't comment about tones until fully burnt in, but I would recommend thinking about using these components. Here is a link to quadzilla's 2.3TL makeover of his crossover boards if this helps: http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?126065-My-2.3-TL-rebuild-so-close-it-hurts
Greg
Taken from a recent Audioholics reply regarding "Club Polk" and Polk speakers:
"I'm yet to hear a Polk speaker that merits more than a sentence and 60 seconds discussion."![:\](https://forum.polkaudio.com/resources/emoji/confused.png ":\")
My response is: If you need 60 seconds to respond in one sentence, you probably should't be evaluating Polk speakers.....
"Green leaves reveal the heart spoken Khatru"- Jon Anderson
"Have A Little Faith! And Everything You'll Face, Will Jump From Out Right On Into Place! Yeah! Take A Little Time! And Everything You'll Find, Will Move From Gloom Right On Into Shine!"- Arthur Lee -
Hey Greg,
IIRC you had the sonicaps gen 1 in your Xovers first, and then you changed 'em out to Clarity ESA's. So you're comparing those + Duelands to the Sonicap/Mills?
Fred"Science is suppose to explain observations not dismiss them as impossible" - Norm on AA; 2.3TL's w/sonicaps/mills/jantzen inductors, Gimpod's boards, Lg Solen SDA inductors, RD-0198's, MW's dynamatted, Armaflex speaker gaskets, H-nuts, brass spikes, Cardas CCGR BP's, upgraded IC Cable, Black Hole Damping Sheet strips, interior of cabinets sealed with Loctite Power Grab, AI-1 interface with 1000VA A-L transformer -
Very good advice on the inductors, the hardware from mouser (Mounting & Pin Headers) will run you about $18.00 plus shipping and is well worth it as those original pin headers can be a big PITA to remove plus they have a tiny plastic pin that you'd need to clip off. Spend the 20 and save yourself a headache.drumminman wrote: »You should use the stock inductors as there don't seem to be any in regular production that match all the values (inductance and dcr). I've looked everywhere and I can't find a complete set. Polk feels that it's important that these values be adhered to in order to maintain the voicing of the speaker.
Other parts look/sound good - they're what I used. I would get new connectors as the install will be easier than desoldering the old ones and resoldering on the new boards. One less step.
The only problem with using the ClairityCap ESA's besides the phyiscal size is that the 5.8uF, 8uF and 16uF caps is no one stocks them so they are special order in quantity's of 10 each I think that's what quadzilla had to do then he sold of the extras, I don't know if he has any left but you can always ask him. Duelund resistors IMHO are way over priced at $50.00 each but if you decide to get the Duelunds make sure to get the short ones.I would recommend thinking about buying some of Rob's (quazilla's) Clarity Cap ESA capacitor set for 2.3TL's and getting some Duelund resistors to do the crossover boards. I won't fully comment yet about the sound as mine are only about 80 hours into the burn in process, but I can say that there was an immediate improvement in detail by about 25 to 30%. I won't comment about tones until fully burnt in, but I would recommend thinking about using these components. Here is a link to quadzilla's 2.3TL makeover of his crossover boards if this helps: http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?126065-My-2.3-TL-rebuild-so-close-it-hurts
Greg
One other thing using the ESA's & Duelund's due to there size takes some planning, patience and a bit of trial and error to get everything to fit.
This is just my opinion and may be worth less than a ball of spit.
With all that being said, There your speakers so mod your brains out and have fun doing it!.“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” ~ Mark Twain -
drumminman wrote: »Hey Greg,
IIRC you had the sonicaps gen 1 in your Xovers first, and then you changed 'em out to Clarity ESA's. So you're comparing those + Duelands to the Sonicap/Mills?
Fred
I used the original crossovers that were done (not by me) with Sonicap/Mills. I then got Tony's boards and used the Clarity Cap ESA's and Duelunds. The only problem with doing a fair comparison is that when the original crossovers were redone with Sonicap/Mills, the silver mica bypass caps were left on the boards. When I listened to the 2.3TL's I thought it was the 0.5 ohm resistor on them that caused me to not like the sound I was hearing in the high end. I like the 0.5 ohm Mills on the 2B's, but thought I didn't like it in the 2.3TL's. Come to find out that I may not have liked the high end from the 2.3TL's due to the silver mica bypass caps still being on the crossovers. So, the comparison may not be a truely fair comparison. I can say that with the Clarity Cap ESA's/Duelunds there seems to be a fair amount more detail than with the Sonicap/Mills. As I am only about 85 hours into the burn in process, I cannot comment about the tones of the Clarity CapESA/Duelund combo yet.Very good advice on the inductors, the hardware from mouser (Mounting & Pin Headers) will run you about $18.00 plus shipping and is well worth it as those original pin headers can be a big PITA to remove plus they have a tiny plastic pin that you'd need to clip off. Spend the 20 and save yourself a headache.
The only problem with using the ClairityCap ESA's besides the phyiscal size is that the 5.8uF, 8uF and 16uF caps is no one stocks them so they are special order in quantity's of 10 each I think that's what quadzilla had to do then he sold of the extras, I don't know if he has any left but you can always ask him. Duelund resistors IMHO are way over priced at $50.00 each but if you decide to get the Duelunds make sure to get the short ones.
One other thing using the ESA's & Duelund's due to there size takes some planning, patience and a bit of trial and error to get everything to fit.
This is just my opinion and may be worth less than a ball of spit.
With all that being said, There your speakers so mod your brains out and have fun doing it!.
I believe quadzilla (Rob) had 2 sets of Clarity Cap ESA sets for the 2.3TL's (that was a little over a week ago). Also, you are right about fitting them on the boards. Certainly not extremely hard, but if this is your first crossover mod, it may be a little bit of a challange for the person doing it.
The Duelund resistors are from what I hear now, smoother and a fair amount (about 25 to 30%) more detailed than Mills. A part of this may be the Clarity Caps as well, however. Still are the Duelunds overpriced as you said Tony? Yes. They are very very good, but not sure about $50.00 good. Still, I like what I am hearing with them. For how often you will have to change out the resistors, it's worth the price for the sound you get. If you had to change out the resistors every 6 months, I certainly wouldn't use them. However, changing them out every (15 to 20 years (not sure about the life span of them)?) it is certainly worth the price. Hopefully that makes sense.
Greg
Taken from a recent Audioholics reply regarding "Club Polk" and Polk speakers:
"I'm yet to hear a Polk speaker that merits more than a sentence and 60 seconds discussion."
My response is: If you need 60 seconds to respond in one sentence, you probably should't be evaluating Polk speakers.....
"Green leaves reveal the heart spoken Khatru"- Jon Anderson
"Have A Little Faith! And Everything You'll Face, Will Jump From Out Right On Into Place! Yeah! Take A Little Time! And Everything You'll Find, Will Move From Gloom Right On Into Shine!"- Arthur Lee
