Please help with SDA 2 speaker

wakkoyh
wakkoyh Posts: 21
edited February 2012 in Vintage Speakers
Hey fellow Polkies,

I purchased a pair of SDA 2(A or B). I noticed that the left speaker sounded a lot emptier than the right. Although I don't know much about speaker repair, I unscrewed the bass radiator and took a look. It appears that the right mid woofer (MW6503) isn't doing anything. I was wondering if anybody could help me diagnose the problem. I don't know how to go through a differential for this. I tried the radiator test and both mid woofers seem to return back slowly. Other than that, I don't have a clue as to what to do... caps? crossover? wiring? driver? I'm lost :sad: Any help would be greatly appreciated :wink:
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  • audiocr381ve
    audiocr381ve Posts: 2,588
    edited January 2012
    wakkoyh wrote: »
    Hey fellow Polkies,

    I purchased a pair of SDA 2(A or B). I noticed that the left speaker sounded a lot emptier than the right. Although I don't know much about speaker repair, I unscrewed the bass radiator and took a look. It appears that the right mid woofer (MW6503) isn't doing anything. I was wondering if anybody could help me diagnose the problem. I don't know how to go through a differential for this. I tried the radiator test and both mid woofers seem to return back slowly. Other than that, I don't have a clue as to what to do... caps? crossover? wiring? driver? I'm lost :sad: Any help would be greatly appreciated :wink:

    I went through the same problem less than a month ago and will give you the great advice I received myself.

    1. Check your wiring inside and out. If it's the 6503 (stereo driver) that's not working, than you must have the SDA interconnect working as it should. Sometimes it just takes slowing down and triple checking your wiring to make sure connections are secure.
    2. Take the working driver (6503) from the speaker that is functioning properly and swap it in for the bad driver and see if that solves your problem. If it does, it's obviously a bad driver.
    3. If 1 and 2 aren't your solution, it's your crossover. This was the case in my situation. I found 1 cold solder joint that was literally broken. You'll have to take some time with this and know what you're looking for as well.

    That's as far as I can take you. Hope this helps and good luck!
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  • wakkoyh
    wakkoyh Posts: 21
    edited February 2012
    Hey audiocr381ve, thanks for your input. I will definitely follow your advice. The working driver on the other speaker is soldered to the wires. How do I go about disconnecting the driver? Should I just clip part of the wire and then resolder? Thanks again for your help!
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  • wakkoyh
    wakkoyh Posts: 21
    edited February 2012
    Ok, I'm an idiot. The wires weren't soldered... I'm just blind. I swapped the drivers and it definitely seems to be a dead driver. Ordered a replacement from Polk. Hopefully this will resolve all issues and I can finally get to enjoy these SDA's the way they were meant to be heard. Thanks again for the help! :cheesygrin:
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  • audiocr381ve
    audiocr381ve Posts: 2,588
    edited February 2012
    wakkoyh wrote: »
    Ok, I'm an idiot. The wires weren't soldered... I'm just blind. I swapped the drivers and it definitely seems to be a dead driver. Ordered a replacement from Polk. Hopefully this will resolve all issues and I can finally get to enjoy these SDA's the way they were meant to be heard. Thanks again for the help! :cheesygrin:

    You got it man! Glad you got it worked out.

    Btw, I responded to this but before I submitted a reply my daughter pressed the "off" switch on my tower.

    Let us know how it sounds have both stereo drivers working! lol
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