Opinion on these SDA SRS

adb3da

I am getting the SDA fever now and have been looking for a pair. There is a pair that looks to be in very nice cosmetic shape on eBay. Sounds like one crossover has a bad capacitor and they are missing the interconnect cable. How hard is it to fix the x-over? It is easy to make the interconnect? Thanks for the feedback!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Polk-Audio-SDA-SRS-Signature-Reference-Speaker-System-/251030233585?pt=Speakers_Subwoofers&hash=item3a729161f1#ht_2138wt_1396

smglbrth

I have heard these only once, around 1988 or so. "Indoor Concert" would be how I would describe them.

However, I don't own them. You need power for these (a good amp).

You did notice that they are located in New York City, only available for local pickup? I'd be VERY hard pressed to drive all the way there and back for 'em, especially with problems already.

As far as fixing them and getting an interconnect made, a search here will turn up tons of info.

Welcome to the Club!

pitdogg2

I'd pass as you can plainly see someone did some work on the inside "SDA hardware in both speakers has been bypassed".. If you go look at the pictures someone has cut the wire harness and twisted all wires and taped together so all run from stereo XO. That can't be a good thing to do. Way too far to drive for the headaches and moocho dollars to make right for the money.

michaeljhsda2

They look like 1.2's, not the original SRS's. If the interconnect socket is pin/blade then they are without a doubt 1.2's.

adb3da

smglbrth wrote: »

You did notice that they are located in New York City, only available for local pickup?

I've got connections for that!

adb3da

pitdogg2 wrote: »

I'd pass as you can plainly see someone did some work on the inside "SDA hardware in both speakers has been bypassed".. If you go look at the pictures someone has cut the wire harness and twisted all wires and taped together so all run from stereo XO. That can't be a good thing to do. Way too far to drive for the headaches and moocho dollars to make right for the money.

Ahh, this is good. I would have never noticed that. Thanks!

michaeljhsda2

Just confirmed with the seller that they have a pin/blade interconnect socket so they are indeed 1.2's. Even though the wires are cut and taped together, that's actually an easy fix. These can be converted to 1.2 TL's and since the crossovers need work anyway, doing the conversion will take care of that. I say go for it!

adb3da

What do you think a fair price would be for these?

audio_alan

They look to be in good enough shape. If you could get them for $600 or less, you'd have plenty of money left over to rebuild/repair/upgrade the cross-overs and still be way ahead of the game. Of course, you'd need to be handy enough to read a schematic and solder. It would be a fun project and you'd end up with a killer set of speakers. I say go for it...

adb3da

I contacted the seller about the "bypassed x-over" and he/she responded that "The internal cross-over circuitry is disconnected from the speakers." I responded asking if an external active x-over was being used or if the full range signal was being sent to each driver. Do you think there may be some damage from using these speakers with the x-over disabled like this? Seems odd to me, but I know somewhat little about these SDAs.

adb3da

Ok, the latest response was "No crossover. I was using a bridged amp setup for a couple of years."

Does this make any sense?

gimpod

adb3da@yahoo.co wrote: »

Ok, the latest response was "No crossover. I was using a bridged amp setup for a couple of years."

Does this make any sense?

No it doesn't, This and the pics of the hacked up wiring would make me think he/she was running them without the crossovers, all tweeters & drivers wired to the binding post so you can count on more than one if not all the tweeters are toast and who knows how many drivers are fried. Even if you could get them for say $100.00 your looking at $400.00 in tweeters alone plus $40 - $50 a driver (16 drivers = $800.00), Around $600.00+ in redoing the crossovers and wiring (the part that's fried is a polyswitch & it got got so hot it split apart), You could end up spending a couple grand trying to get these back in good shape. They obviously have been road really hard and put away wet. Even at a $100.00 these would be a very big crap shoot...

Personally I agree with pitdogg2, I wouldn't touch them for less than free. Pass on these and keep looking you'll find better. Just my $0.02 worth.

audio_alan

After hearing more details, I'm more leery now as well. However, he did say "they work amazingly right now". If the tweeters and/or drivers were blown, I would hope he wouldn't make that statement! It's possible that he somehow "disabled" the dimensional tweeters/drivers, and no damage was done to the components.

It might be worth a phone call (if he'll give you his number) to try to get more information out of him. I'm starting to agree though, it sounds like a can of worms waiting to happen...

adb3da

Lasareath wrote: »

Wow these are 25 miles from me!

I might have to bid!

I could use another pair!!!

No! Two pairs would be ridiculous!

I knew I was running a risk posting this link on here :cheesygrin:

Dennis Gardner

A working pair of these in Tulsa would make more sense to someone in MO. Check Craigslist.

adb3da

Dennis Gardner wrote: »

A working pair of these in Tulsa would make more sense to someone in MO. Check Craigslist.

Yes, saw the thread on those too. I have a good friend near these so I'm keeping an eye on them to see where the price goes.

elinenbe

Hi there. I'm the one selling these speakers. My brother had them in NJ for most of their life, and now I have them in New York, but no longer have space for them. I used them extensively through a couple of months ago. I no longer have any sort of respectable amp(s) to plug them into.

I live on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and should be around for most of the weekend, so if you'd like to come by and see them, you are more than welcome to. Just message me for my number or details (I'm assuming that's possible here).

You can also bring your own amp if you'd like to try them out. As far as I can tell nothing is blown. They sound great here. I honestly didn't know there was anything wrong with them until I was informed by my brother after I told him I was selling them (I was gifted these, when he moved for work).

You can see a LOT more pictures and video here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/102657943863641027251/Speakers?noredirect=1#

This is a video of them playing off my piss poor excuse for an amp now
https://picasaweb.google.com/102657943863641027251/Speakers?noredirect=1#5626403202547475538

adb3da

elinenbe wrote: »

Hi there. I'm the one selling these speakers.

Cool, thanks for posting. I'll send you a PM with some more questions.

elinenbe

Some more pictures have been added here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/102657943863641027251/Speakers?noredirect=1#

Specifically of the 6.5" drivers.

gwg_97

Lasareath wrote: »

I'm Sorry, I couldn't resist!

Attachment not found.

Score! I'd say you got a killer deal! Congrats. Let the fun begin.

gwg_97

Lasareath wrote: »

Thanks!

Picking them up tomorrow

I'll bet you'll be PMing Gimpod soon. I have speaker envy.

motorstereo

Good for you Sal; that's a pretty nice score and local is even better. What are your plans for them once they're up and running?
I couldn't help but notice the day that you won them on as I'm sure you did as well. Good luck to you in getting them singing properly.

leroyjr1

Was the OP not interested in the speakers anymore?

leroyjr1

Congrats and nice bidding skills. I see an Sda HT setup in your future.:cool:

adb3da

leroyjr1 wrote: »

Was the OP not interested in the speakers anymore?

I ultimately got spooked on the unknown cost to fix the crossover. I have a good friend in the NYC area who offered to handle pickup for me, but in the end I never placed a bid. It's a good deal for Lasareath, and with his experience, I'm sure he'll have those babies singing in no time.

chandler9a

Las, this is definitely a project for someone like you who has experience with this kind of thing. Someone else could have really gotten burned if they did not know what they were doing, glad the seller was honest about the condition.

Good luck with the rebuild and keep us posted on how it turns out.

audio_alan

adb3da@yahoo.co wrote: »

No! Two pairs would be ridiculous!

I guess I'm ridiculous then... haha :cheesygrin:

Congrats on the purchase, Sal. Assuming the drivers/tweeters are all ok, that was a steal!

So, what's the verdict? I assume you have them by now...

michaeljhsda2

Nice grab on the 1.2's Sal.

Drenis

Still have yet to hear a pair of SDA's. Someone local is selling a mint pair of 3.1's for $700 but they are nothing like the big flagship models.

Nice score!

gimpod

Lasareath wrote: »

Just got home. They are in my trunk. I need help to carry them in. Need to wait for my brother in law or cousin to get home from work.

They look very good. I quickly looked at the drivers. They seem to be in great shape.

I think I might have to have musky1963 redo all the wood for me on this pair.

I'll need to talk to him.

I'm going to wait for Tony (Gimpod) to get his new boards in and I'll then order the new caps and resisters.

After that I'll get new RD0198-1's since I will be TLing these!

Then I can hook them up to my system and then start working on my other pair. My original pair needs Larry's rings, Cardas posts, dynamat on the baskets and some spikes. When that's done I'll switch em out and finish up pair #2

What Sal you can't carry a couple little 185lb speakers by yourself. :eek::cheesygrin:

Got you covered on the boards when they come in I'll let you know. BTW if it were me before I spent another dime I would fix the internal wiring, by-pass the polyswitch's and then hook them up and make sure everything is working and sounding ok. This would give you a good starting point before starting to update and TL'ing them and maybe if your really really nice (like offer some free man time :eek:) maybe you could get Larry to make you a complete set of rings and bracket's for them.

gimpod

Lasareath wrote: »

Brackets?

Tweeter Brackets, You would need 8 sets

I have a set of rings for my other ones but I needed a spare pair before I did that job

You would need 16 6 1/2" rings for the drivers, 2 15" rings for the passives and 2 rings for the binding post plates.
See what I mean about being really nice to Larry. Also you might want to PM brgman about new gaskets I think he might have some left or can direct you to someone who got a boat load of them from him.

The seller said that one is perfect and the other is bypassed, they are in the car, tonight I'll start taking them apart to see what I have.

I saw the pictures of the crossovers and I think it was the right one that had a blown polyswitch and that looked like that was the only thing that's wrong with it.