Polk SDA 2B First Timer + Impressions.

GospelTruth

I've enjoyed reading articles on this forum for the past few months. I had given my sister and her husband my Polk monitor 5jr+ speakers back in 2000 as I had "upgraded" my speakers and system. I didn't think I needed to keep around the Polks any longer. Well, twelve years later and my sister had these speakers sitting in their garage doing nothing, so she said I could have them back. They were dusty and in need Polk badges as they had been lost somehow. After they were cleaned up I hooked them up to see how they sounded. Man, I forgot how good these little guys sounded! They are lacking in the lower end, but they sure sounded great.

Reading more about my vintage Polk speakers brought me to this site. I started reading about the vintage Polk SDA speakers that I had forgot about way back in the eighties. I loved going to the store and seeing them, but as a teenager there was no way I could afford them. I could have spent hours in those stores back then. Anyway, I kept reading about how many of you all think that these speakers still hold there own after all these years. The more reading I did put me in a mindset to try to find a pair. I was on a mission to find some SDA speakers. I guess I got lucky and found a guy on Craigslist less than 2 miles from my house that had some SDA 2Bs for sale in pretty excellent condition. I bought them, brought them home and hooked them up. Wow, they sounded way better than the 5jr+, but that was kinda a given. I then hooked up my Energy RC-70s to compare. Immediately I noticed a more compressed sound stage. Don't get me wrong, I love my Energy speakers, but the breadth of the sound stage with the SDAs was not equaled with the RC-70s. The RC-70s actually sounded more boxed in after going back and forth between the two. I'm not trying to write some listening critique here, it's just my initial impressions with both sets of speakers.

These speakers are bone stock, so there are plenty of upgrades to do as I've read about on the forums. How these speakers could sound better is kinda beyond me as they sound great already. Crossovers and tweeter replacements are what I read about the most. I am looking at getting a separate amplifier though, and wondered where that would fall into the upgrade path. I see people comment on a separate amp making a bigger difference, but not much comparing putting in a new amp vs. upgrading tweeters and crossovers. Any thoughts out there? I know - do both.

Anyway, I would like to say thanks to all those out here who contribute to the forum and all the knowledge out there. It's a pleasure to read up on all the DIY stuff that makes a great speaker even better. Someday soon I'll hopefully be able to do some of those mods. You've all brought me back to a place I haven't been in a long time in listening to music.

dpowell

Congrats on entering the world of SDA and welcome to Club Polk!. I know it's hard to believe they can sound better. I was in the same place a couple of years back with my first pair of SDA's.

Hard call on the amp vs. XO's but if it were me, I'd do the XO's. They are your biggest fail point given the age of the caps.

nhhiep

I completely agree with you. When I got my first SDA (1Cs), just to realize how "boxy" the rti12s sound during comparison. Even though I really enjoyed the Rti12s before. The soundstage is so wide. With music, I even enjoy the 1Cs more than Lsi9s. Rti12s still sound better for movies though.

My 1Cs sound strange for movies, maybe I don't have the matching center for them.

If yours didn't come with new improved tweeters. you should upgrade that first before anything else. I upgraded mine; 4 tweeters cost as much as I paid for the speakers themselves.

renowilliams

Welcome to the SDA club. I had a pair of stock 2B's as my first, and was very impressed. I hooked them up to a older Pioneer reciever (49TXi) and was blown away. Some time later I found a Carver TFM-35 2 channel amp and had it completley referbed, and bought an Anthem pre. and upgraded the tweets.This is when my SDA's came to life. Personally, I think there is a more dramatic change to what your ears hear,with the addition of a good two channel amp.
Again, congrats on the new speakers.

Tim

P.S. Here is my set up in action

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPA9t62i_YE&feature=plcp

codyc1ark

Welcome to CP! Enjoy the ride, lock your wallet up!

GlennDog

Welcome to CP, Gospel Truth

I, too, have 2Bs, and as the original owner, I can say are SWEET sounding and they don't owe my a dime. I wanna pay them back by TL'ing them!!! (that's code for upgrading the xo's (replacing the crossovers, and upgrading the mid-woofers). . . Senior members will correct if I'm wrong. . . (I'm new here, too)

A very nice floor standing speaker that you will cherish for a nice long while, until you get the itch for more (it's an addiction)

G

TNHNDYMAN

Welcome to Club Polk- Gospel.

I too am a proud new owner of some SDA's. The 2.3TL's. Not very wife friendly, but the music is sweet. Enjoy.

GospelTruth

TNHNDYMAN wrote: »

Welcome to Club Polk- Gospel.

I too am a proud new owner of some SDA's. The 2.3TL's. Not very wife friendly, but the music is sweet. Enjoy.

I told my wife that I was going to pick up some new speakers. She told me to "have fun". Came home with these 80lb cabinets and she was wondering where they were going to go! Don't worry dear, they won't go in the family room - we'll keep that system nice, small and clean. They are downstairs with the other audio equipment. Like you said, not wife friendly, but the music is oh so sweet.

GospelTruth

renowilliams wrote: »

Welcome to the SDA club. I had a pair of stock 2B's as my first, and was very impressed. I hooked them up to a older Pioneer reciever (49TXi) and was blown away. Some time later I found a Carver TFM-35 2 channel amp and had it completley referbed, and bought an Anthem pre. and upgraded the tweets.This is when my SDA's came to life. Personally, I think there is a more dramatic change to what your ears hear,with the addition of a good two channel amp.
Again, congrats on the new speakers.

Tim

P.S. Here is my set up in action

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPA9t62i_YE&feature=plcp

Nice setup! Funny you have that video playing Phil Collins. I just put that song on last night through the SDAs. I think my wife wonders what happened to me as I just vanish downstairs to listen to music - but what can I say? It's like listening to my music collection all over again - only better.

gmcman

Welcome to the club!

I did the same as you and picked up my first set (2B) last year and there's no turning back. In stock form I was impressed, comparing them to my RT800's with a Mirage 10" sub. I have since removed the 800's and the sub and haven't missed them one bit. Now I have a very smooth wall of sound that is spacious and never fatiguing.

The tweeter change made a big difference, the highs don't break up and are very smooth. I did the "TL" mod with the 198 tweeters and highly recommend it.

There are many threads on refreshing these so take your time, a seperate high-current amp really helps. I thought my Denon 3300 sounded good until I put some "good" power to them. You will hear the term "rabbit hole" used often....trust me, once you dive in you will realize how cavernous the area beneath the surface is.

Enjoy and congrats.

Joe08867

GospelTruth wrote:

Nice setup! Funny you have that video playing Phil Collins. I just put that song on last night through the SDAs. I think my wife wonders what happened to me as I just vanish downstairs to listen to music - but what can I say? It's like listening to my music collection all over again - only better.

The funny thing about your post is I did the same thing when I got mine. And after I got married my wife was the one that was lost in an SDA haze for a while. It's like rediscovering music all over again. It is really quite impressive and with some upgrades you will be even more impressed.

There is a special mod you can do to the SDA2B that is amazing. It makes them open up even more. It isn't hard but is best to do when you update the crossover. You add a 5.6uf cap and the RD-0198 tweeter to make them SDA2BTL's. It is just amazing.

Look up 4.1TL mod to see how it is done.

drumminman

Congrats on your purchase Gospel Truth and Welcome to CP!

Tough to say in which order you should do the upgrades. Don't know what your budget is, but I'd probably go for a good high current pre-amp/amp combo first.

Next I'd upgrade the Xovers & tweeters at the same time. As Joe said doing the 4.1TL mod in order to use the RD0-198 tweeters would be preferable. A bit more coin, but these big SDA's reward you with such good sound.

Among the cheaper mods are installing a set of Larry's Rings or Hurricane nuts to more solidly couple the MW's and tweeters to the front baffle. This one is inexpensive and makes a big difference in clarity and bass response. At the same time I would apply dynamat to the spokes of the MW frames.

And, and . . . . so many mods, so little time :cheesygrin:

If you haven't already checked it out, go here for lots of DIY mod info and links: http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?133384-All-the-Polk-SDA-upgrades-located-in-one-place!

sda2mike

welcome to the polk audio club and the 2b subchapter...i tl'd mine as well..well worth it...however, i suggest you settle in with the stock version for a while...learn about the upgrades...then have a plan...it will be a satisfying journey