SDA lineage?

soundfreak1

Is there any maybe " family tree" on the sda series? Ie: model by model, years made, drivers, tweets, ect...and photo's . Would like to learn more about the diff. Types.

gimpod

I'm working on that but keep in mind that as far as I've been able to find out Polk made up to 28 different models of SDA's including the transitional models across 5 generations.

9 of the SDA SRS models.
3 of the SDA CRS+ models.
2 of the SDA CRS models.
5 of the SDA 2 models (6 if there is a SDA 2B Studio).
8 of the SDA 1 models.

vstarkwell

I found this somewhere along the line here, hopefully this helps a bit.

Vintage Polk Audio.pdf

soundfreak1

Gimpod. The reason u noted is the same reason i need to see one. LoL. There are so many varaibles.

soundfreak1

Thats a hell of a list vstark, thanks.

soundfreak1

Finilly heardy first pair of sda's 2a's and they wont replace my rta 12c's by any chance they were nice and left me wanting more. So trying to see which way to shoot for the "mext level" past the 12c's.

cincycat13

http://www.polksda.com/list.shtml

soundfreak1

Thanks cincycat thats some good info. It comming together

Joe08867

While I think RTA12c's are nice something must have been wrong with the SDA2a's for you not to think they sounded better. Either that or the SDA effect is not for you.

soundfreak1

I liked the detail in the rta's. Faster bass, more accrate. The sda's seemed a little distant and less defined. Still very nice but the 2a's just dont out proform the rta's . I see them as equal but diff. I prefer the rta sound.

drumminman

soundfreak1 wrote: »

I liked the detail in the rta's. Faster bass, more accrate. The sda's seemed a little distant and less defined. Still very nice but the 2a's just dont out proform the rta's . I see them as equal but diff. I prefer the rta sound.

My heavily modded 12C's are surprisingly good too. In fact, they have a clarity and spaciousness to their soundstage that are, while not equal, not hugely behind my 2.3 TL's when driven by the same front end.

soundfreak1

The sda2.3 are a speaker i want to hear! I agree about the soundstage, the only way it could be more open is for me to knock some walls down, it goes from ceiling to floor and wall to wall as it is now.

drumminman

soundfreak1 wrote: »

The sda2.3 are a speaker i want to hear! I agree about the soundstage, the only way it could be more open is for me to knock some walls down, it goes from ceiling to floor and wall to wall as it is now.

Which tweeters did the RD0-194's replace? And have you done Xover, or other mods on your 12C's?

I've rebuilt the upper and lower Xovers, rewired the internals with OCC Teflon 18 awg, installed some Blackhole on the back wall directly opposite the MW's, either mortited or installed Armaflex on the MW's (can't remember which), and probably a few other things.

Still have my SL1000 tweeters cause everything sounds so good now. I've thought about upgrading, but don't want to mess with a good thing, and I'm not hearing the harshness others describe.

soundfreak1

So far just the dynamat and the 0194's ( had sl2000 if i rember correctly. ) but a very big improvment! Just cleaner, ctisper without shrillness. And well improved staging.well worth it. Before spending a crapload of cash in the 12's i must deside weather it smarter to invest the money into a top pair of sda's like the 2.3's or higher. To do the caps in clairty SA caps would cost about 500+ bucks by the time done. So a few more bucks gets a pair of 2.3's ???? "DID U EVER HAVE DESIDE" PICK UP ON ONE AND LET THE OTHER ONE SLIDE?" TO COIN A PHRAISE.

Vette C6.r

vstarkwell wrote: »

I found this somewhere along the line here, hopefully this helps a bit.

Vintage Polk Audio.pdf

That's a cool guide I have never seen before. I thought I saw them all. Those Model 9's are something I've never seen.

Thanks for sharing V Star

gimpod

Here's my attempt,

SDA Speaker Identification.pdf

Hope this helps.

txcoastal1

Damn Gimpod

...I don't own SDA's but when people chime in I always google to see what they are talking about

....Awesome job

soundfreak1

Excelent info gimpod

TennMan

Excellent work gimpod! I've always wanted to see a list like that. If you ever decide to do an update, cabinet dimensions would be a nice addition to the specs you already have. Thanks for taking the time to do all that work!

cincycat13

Gimpod. Great work! You may want to check the text description by the sda 2.3 picture. It looks like it states 1.2.

falconcry72

gimpod wrote: »

Here's my attempt,

SDA Speaker Identification.pdf

Hope this helps.

very nice!

... your 2.3 is marked as a 1.2.

falconcry72

soundfreak1 wrote: »

I liked the detail in the rta's. Faster bass, more accrate. The sda's seemed a little distant and less defined. Still very nice but the 2a's just dont out proform the rta's . I see them as equal but diff. I prefer the rta sound.

I like the RTA-12's a lot. When positioned correctly, with a nice toe-in, they get a locked-on, pin-point center image that SDA's can't touch.

Having said that, I definitely prefer the sound of the SDA-2B's over the RTA-12C's, and even more so when I moved to the SDA-1C's.

drumminman

gimpod wrote: »

Here's my attempt,

SDA Speaker Identification.pdf

Hope this helps.

Impressive! Nice work Tony.

Joe08867

While I agree pinpoint accuracy is there with the RTA's I still prefer the air and space afforded by the SDA's. I also like a soundstage that isn't 1ft wide in the center.

It also is room dependent. I had my RTA's and still have my SDA's in a medium size room. The RTA's didn't quite carry as well. And separation just wasn't even close to me.

pitdogg2

gimpod wrote: »

Here's my attempt,

SDA Speaker Identification.pdf

Hope this helps.

Well Tony the SDA 1 signature has a little flaw:redface: In Mine they have 3 mw6600 and 1 mw6501dimensional and this also jives with the wiring schamatic that Kim sent me from Polk CS.
All in all a very good list keep up the great work...

drumminman

Joe08867 wrote: »

While I agree pinpoint accuracy is there with the RTA's I still prefer the air and space afforded by the SDA's. I also like a soundstage that isn't 1ft wide in the center.

It also is room dependent. I had my RTA's and still have my SDA's in a medium size room. The RTA's didn't quite carry as well. And separation just wasn't even close to me.

Did you do any mods to your RTA 12's? If so, which ones?

I still need to install the spikes I bought, but other than that I did the full monty.

Joe08867

Redid the crossovers with Clarity Caps, Spiked it, replaced the Sl2000 with RD-0194 and Dynamatted the cabs.

They sounded truly awesome when they were done but I also modded my SDA2B's with the 4.1TL mod at the same time. So the contest wasn't totally fair.

drumminman

Oops, I lied. I still have the SL1000's. How much improvement did you hear with the RD0's? What did you do to get them to fit?

Joe08867

The RDO is a drop in for the sl2000 not the SL1000. You need to router out either side a bit to get the connectors to fit as the RD0 is straight out on either side and the SL1000 is angled down. It isn't drop in but well worth the effort.

GlennDog

These links need/could/should to be added to VR3s latest Sticky . . .

http://www.polksda.com/list.shtml post #7

SDA Speaker Identification.pdf post #16

Vintage Polk Audio.pdf post #3

G

TNHNDYMAN

awesome info Gimpod - thank you for taking the time to put it together for everyone