SDA SRS2 upgrade thread, starting with blade blade version

evhudsons

Hello everyone! I'm back!

I've been enjoying my life and listening to awesome music at home, and in the car, and occasional prepandemic concerts, and raising my son who is about to turn 7 in over a week. I remember a post a while back where someone asked where do people on here go when they tend to disappear, and why. Most answers were life, work, satisfied with the stereo level etc. So, for me that is the same.

However, this thread still lives, because, Trey upgraded my Polk Audio SDA SRS2 crossovers!!!!

I've been squirreling the money away over time, as it wasn't the highest priority over the years but was in bold on my list of things to do to improve my system. Trey (VR3) did my CRS+ crossovers, and the difference was astounding, so I knew that although my SRS2 sounded very good, it could get better.
Better is not the word for how they came out. Interstellar would be more like it.

A little background, I had been using the Parasound HCA-1500a to run them, but they would distort at medium high levels, so I, with a small budget, used a crown xls-2500, which actually did improve them a lot as far as distortion. but, when driven high the right side channel would start clipping far sooner than the left channel, and they both would quickly go to red if I had it too loud, unless I used the avr crossover point to get the subwoofer to carry the load, and then turn my avr to all speakers. That was with a new amplifier, so the issue was the old speakers. The only change was the crossovers. Seriously, I can turn it to ear bleeding levels any first year frat boy would cry and ask me to turn it down and the green dots wouldn't even start to show on the amplifier. With the new crossovers, I can't turn it up to clipping any more because it's just too loud, and they sing so brilliantly clear and beautiful now.

I found a guy in Ft. Lauderdale that can totally rehab the old Parasound amplifier, as it's showing it's age, and I will use that instead of the crown proamp now that the Parasound can handle the new crossovers with ease. I'll use the crown amp for my subwoofer.

I'll try to post pictures, it's been so long I forgot how to do it, but have some patience, these crossovers by Trey not only sound interstellar, they are a beautiful work of art, a creation that should be shared with you guys, and truly, the photos don't do them justice as they are simply gorgeous in person.

Listening to my phonographs on pure straight 2 channel SDA stereo is blissful musical nirvana.

evhudsons

VR3

Thanks for the mini review Everett!

I appreciate the opportunity to work on them

Great photos!

evhudsons

I owe you some hot sauce Trey, working on a batch now!

There was one change we made, so it involved getting new mid drivers, maybe Trey can chime in with the change we made, and what it means for what my options are on driving them. So, they are sort of SRS2 now, slightly different.

I still have all the old original mid-drivers if anyone is interested, otherwise I'll put them on ebay or something, and I put in rdo194 tweeters and have the old original sl2000 tweeters if someone wants those too.

If anyone is in Key West, I'll audition them for you!

VR3

Yes these were converted to the pin blade version. All new mids and tweets!

Going after my wife's heart with hot sauce haha

xschop

There's those scrumptious copper donuts again.
Beautiful work again Trey.

evhudsons

I grow my own thai chili peppers, then ferment them for weeks with garlic, then mixed strained 50/50 with bragg's cider vinegar. My sauce is probiotic, good for your gut!

evhudsons

Something I noticed was there doesn't seem to have any break in period, they sound perfect, quality neither goes up or down.

evhudsons

I'm refurbishing one Parasound hca-1500a now, but will do my second soon. Will I be able to bi-amp these Trey?

VR3

Yes the highs and mids are separated but not much benefit to biamping

evhudsons

I was going to use my Parasound amps, so 2 instead of one, there wouldn't be any benefit? I'm new to this as I've always used a normal stereo amp to run them.

VR3

The top posts are just the tweeters so technically any amp could power them no problem. The problem biampi g without the introduction of an active crossover before the amps is that the amp is still amplifying a full 20 to 20 signal. Biamping would only be beneficial if you removed the lows from the amplifier but then you are talking more components, cables, etc

Just is not worth the cost and expense. It is better to use the highest quality 2 channel amp or Monoblocks you can afford.

I have some sweet tube Monoblocks for sale hahaha 😁

Gardenstater

I have heard Danny Ritchie talk about adding an inexpensive high pass filter on the input side of the amplifier which would do what you want; prevent the tweeter amp from having to deal with those low frequencies. Even if you didn't wouldn't the power drawn from the amplifier from the tweeter circuit only be significantly less than if it were feeding the entire speaker?

VR3

There's really no benefit to biamping or biwiring for that matter.

Biwiring and biamping is purely marketing.

More is better right? 🚀

SeleniumFalcon

What a person might try is what is called "vertical bi-amping". This involves using one amplifier for the right channel and a second amplifier for the left channel. Let the left channel of the amplifier powering the left speaker power the low frequencies and the right channel of that amplifier power the tweeters. Do the same with the other speaker and amplifier, use one channel for the low frequencies and the other amplifier's channel for the tweeters. That way whenever there is a power demanding bass sound being produced each amplifier handles one half of it.

evhudsons

I guess I was hoping to get more power to the speakers by using 2 rather than one amplifier. Both amplifiers will be identical. I'm reading about the vertical biamping now. Would I need the dreadnaght?

VR3

Yes @Reagan has one in the flea market

pitdogg2

Do tweeters really need gobs of power? Well not unless you own a tweeter factory and have unlimited tweeters at hand.

Personally I've never been able to wrap my head around giving tweeters 150-300 watts of clean power, well unless you have a concert venue...then maybe.

Pretty sure the blade/Blade interconnect is not compatible with the dreadnought.

VR3

His current crossovers are the pin blade version so it would be compatible

Agree tweeters don't need that much power unless you are going 120db

pitdogg2

VR3 wrote: »

His current crossovers are the pin blade version so it would be compatible

Agree tweeters don't need that much power unless you are going 120db

Perfect I must have missed that, Thanks

invalid

Even if you had an active crossover you wouldn't be able to use it with the SDA's. You could try a dreadnought and vertical passive bi-amping, but I don't think you would gain much.

evhudsons

Good info, too much extra equipment, heat and cables in the works to justify not gaining much. I'll just stick to the single amplifier. The un-refurbished one sounds great now, I'm sure it'll be better once redone. I'm about to send it out, unless you know someone here that refurbishes amplifiers. The guy I found is on ebay, and lives in South Florida. Being in Key West I won't have to ship it far.

Schurkey

VR3 wrote: »

There's really no benefit to biamping or biwiring for that matter.

Biwiring and biamping is purely marketing.

More is better right? 🚀

Depends on system goals 'n' needs.

I can absolutely see an advantage in having a "big" amplifier for bass, while not spending "big amplifier" money for treble.

I'm not saying I've done that. I'm saying I think it's reasonable in some circumstances.

There's as many ways to do that as there are amplifier choices, and not all of them will be wise/worthwhile/beneficial. Of course, amplifier output/volume level will have to be matched between bass and treble.

There are folks who think "tubes" are magical in the treble, while liking a tight-fisted high-damping factor/low impedance grip on the bass. Solid state bass, tube amp for the tweeters could be fabulous for them.

Another combination could be a pair of identical stereo amplifiers (solid-state or "tube") each one having a shared power supply, and driving one speaker cabinet. Most of the power supply energy is used on the channel that powers the bass, while the "leftover" energy can go to the tweeters. "Dual mono" stereo amps need not apply.

As I said, I've never bothered. This is all theoretical for me.

I read an explanation of bi-wiring years ago, that made sense at the time...with reservations. It was authored by a Noted Speaker Engineer of a boutique company--Cheney/VMPS, maybe? I'm too lazy to go search for it, at least right now. His presentation was excellent, rung some bells for me. I think the main thrust was a reduction in interference between low and high frequencies, but it's been too long to remember for sure. In the end, running double cables I think he's doubling the impedance, doubling the capacitance, and halving the resistance. I don't know that the result is necessarily an improvement.

VR3

Biwire cables are just super long jumpers, makes no sense. It would be no different than you having one binding post pair and a double run of the same exact speaker wire.

invalid

Not necessarily, with my apogees it makes a huge difference running bi-wire cables as opposed to a high quality jumper. I also discovered with my furutech alpha bi-wires the wire labeled bass sounds better on the midrange/tweeters and the one labeled treble sounds better on the bass panel.

VR3

Not disagreeing with your findings, next time when you are bored, add jumpers on the speaker end with the biwire cables in place, which will effectively make it a double run speaker cable.

I am willing to bet you wouldn't hear a difference