Picking up SDA 2's this weekend. Anything I should know?

ROHfan

Got a good deal on SDA-2's. Basically he's getting my 2 ADS L810s, and a Hafler amp and preamp, and I'm getting his SDA-2's and $100. Not sure which SDS-2 they are but they have the single tweeter in each cabinet, not two.

I'm currently driving my Monitor 10's with an HK3490. Will this properly drive the SDA's? Will I still be able to use the interconnect cable with the HK? Reason I'm asking is I read somewhere that you need a common ground amp to take advantage of the SDA interconnect cable.

I've been wanting a pair of SDA's for as long as I can remember and it's finally happening, I hope! Is there anything else I should be aware of going into this? Thanks!

Mystery

Do they look like these? These are studio version of SDA-2B --> 65 lbs.
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=7050&stc=1&d=1107183208

Or these? These are standard version of SDA-2B -->80 lbs and wood veneer.
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=19022&stc=1&d=1156703143

Most amps are common ground.
That amp will work fine but they say, they sound better with bigger amps.

Also, don't forget to test for any non-working/frozen driver and lay them flat and be gentle when transporting.

ROHfan

Mystery wrote: »

Do they look like these? These are studio version of SDA-2B --> 65 lbs.
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=7050&stc=1&d=1107183208

Or these? These are standard version of SDA-2B -->80 lbs and wood veneer.
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=19022&stc=1&d=1156703143

Most amps are common ground.
That amp will work fine but they say, they sound better with bigger amps.

Also, don't forget to test for any non-working/frozen driver and lay them flat and be gentle when transporting.

Upon further research, I think they're 2A's.

I love the HK's sound but I'm sure there will be an upgrade in the future, especially if these sound as good as I hope they will.

Thanks for the feedback.

Mystery

Some studio versions of SDA-2B are exactly like 2A's with blade/blade IC so you have to take out the "Stereo" driver and see what part number it is.
1) If it's a MW6510, then it's 2A's (The dim. driver would be the same)
2) If it's a MW6503 then it's 2B's (The Dim. is MW6511)

pitdogg2

I'd suggest an amp in your near future. those are power hungry and will sound MUCH better with an amp. I'm not saying you'll have any problems but with this vvvvvvvvv

"The HK 3490 is a high current stereo receiver. The power rating is 120 watts times two at 8 ohms and 150 watts times 2 at 4 ohms. It has 45 amps of current."

I'd say that HK is out of gas in 4ohm. Just don't try to get big SPL out of the HK as you'll be needing tweeters if you do. I own some SDA2A's and with my Denon receiver same 120wpc it would get hot fast. Once I hooked up the Carver TFM25 amp now it's a whole new ballgame.

welcome to the club.

Mystery

After you get them, let us know how they compare against L810's.

tophatjohnny

I think you will love them. Congrats, and do get a decent amp. That and I'm sure the upgrades will be next!!:biggrin:

ROHfan

tophatjohnny wrote: »

I think you will love them. Congrats, and do get a decent amp. That and I'm sure the upgrades will be next!!:biggrin:

I love my M10's and the driver config seems to be similar to the SDAs. How different is the sound?

Mystery

ROHfan wrote: »

I love my M10's and the driver config seems to be similar to the SDAs. How different is the sound?

Very different once you have the SDA effect going.

TennMan

45 amps?

tophatjohnny

ROHfan wrote: »

I love my M10's and the driver config seems to be similar to the SDAs. How different is the sound?

I think you will find them more musical, and the SDA effect is really a cool experience. I am hooked for sure So hooked that I am doing upgrades to my 1B's that will cost more than the 1B's cost me!! Go figure, but said and done, couldn't buy a new pair of speakers with this kind of sound for anywhere near the investment level here! I keep telling myself that!!

astar13656

I have a set of 2A's that I tried to drive with a Yamaha avr and it would shut down before it got loud, bought a amp and used the yamaha as a pre and it changed everything. you will enjoy them!

ROHfan

tophatjohnny wrote: »

I think you will find them more musical, and the SDA effect is really a cool experience. I am hooked for sure So hooked that I am doing upgrades to my 1B's that will cost more than the 1B's cost me!! Go figure, but said and done, couldn't buy a new pair of speakers with this kind of sound for anywhere near the investment level here! I keep telling myself that!!

That's what I'm afraid of! I did the same with my ADS L810s and now that I'm getting the SDAs I might have to put Trey on speed dial!

westmassguy

ROHfan wrote: »

Got a good deal on SDA-2's. Basically he's getting my 2 ADS L810s, and a Hafler amp and preamp, and I'm getting his SDA-2's and $100. Not sure which SDS-2 they are but they have the single tweeter in each cabinet, not two.

I'm currently driving my Monitor 10's with an HK3490. Will this properly drive the SDA's? Will I still be able to use the interconnect cable with the HK? Reason I'm asking is I read somewhere that you need a common ground amp to take advantage of the SDA interconnect cable.

I've been wanting a pair of SDA's for as long as I can remember and it's finally happening, I hope! Is there anything else I should be aware of going into this? Thanks!

You'll love the 2As, but you'll need an amp capable of operating below 4 ohms. They hit 3.5 ohms around 150 hz. I'm currently upgrading my crossovers again, with the lower resistance inductors on the dimensional drivers. My carver can handle 2 ohms

PolkieMan

That's right you should end up with speakers that sound better than any other speaker you can buy for your investment.
And you can't buy new SDA speakers so this is the only way to have them. Any other speaker is just a speaker.

tophatjohnny wrote: »

I think you will find them more musical, and the SDA effect is really a cool experience. I am hooked for sure So hooked that I am doing upgrades to my 1B's that will cost more than the 1B's cost me!! Go figure, but said and done, couldn't buy a new pair of speakers with this kind of sound for anywhere near the investment level here! I keep telling myself that!!

ROHfan

Mystery wrote: »

After you get them, let us know how they compare against L810's.

The 810's always sounded sweet but, my God, the 2A's blow them out of the water! These are, by far, the best speakers I've ever heard in my life. Not that I've heard tons of speakers, cuz I haven't, but the soundstage is scary! It's like multi-dimensional or something. There was one song that sounded like it was "sideways" if that makes any sense. I'm already thinking about upgrading the crossovers and maybe adding wood veneer to the cabinets cuz they're not in great shape. And although the HK3490 drives them nicely a new external amp is in my future. Problem is, which one?

Mystery

ROHfan wrote: »

The 810's always sounded sweet but, my God, the 2A's blow them out of the water! These are, by far, the best speakers I've ever heard in my life. Not that I've heard tons of speakers, cuz I haven't, but the soundstage is scary! It's like multi-dimensional or something. There was one song that sounded like it was "sideways" if that makes any sense. I'm already thinking about upgrading the crossovers and maybe adding wood veneer to the cabinets cuz they're not in great shape. And although the HK3490 drives them nicely a new external amp is in my future. Problem is, which one?

I see. I'll quit looking for 810's then.

It's not multi-dimensional but the whole thing about "Stereo Dimensional Array" AKA SDA.

westmassguy

ROHfan wrote: »

The 810's always sounded sweet but, my God, the 2A's blow them out of the water! These are, by far, the best speakers I've ever heard in my life. Not that I've heard tons of speakers, cuz I haven't, but the soundstage is scary! It's like multi-dimensional or something. There was one song that sounded like it was "sideways" if that makes any sense. I'm already thinking about upgrading the crossovers and maybe adding wood veneer to the cabinets cuz they're not in great shape. And although the HK3490 drives them nicely a new external amp is in my future. Problem is, which one?

SDA good, conventional speaker not so good, welcome to the rabbit hole.
BTW, I own 2As, so if you need help or advise on this particular generation, I'd be more than happy to help

ROHfan

westmassguy wrote: »

SDA good, conventional speaker not so good, welcome to the rabbit hole.
BTW, I own 2As, so if you need help or advise on this particular generation, I'd be more than happy to help

I actually do have a question. The laminate is in need of repair. What can be done about this? Also, what kind of pricetag will a recap run me? I've had these speakers one day and I already want more!

westmassguy

ROHfan wrote: »

I actually do have a question. The laminate is in need of repair. What can be done about this? Also, what kind of pricetag will a recap run me? I've had these speakers one day and I already want more!

Unless you have the real wood veneer models, what's on them is flexible, wood grained vinyl. Depending on what type of blemishes there are, you can try some tacky glue, and hold the vinyl down with some blue painters tape till it drys, if it's a corner lifting. If there are actual chunks missing that would require more extensive repairs. I would first clean them thoroughly with Fantastic or 409 to get the real grime and old wax off, then another cleaning with Windex. Recapping the 2As, can be done conservatively, or the skys the limit.

littlewoodboats

ROHfan wrote: »

Also, what kind of pricetag will a recap run me? I've had these speakers one day and I already want more!

Here is a list Gimpod did for me when I was asking about my 2A's. Good luck.


First: mark and label all the wires that connect to the crossover paying close attention to the wires for the IC socket as they are wired different for each speaker.

Second: Only do one crossover at a time.

Third: Do NOT clip the leads on the caps and resistors until you sure everything fits and is wired correctly.

Forth: That little brown thing on the yellow caps are 750pF Silver By-pass caps and are not need with the new and better caps you can get today.

Here's a link to the schematic for your 2A's SDA 2A Sch.pdf

Here's the parts you'll need.
Parts Express
Solen 130uF (2.45" x 2.76") @ $48.17 ea x 4 = $192.68
Solen 20uF (1.26" x 1.77") @ $9.25 ea x 4 = $37.00

Sonic Craft has a 20% off sale going on right now. (There listed prices don't reflect that but the discount will be applied when you request a quote)
Sonicap 12uF (1.17" x 1.74") @ $22.50 ea x 2 = $45.00

Mills MR12 2.7 Ohm @ $4.15 ea x 4 = $16.60
Mills MR12 0.1-0.5 Ohm @ $4.15 ea x 2 = $8.30 Note: these are used to replace the polyswitch (that little blue thing) but ONLY if you can keep from cranking the crap out of the volume control other wise I suggest you leave them in. The value really depends on taste, the lower the value the brighter the tweeters. 0.22 Ohms seem too be a good place to start.

While your at it you should get some good solder like Cardas Quad-Eutectic 24ft for $7.00 is more than enough to do those.

And some new binding posts
Vanpire BPHEX @ $14.35 a set x 2 = $28.70
Or Cardas CCBP S @ $26.25 a set x 2 = $52.50

Hope your sitting down as that's around $300.00 + just for parts more if you need a soldering iron (a 40 watt), Hot Glue gun, Solder sucker or wick etc..

PolkieMan

$300 is nothing:cheesygrin: All of the parts are much better than what is in speakers costing thousands of dollars. Get your solder iron solder and misc at parts express.

ROHfan

Thanks again, the info is very helpful and much appreciated. However, I was actually thinking more along the lines of handing the crossovers over to Trey

littlewoodboats

ROHfan wrote: »

Thanks again, the info is very helpful and much appreciated. However, I was actually thinking more along the lines of handing the crossovers over to Trey

Then you would need to add labor. From what I have read and seen in the reviews he seems to be reasonable on his work with great QC.

The kicker with the 2A as I see it is the lower than eight ohm impedance. We should pay attention when buying gear anyway but some speakers make that critical to avoid smoke. RIP Yamaha CR-840 :redface:

If you have not done the tweeters for the RDO194-1's then you should. I would do that and break them in before sending in your crossovers but that is just me. You cannot TL the 2A nor can you run the AI1 so make sure everything is common ground or can be jumpered. My Adcom GFA-585 is common ground but not zero resistance common ground so I have the negatives jumpered.

I like mine and think they were a great value at the $600.00 (more or less) total I have invested. Enjoy them, they are a great speaker.

proffitt

ROHfan,

Welcome. I hope you have decided to breathe new life into the SDA 2s.

I just finished a major overhaul, inside and out, of my set of SDA SRS 2s that I just picked up. I put in about $300 in mods and many, many hours. I tried to capture it all in one place and photo document about every step. I was/am a newbie and was learning while I went. All the guys (gals?) here were a wealth of knowledge and a huge amount of help. I couldn't have even thought about doing it without them.

Now I'm enjoying the pair every evening. Wow, is all i can say!!!

You can see the transformation from junk... to awesome, here:

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?138538-SDA-SRS-2-need-CPR-and-ICU-life-support

tophatjohnny

tophatjohnny wrote: »

I think you will find them more musical, and the SDA effect is really a cool experience. I am hooked for sure So hooked that I am doing upgrades to my 1B's that will cost more than the 1B's cost me!! Go figure, but said and done, couldn't buy a new pair of speakers with this kind of sound for anywhere near the investment level here! I keep telling myself that!!

\





Like I said, "I keep telling myself that"

What's your take???

proffitt

Tophat, what's my take? Or OP? If mine, I couldn't agree more. My original investment was VERY low. Upgrades low, relatively. Sweat equity moderate. I got a huge return on my investment and couldn't be happier!!!

ROHfan

proffitt wrote: »

ROHfan,

Welcome. I hope you have decided to breathe new life into the SDA 2s.

I just finished a major overhaul, inside and out, of my set of SDA SRS 2s that I just picked up. I put in about $300 in mods and many, many hours. I tried to capture it all in one place and photo document about every step. I was/am a newbie and was learning while I went. All the guys (gals?) here were a wealth of knowledge and a huge amount of help. I couldn't have even thought about doing it without them.

Now I'm enjoying the pair every evening. Wow, is all i can say!!!

You can see the transformation from junk... to awesome, here:

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?138538-SDA-SRS-2-need-CPR-and-ICU-life-support

Proffitt,

You did a great job with those! I love the shot with the machete!

I will definitely restore these speakers to a degree but I fear I don't have the talent most do around here. Being that they're vinyl covered instead of wood veneers I don't know how much it would be worth to try restoring the cabinets so I may just get the crossovers modded, upgrade the tweeters to the 194, and wait for a new pair of SDA's to come along that will give me a "head start" on a complete rebuild. One thing is for sure: I am absolutely in love with the SDA effect and since I got them I can't go a day without listening to them. These have breathed new life into my favorite hobby.

proffitt

Rohfan, I can see your point on the vinyl. Fix em up as good as you can aesthetically, but focus most on the part that counts most and just keep the lights dimmed!!!! They'll sound great and no one will know they're not mint.

tophatjohnny

proffitt wrote: »

Tophat, what's my take? Or OP? If mine, I couldn't agree more. My original investment was VERY low. Upgrades low, relatively. Sweat equity moderate. I got a huge return on my investment and couldn't be happier!!!

Glad to hear. I think I'll do the tweeter upgrades on mine and just enjoy what I have. I too love the SDA effect and the Parasound amp really woke these babies up. I don't listen to things at a low volume, and need it somewhat loud. That and Pandora is my best friend!

Mr. Bubbles

My advice to the OP would be to enjoy them. Do this for a while before you make any mods to them. this way you can appreciate your mods better or in the event something goes wrong it will be more easily caught. I own many speakers including the SRS, SRS1.2TL, and the 2A's (have also owned the 1C's) among other brands and models. The 2A's are my favorite listening speaker of all that I have or have had. They don't have the WOW factor of the big boys and are not as fun to show off to your buddies but to me they have a much more balanced, sweeter sound, with the SDA effect to boot. I have had non SDA's with characteristics I would consider better but they were not SDA's, and like someone else has said; all other speakers are just speakers once you hear the SDA's. The mods only make them better when done properly. Congrats, and enjoy.