Rdo 194
tophatjohnny
Posts: 4,182
Okay, this I have not figured out. I just put all 4 in my 1B's and sure they sound good, missing some of that brightness of the SL2000's though?? I know it may take some time, so I'll just have to give em that! Mellow tweeters, that's for sure. Is that what's to expect?? That and why doesn't Polk label and date the new tweets??And no gaskets?? Hard to tell if you are getting tweeters from the same batch, not that that makes a difference, but it would be nice to know when they were made anyway! IMO
"if it's not fun, it's not worth it & remember folks, "It's All About The Music"!!
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Post edited by tophatjohnny on
Comments
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Hey, are ya havin' fun? 'Cuz, if not, it's not worth it...
Give it some time, Johnny. You've had them in what, all of ten minutes? No judging 'til you've broken them in a minimum of at least 100 (maybe 200?) hours. Lots of people here tend to think they sound worse (than the 2000s) before they sound better. -
teekay0007 wrote: »Hey, are ya havin' fun? 'Cuz, if not, it's not worth it...
Give it some time, Johnny. You've had them in what, all of ten minutes?
No judging 'til you've broken them in a minimum of at least 100 (maybe 200?) hours. Lots of people here tend to think they sound worse (than the 2000s) before they sound better.
yeah, it was less than 10 minutes! I was told that they would sound strange to me at first, but I still like em! Can't say I'm wowed, but I may change that opinion in 200 hours?? :biggrin:"if it's not fun, it's not worth it & remember folks, "It's All About The Music"!!
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Hey Johnny,they will change.Enjoy the change from the bright ones.
Dan -
Give your ears time to get used to them.Main Rig:
Krell KAV 250a biamped to mid/highs
Parasound HCA1500A biamped to lows
Nakamichi EC100 Active xover
MIT exp 1 ic's
Perreaux SA33 class A preamp
AQ kingcobra ic's
OPPO 83 CDP
Lehmann audio black cube SE phono pre, Audioquest phono wire (ITA1/1)
Denon DP-1200 TT. AToc9ML MC cart.
Monster HTS 3600 power conditioner
ADS L1590/2 Biamped
MIT exps2 speaker cable -
Where you can really tell the difference is if you try to go back to the sl2000s. At least it was for me. I did it as a test and I didn't leave them in 2 hours before I went back to the 194s.
- SDA 2BTL · Sonicaps · Mills resistors · RDO-198s · New gaskets · H-nuts · Erse inductors · BH5 · Dynamat
- Crossover upgrades by westmassguy
- Marantz 1504 AVR (front speaker pre-outs to Adcom 555)
- Adcom GFA-555 amp · Upgrades & speaker protection added by OldmanSRS
- Pioneer DV-610AV DVD/CD player
- SDA CRS+ · Hidden away in the closet
- SDA 2BTL · Sonicaps · Mills resistors · RDO-198s · New gaskets · H-nuts · Erse inductors · BH5 · Dynamat
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It made me wonder at first if they were any good just by their generic (chicke-tey china?) appearance.tophatjohnny wrote: »Okay, this I have not figured out. I just put all 4 in my 1B's and sure they sound good, missing some of that brightness of the SL2000's though?? I know it may take some time, so I'll just have to give em that! Mellow tweeters, that's for sure. Is that what's to expect?? That and why doesn't Polk label and date the new tweets??And no gaskets?? Hard to tell if you are getting tweeters from the same batch, not that that makes a difference, but it would be nice to know when they were made anyway! IMOPOLK SDA 2.3 TLS BOUGHT NEW IN 1990, Gimpod/Sonic Caps/Mills RDO-198
POLK CSI-A6 POLK MONITOR 70'S ONKYO TX NR-808 SONY CDP-333ES
PIONEER PL-510A SONY BDP S5100
POLK SDA 1C BOUGHT USED 2011,Gimpod/Sonic Caps/Mills RDO-194
ONKYO HT RC-360 SONY BDP S590 TECHNICS SL BD-1 -
That and why doesn't Polk label and date the new tweets??And no gaskets?? Hard to tell if you are getting tweeters from the same batch, not that that makes a difference, but it would be nice to know when they were made anyway!
Just be thankful that Polk took the time, money and trouble to make replacement tweeters that are vastly superior to the original ones.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Just be thankful that Polk took the time, money and trouble to make replacement tweeters that are vastly superior to the original ones.
How right you are. The more I listen the more I am digging them. If they get even better with time, (like people say they do) I will be real happy."if it's not fun, it's not worth it & remember folks, "It's All About The Music"!!
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Tophat, very interesting. The RDO upgrades were going to be the first things i do to my 1C's.
I would like to be WOWed right out of the box..but you say no.
If you can explain it..what is it you like about the tweeters, over the 2000. They are of course not as bright, but was not really looking for real "mellow" type tweeters either. -
it wasn't night and day in my RTA 11Ts either...it sounded somewhat better to begin with to my ears.... but at a later date i suddenly realized that the highs were not making my ears buzz on occasion like the 2000's did. in fact, the highs don't stand out at all. just more balanced.Polk Lsi9
N.E.W. A-20 class A 20W
NAD 1020 completely refurbished
Keces DA-131 mk.II
Analysis Plus Copper Oval, Douglass, Morrow SUB3, Huffman Digital
Paradigm DSP-3100 v.2 -
I'm getting ready to do the same and I'm wondering: is there "special" handling during the break-in period? Like keep them below a certain dB level, no loud movies, etc.? Or just let 'em rip...Yamaha RX-A2050 AVR (5.0.2); LG OLED77C2 4K TV(4) Polk Monitor 10B's w/SoniCaps, Mills, and RDO-194 tweets (R/L F/R)(2) Polk RC80i (Top Middle)Polk CS300 center channelAnalog: B&O TX2 Turntable, Nakamichi Cassette Deck 1Digital: Pioneer CLD-99 Elite LD, Panasonic DMP-UB900 UHD Blu-RayBedroom: Arylic Up2Stream AMPv3 driving Polk Monitor 4's w/peerless tweets
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i used normal listening volumes. high volume seems counter-intuitive to me, so i just don't.
and i guess we all have differing normals, but low enough i don't have to shout to hear myself think.Polk Lsi9
N.E.W. A-20 class A 20W
NAD 1020 completely refurbished
Keces DA-131 mk.II
Analysis Plus Copper Oval, Douglass, Morrow SUB3, Huffman Digital
Paradigm DSP-3100 v.2 -
naturallight wrote: »Tophat, very interesting. The RDO upgrades were going to be the first things i do to my 1C's.
I would like to be WOWed right out of the box..but you say no.
Now this is the second day in action and about 12 hours of play time. If I had to do it over again........of course i would buy all 4 again. It is a smoother sound and is getting better, even in this short time. TV, movies and Pandora all sound better. So I guess I have to tale that back..I am saying WOW today! Hope that helps!
If you can explain it..what is it you like about the tweeters, over the 2000. They are of course not as bright, but was not really looking for real "mellow" type tweeters either.
A nice mellow, smooth mellow, not a mellow yellow!:razz:
Just take it easy on the new tweeters for a while, and let em rip when you feel the tweeters have had some burn in time, and you will hear a difference.I'm getting ready to do the same and I'm wondering: is there "special" handling during the break-in period? Like keep them below a certain dB level, no loud movies, etc.? Or just let 'em rip...it wasn't night and day in my RTA 11Ts either...it sounded somewhat better to begin with to my ears.... but at a later date i suddenly realized that the highs were not making my ears buzz on occasion like the 2000's did. in fact, the highs don't stand out at all. just more balanced.
Exactly, and I really like it now!"if it's not fun, it's not worth it & remember folks, "It's All About The Music"!!
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Until you guys upgrade your crossovers you are not going to realize the full benifit of the RDO tweeters.
Tired caps and cheap resistors are holding you back.Speakers: SDA-1C (most all the goodies)
Preamp: Joule Electra LA-150 MKII SE
Amp: Wright WPA 50-50 EAT KT88s
Analog: Marantz TT-15S1 MBS Glider SL| Wright WPP100C Amperex BB 6er5 and 7316 & WPM-100 SUT
Digital: Mac mini 2.3GHz dual-core i5 8g RAM 1.5 TB HDD Music Server Amarra (memory play) - USB - W4S DAC 2
Cables: Mits S3 IC and Spk cables| PS Audio PCs -
Until you guys upgrade your crossovers you are not going to realize the full benifit of the RDO tweeters.
Tired caps and cheap resistors are holding you back.
True!!!Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
minus inductors, mine have been, just for the record.Polk Lsi9
N.E.W. A-20 class A 20W
NAD 1020 completely refurbished
Keces DA-131 mk.II
Analysis Plus Copper Oval, Douglass, Morrow SUB3, Huffman Digital
Paradigm DSP-3100 v.2 -
Yeah, granted..your not going to get the full effect of the RDO's..But it is the easy est thing for most people to do. Dose not cost you an arm and a leg (depending on how many tweeters..LOL)
The cross-overs..unless your really good with a solder iron and know what to buy..may be more then most people want to do..so they have to send it off..which the price..not really cheap, per say.
Some Dynomat..anybody can buy or do. So the cross-overs pretty much end up at the bottom of the list. Not completely right as the way to do things maybe..but i can't find fault with it.
Pretty much if i don't like the way the RDO's sound for some reason...i'm not going to pay to have the X overs redone...just a thought...... -
naturallight wrote: »Yeah, granted..your not going to get the full effect of the RDO's..But it is the easy est thing for most people to do. Dose not cost you an arm and a leg (depending on how many tweeters..LOL)
I had to get a 4 pack. 200+ even with the member discount.
The cross-overs..unless your really good with a solder iron and know what to buy..may be more then most people want to do..so they have to send it off..which the price..not really cheap, per say.
right....over 600 said and done. (now we're at 800+ in upgrades??
Some Dynomat..anybody can buy or do. So the cross-overs pretty much end up at the bottom of the list. Not completely right as the way to do things maybe..but i can't find fault with it.
pretty much 25 bucks?? I think??
Pretty much if i don't like the way the RDO's sound for some reason...i'm not going to pay to have the X overs redone...just a thought......
You will like the RDO's and like me...you'll probably get the crossovers done too!! Just saying!!"if it's not fun, it's not worth it & remember folks, "It's All About The Music"!!
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The tweeters made the biggest difference but I really enjoyed doing the crossovers.
What with the nice boards from Gimpod and the much higher quality new caps and resistors from Sonic Craft
it was a lot of fun, an interesting experience.POLK SDA 2.3 TLS BOUGHT NEW IN 1990, Gimpod/Sonic Caps/Mills RDO-198
POLK CSI-A6 POLK MONITOR 70'S ONKYO TX NR-808 SONY CDP-333ES
PIONEER PL-510A SONY BDP S5100
POLK SDA 1C BOUGHT USED 2011,Gimpod/Sonic Caps/Mills RDO-194
ONKYO HT RC-360 SONY BDP S590 TECHNICS SL BD-1 -
^^^^Single biggest improvement to my 1Cs and LS90s.
The LS90s were already sounding good, now they sound great. The change in these speakers has been much more than the cost of the upgrades.Speakers: SDA-1C (most all the goodies)
Preamp: Joule Electra LA-150 MKII SE
Amp: Wright WPA 50-50 EAT KT88s
Analog: Marantz TT-15S1 MBS Glider SL| Wright WPP100C Amperex BB 6er5 and 7316 & WPM-100 SUT
Digital: Mac mini 2.3GHz dual-core i5 8g RAM 1.5 TB HDD Music Server Amarra (memory play) - USB - W4S DAC 2
Cables: Mits S3 IC and Spk cables| PS Audio PCs -
^^^^Single biggest improvement to my 1Cs and LS90s.
The LS90s were already sounding good, now they sound great. The change in these speakers has been much more than the cost of the upgrades.
Glad I got my 90's already upgraded. Now I don't have to deal with this crap... -
Man, these things do get sounding better as time goes by. What...29 hours of play and I can hear a cool smooth thing happening and I like it. Thanks guys for advising me to do this. The crossovers will happen when one of our beloved resident pros gets some free time. Looking forward to that!"if it's not fun, it's not worth it & remember folks, "It's All About The Music"!!
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tophatjohnny wrote: »Man, these things do get sounding better as time goes by. What...29 hours of play and I can hear a cool smooth thing happening and I like it. Thanks guys for advising me to do this. The crossovers will happen when one of our beloved resident pros gets some free time. Looking forward to that!
Glad to hear you are liking the tweet upgrade, but if you are referring to me, Modding SDAs are WAY above my paygrade :eek: I did do a cap change on my RTA 8Ts, two caps, no problem, but I had my 2B boards sent to VR3 to be done right. No regrets on that. FYI, there are a lot of cap choices. I went with Sonicap for highs and Solen for lows and Mundorf resistors. Solen catches some crap here, but I gotta tell ya, if your cabs are sealed well, there is plenty of refined bass there to be had. -
Glad to hear you are liking the tweet upgrade, but if you are referring to me, Modding SDAs are WAY above my paygrade :eek: I did do a cap change on my RTA 8Ts, two caps, no problem, but I had my 2B boards sent to VR3 to be done right. No regrets on that. FYI, there are a lot of cap choices. I went with Sonicap for highs and Solen for lows and Mundorf resistors. Solen catches some crap here, but I gotta tell ya, if your cabs are sealed well, there is plenty of refined bass there to be had.
No D, I wasn't referring to you, but like you had VR3 do the boards. I have a
chance to have a crazy cool cat out of Chy town I'm waiting on to getter done. I still hope you will help me out with putting the puzzle back together once I have this masters work back in the house?? . I don't expect you to help me out for free, so take it easy. I know things cost money and I am not a cheap skate! Once this is done, I will be settled in the speakers that will die with me! I still have to check out the 3.1 TL's I have coming next week, so I'll keep all in the loop! So far I am loving the 1B's big time. Can only imagine them with the new x overs!!:idea:"if it's not fun, it's not worth it & remember folks, "It's All About The Music"!!
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tophatjohnny wrote: »No D, I wasn't referring to you, but like you had VR3 do the boards. I have a
chance to have a crazy cool cat out of Chy town I'm waiting on to getter done. I still hope you will help me out with putting the puzzle back together once I have this masters work back in the house?? . I don't expect you to help me out for free, so take it easy. I know things cost money and I am not a cheap skate! Once this is done, I will be settled in the speakers that will die with me! I still have to check out the 3.1 TL's I have coming next week, so I'll keep all in the loop! So far I am loving the 1B's big time. Can only imagine them with the new x overs!!:idea:
Whew! That's a relief. I am a little confused on the process of your speaker upgrade(s) though. You have the RD0-194s installed and Trey did the cap upgrade? Where does the Chy town guy come into play and what is he gonna do to your speakers? If the boards are done, I can certainly hook them up for you and make sure everything needs to go where it needs to go, but you don't have to pay me for anything. I'm a notch above novice at best. I have hooked up numerous systems for friends, relatives, aquaintances, etc., but I'm no pro. It's kinda funny how audio equipment freaks out a lot of people. I think it's a lot like areas of math, where people have a pre-concieved notion that there is no way they can do it, when really it is not that difficult.
