Just got my first big pair of vintage Polks!
repairmatt
Posts: 12
Hey all, I'm new here but not to vintage audio, I am quite active on the forum Audiokarma, but a few guys recommended I come here for a recent acquisition I made.
I just got from a very nice gentleman, a pair of Polk SDA-1C's! He was the second owner and they came with the original boxes and packing material. Apparently the interconnect cable was also included according to the original owner, but upon opening the box it wasn't there. The seller said he'll try to track it down for me as he knows the guy he bought them from, he thinks he forgot to put it in the box. They spent most of their life in the boxes, as the original owner worked for the Pentagon and was shipped around to many places. The boxes have a seal label declaring them to be the property of a US Government personnel, I found that really neat. The price, while not a steal, was very fair for both the seller and me, and I was able to trade him something he liked to go towards part of the total price, so it worked out well.
Speakers are the black studio version and are near mint, the cabs have a few very small dings that are hardly worth mentioning. Grilles are in perfect condition, as are the drivers. They work perfectly, I was utterly amazed by the sound. My jaw actually dropped on the floor once I got them going with my recapped/restored Pioneer SX-1980. Unbelievable imaging and soundstage, with a clarity I didn't know was possible (I haven't been able to listen to many good speakers, can't you tell? :cheesygrin:).
I am very, very pleased with them, they are going to become my main system speakers and I plan on doing a recap of the crossovers soon. I was curious, for those of you who have heard them and messed with them, what is your opinion of them compared to others and can you recommend anything that might improve them other then a recap of the crossovers?
I just got from a very nice gentleman, a pair of Polk SDA-1C's! He was the second owner and they came with the original boxes and packing material. Apparently the interconnect cable was also included according to the original owner, but upon opening the box it wasn't there. The seller said he'll try to track it down for me as he knows the guy he bought them from, he thinks he forgot to put it in the box. They spent most of their life in the boxes, as the original owner worked for the Pentagon and was shipped around to many places. The boxes have a seal label declaring them to be the property of a US Government personnel, I found that really neat. The price, while not a steal, was very fair for both the seller and me, and I was able to trade him something he liked to go towards part of the total price, so it worked out well.
Speakers are the black studio version and are near mint, the cabs have a few very small dings that are hardly worth mentioning. Grilles are in perfect condition, as are the drivers. They work perfectly, I was utterly amazed by the sound. My jaw actually dropped on the floor once I got them going with my recapped/restored Pioneer SX-1980. Unbelievable imaging and soundstage, with a clarity I didn't know was possible (I haven't been able to listen to many good speakers, can't you tell? :cheesygrin:).
I am very, very pleased with them, they are going to become my main system speakers and I plan on doing a recap of the crossovers soon. I was curious, for those of you who have heard them and messed with them, what is your opinion of them compared to others and can you recommend anything that might improve them other then a recap of the crossovers?
Post edited by repairmatt on
Comments
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Nice! Welcome to the club.Stan
Main 2ch:
Polk LSi15 (DB840 upgrade), Parasound: P/LD-1100, HCA-1000A; Denon: DVD-2910, DRM-800A; Benchmark DAC1, Monster HTS3600-MKII, Grado SR-225i; Technics SL-J2, Parasound PPH-100.
HT:
Marantz SR7010, Polk: RTA11TL (RDO198-1, XO and Damping Upgrades), S4, CS250, PSW110 , Marantz UD5005, Pioneer PL-530, Panasonic TC-P42S60
Other stuff:
Denon: DRA-835R, AVR-888, DCD-660, DRM-700A, DRR-780; Polk: S8, Monitor 5A, 5B, TSi100, RM7, PSW10 (DXi104 upgrade); Pioneer: CT-6R; Onkyo CP-1046F; Ortofon OM5E, Marantz: PM5004, CD5004, CDR-615; Parasound C/PT-600, HCA-800ii, Sony CDP-650ESD, Technics SA 5070, B&W DM601 -
Welcome to the forum!!! Btw, if no pictures, then it never happened! :cheesygrin:AVR - Onkyo NR809
500gb HD for MP3 and FLAC files
Amp - Parasound 2250 - FOR SALE BTW!! PM me if interested!
Mains - Polk RTi12 towers
Center - CSi5
Surround - FXiA6's
Sub - psw505
Movies and games - PS3
TV - Toshiba 52" HD
Every vehicle has one good nuetral drop in it -
snake1 wrote:Welcome to the forum!!! Btw, if no pictures, then it never happened! :cheesygrin:
I should have known that was coming.
Here are pics, and a video! (Note: please excuse the hideous carpet, it's been here since I moved in and it's one of those projects I haven't quite gotten to yet.)
Without grilles
With grilles
Close up of the speaker
Top of one of the boxes
Bottom of it
The label, pretty interesting
A video of them working, the mic can't possibly capture what they sound like in person, but it does a pretty good job.
In case you were wondering why those two amps are opened up on the floor in the photos, I repair and restore vintage amps and receivers and those were two I had recently got done with and were burning them in. A Sansui AU-20000 is what is hooked up in those photos and a Pioneer SX-850 is the other one. -
Look at the "stickys" in the vintage area, lot's of information on doing mods to these. Welcome to the clubHome Theater
Onkyo PR-SC5508 Sharp LC-70LE847U
Emotiva XPA-5 Emotiva XPA-2 Emotiva UPA-2
Front RTi-A9 Wide RTi-A7 Center CSi-A6 Surround FXi-A6 Rear RTi-A3 Sub 2x PSW505
Sony BDP-S790 Dishnetwork Hopper/Joey Logitech Harmony One Apple TV
Two Channel
Oppo 105D BAT VK-500 w/BatPack SDA SRS 2.3 Dreadnought Squeezebox Touch Apple TV -
Congrats
And FYI thats one of the best camera audio replay I have heard on the forum yet
Welcome to the club2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC
erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a -
hhgfaa is Household Goods Forwarders Association of America. They are global forwarders/transporters, so those speakers either went abroad or were purchased abroad.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 -
Lots of good info at this link.
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?133384-All-the-Polk-SDA-upgrades-located-in-one-place! -
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Welcome to the forum, and the "Rabbit Hole". If you think they sound good now, wait till you get the interconnect cable installed. BTW, you can make a temporary cable using a single 12-14 gauge speaker wire, with rca plugs on the ends. Cut or break off the outer ground shield, so that only the center pin is left. The 1Cs are 4th generation SDAs, and only the pin carries the signal between the speakers. As other have said, there are many, many upgrades that can be done, not just the crossover re-cap.
That Pioneer Receiver is drool worthy for sure, and should provide enough power, depending on your listening tastes, and the size of the listening room.Home Theater/2 Channel:
Front: SDA-2ATL forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/143984/my-2as-finally-finished-almost/p1
Center: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/150760/my-center-channel-project/p1
Surrounds & Rears: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/151647/my-surround-project/p1
Sonicaps, Mills, RDO-194s-198s, Dynamat, Hurricane Nuts, Blackhole5
Pioneer Elite VSX-72TXV, Carver PM-600, SVS PB2-Plus Subwoofer
dhsspeakerservice.com/ -
Wow, that ping-pong-ball sound at 2:15 is amazingly lifelike!!
Just kidding...congrats on the new speakers.
Nice gear and welcome to the club.2 ChannelTurntable - VPI Classic 2/Ortofon 2M BlueAmplification - Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II, Parks Audio Budgie PhonoSpeakers - GoldenEar Triton 17.2 Home TheaterDenon AVR-X3300W; Rotel RMB-1066; Klipsch RP-280F's, Klipsch RP-450C, Polk FXi3's, Polk RC60i; Dual SVS PB 2000's; BenQ HT2050; Elite Screens 120"Man CaveTurntable - Pro-Ject 2.9 Wood/Grado GoldAmplification - Dared SL2000a, McCormack DNA 0.5 DeluxeCD: Cambridge AudioSpeakers - Wharfedale Linton 85th Anniversary; LSiM 703; SDA 2A -
Welcome and congrats on the new to you speakers. Nice looking system you have there!!Sunfire Theater Grand IV
Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature
SRS 2.1TL
SDA 2BTL's
CSiA6
FXiA4
FXiA6
SDA 2A's
Monitor 10A's
http://www.douglasconnection.com -
You'll love those1Cs -- especially after mods!
Congrats & welcome!Family Room, Innuos Statement streamer (Roon Core) with Morrow Audio USB cable to McIntosh MC 2700 pre with DC2 Digital Audio Module; AQ Sky XLRs to CAT 600.2 dualmono amp, Morrow Elite Speaker Cables to NOLA Baby Grand Reference Gold 3 speakers. Power source for all components: Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One with dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel.
Exercise Room, Innuos Streamer via Cat 6 cable connection to PS Audio PerfectWave MkII DAC w/Bridge II, AQ King Cobra RCAs to Perreaux PMF3150 amp (fully restored and upgraded by Jeffrey Jackson, Precision Audio Labs), Supra Rondo 4x2.5 Speaker Cables to SDA 1Cs (Vr3 Mods Xovers and other mods.), Dreadnaught with Supra Rondo 4x2.5 interconnect cables by Vr3 Mods. Power for each component from dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel, except Innuos Statement powered from Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One. -
Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new purchase!
As was mentioned above, you'll need the interconnect cable installed to really hear the imaging those are capable of. Also, They should be 6-8 feet apart with, ideally (not always possible in the real world) nothing between them.
In my setup, I have a rack between them, but the the rack is 8" or so behind the front plane of the speaks.
Spend some time with them before recapping - you'll have a point of comparison and the improvement will blow you away!"Science is suppose to explain observations not dismiss them as impossible" - Norm on AA; 2.3TL's w/sonicaps/mills/jantzen inductors, Gimpod's boards, Lg Solen SDA inductors, RD-0198's, MW's dynamatted, Armaflex speaker gaskets, H-nuts, brass spikes, Cardas CCGR BP's, upgraded IC Cable, Black Hole Damping Sheet strips, interior of cabinets sealed with Loctite Power Grab, AI-1 interface with 1000VA A-L transformer -
Welcome, great speakers I have a set modded just like that.Pio Elete Pro 520
Panamax 5400-EX
Sunfire TGP 5
Micro Seiki DD-40 - Lyra-Dorian and Denon DL-160
PS Audio GCPH phono pre
Sunfire CG 200 X 5
Sunfire CG Sig 405 X 5
OPPO BDP-83 SE
SDA SRS 1.2TL Sonicaps and Mills
Ctr CS1000p
Sur - FX1000 x 4
SUB - SVS PB2-Plus
Workkout room:
Sony Bravia XBR- 32-Inch 1080p
Onkyo TX-DS898
GFA 555
Yamaha DVD-S1800BL/SACD
Ft - SDA 1C
Not being used:
RTi 38's -4
RT55i's - 2
RT25i's -2, using other 2 in shop
LSI 15's
CSi40
PSW 404 -
Congrats welcome to Club Polk. Wait till you hear them with the interconnect cable.Home Theater
Parasound Halo A 31 OnkyoTX-NR838 Sony XBR55X850B 55" 4K RtiA9 Fronts CsiA6 Center RtiA3 Rears FxiA6 Side Surrounds Dual Psw 111's Oppo 105D Signal Ultra Speaker Cables & IC's Signal Magic Power Cable Technics SL Q300 Panamax MR4300 Audioquest Chocolate HDMI Cables Audioquest Forest USB Cable
2 Channel
Adcom 555II Vincent SA-T1 Marantz SA 15S2 Denon DR-M11 Clearaudio Bluemotion SDA 2.3tl's (Z) edition MIT Terminator II Speaker Cables & IC's Adcom 545II Adcom Gtp-450 Marantz CD5004 Technics M245X SDA 2B's, SDA CRS+
Stuff for the Head
JD LABS C5 Headphone Amplifier, Sennheiser HD 598, Polk Audio Buckle, Polk Audio Hinge, Velodyne vPulse, Bose IE2, Sennheiser CX 200 Street II, Sennheiser MX 365
Shower & Off the beaten path Rigs
Polk Audio Boom Swimmer, Polk Audio Urchin
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Welcome also..VERY NICE..look & sound awesome..enjoy your new to you speakers....randy..
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they look excellent! congrats
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hochpt21 wrote:Wow, that ping-pong-ball sound at 2:15 is amazingly lifelike!!
I got a good chuckle from this. My youngest brother dropped one in the room next to me, but with the camera mic being so sensitive, it picked it up very well!
Thank you for all the kind comments and suggestions guys, and most of all the amazing welcome! To reply to a few of the suggestions, I did get the speakers about a foot further apart since the video and photos were taken, but that's all I can do unless I do a major room reshuffle, which sadly would be very difficult at this point. I do plan on making a cable if the seller can't track down the original, he's already said he'll refund me some of the money I paid if he can't get it. I'll definitely look into those other upgrades as well. -
Half the "magic" is in that inter-connect cable. Get one STAT . . . THEN, you'll be amazed . . .
Welcome to CP!
GAC Regenerator PS Audio PerfectWave Power Plant 10
Source Lumin U1 Mini into Lampizator Baltic 4 DAC
Pre Cary SLP-05
Power Rogue M180 Dark monos
Mains Salk HT2-TL
Rythmik F12 -
Welcome to CP. If you ever need to replace any of the parts, or speaks tell them you are a member of Club Polk and get a discount.HT: LSI15, LSIC, LSIFX, Emo XPA-3:biggrin: Onkyo TXNR809, Sony BDP-S500, PannyDMP-BDT320, MIT S1 SC. Mit 73842dlp
2ch: SDA-SRS 2.3 Fully modded. BAT VK500 w/batpak, BAT VK5I, Essence HDACC. -
Welcome. I have the same black studio version 1c's. They were my first SDA speakers which led to a serious SDA addiction. Great speakers that are hard to beat in a medium sized room. Do yourself a favor and change those SL2000 tweets to the RDO 194's. You will be glad you did and will hear an immediate improvement. Good luck.Polk HT system 1: LSIC, LSI25 mains, LSI F/X rears, Lsi F/X rear centers,
Yamaha RX-V2500 System, Carver A753 3 channel amp.
Polk HT system 2: , SRT system with f/x 1,000's rear speakers on 7.1 system currently using Onkyo TX-RZ820 receiver, powered by Sunfire Grand Theater amp
Polk Speaker collection: SDA SRS 1.2tl x 2, SRT system, SDA SRS 2 P/B, SDA 2A, SDA 1C Studio, SDA CRS+, Monitor 7B & 4, SRS 3.1tl, RTA 15tl, LS90, LSI 9 -
Your only listening to half the speaker.
Welcome!:cheesygrin:
Make you an interconnect cable.
Take a RCA cable and break off the outer shell so as only the center pin is left.
Since these speakers are pin/blade almost all 1C are only the pin is active the blade was for support.
Sda Handbook.
Download it here may take a minute or two
vr3mods.com/uploads/SDA_Handbook_2011_Rev2.pdfPOLK 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 -
welcome to the forum! look like super nice speakers, but you now need to upgrade that tv!Receiver: Denon 1912
Speakers:
Fronts: Polk Audio Monitor 70s (x2)
Rears: Polk Audio Monitor 50 (x2)
Center: Polk Audio Monitor 70
KLH Sub GFX-550 -
Somewhat true for early SDA speakers, not so much for the later units. The only thing he's missing is the SDA effect; all the drivers work with a stereo signal.Your only listening to half the speaker.
An RCA interconnect cable will have far too much resistance. The center conductor is typically too-small.Make you an interconnect cable.
Take a RCA cable and break off the outer shell so as only the center pin is left.
Since these speakers are pin/blade almost all 1C are only the pin is active the blade was for support.
Sda Handbook.
Download it here may take a minute or two
vr3mods.com/uploads/SDA_Handbook_2011_Rev2.pdf
RCA interconnect PLUGS, modified as you suggest--but actually connected to speaker wire will work much better. -
I'll be using some really nice 14ga high strand OFC wire that I have left over from a speaker wire project, so all I need is some banana plugs and I'll be good. That is if the seller doesn't find the original of course.
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Banana Plugs are too large. As I said in reply #10:repairmatt wrote: »I'll be using some really nice 14ga high strand OFC wire that I have left over from a speaker wire project, so all I need is some banana plugs and I'll be good. That is if the seller doesn't find the original of course.
"you can make a temporary cable using a single 12-14 gauge speaker wire, with rca plugs on the ends. Cut or break off the outer ground shield, so that only the center pin is left"Home Theater/2 Channel:
Front: SDA-2ATL forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/143984/my-2as-finally-finished-almost/p1
Center: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/150760/my-center-channel-project/p1
Surrounds & Rears: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/151647/my-surround-project/p1
Sonicaps, Mills, RDO-194s-198s, Dynamat, Hurricane Nuts, Blackhole5
Pioneer Elite VSX-72TXV, Carver PM-600, SVS PB2-Plus Subwoofer
dhsspeakerservice.com/ -
Yea I made this one using Monoprice 12Ga 2 wire CL 2.
Dremel the outer ring off the Rca Plugs Bananas are too bigPOLK 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 -
I bet when he does get or make an interconnect he will think he was listening to half of the speaker though.
Yea your right most RCA cables are like a 28 gauge wire. I first used a video cable with RCAs it was better
for the short term maybe 20 gauge.Somewhat true for early SDA speakers, not so much for the later units. The only thing he's missing is the SDA effect; all the drivers work with a stereo signal.
An RCA interconnect cable will have far too much resistance. The center conductor is typically too-small.
RCA interconnect PLUGS, modified as you suggest--but actually connected to speaker wire will work much better.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 -
I was told a banana plug would work, I guess I need to tell him that he needs to read up a little! :cheesygrin: I just made a cable using a leftover RCA cable I had. Not the best job, but it works, has a total resistance of 0.1 ohm over about 10 feet of cable. Going to be listening to it with and without the effect and I'll report back with my impressions!
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Allow me to use this emoticon:Woww, does the soundstage get big! There are now sounds outside the speakers, almost holographic sounding. I can see now why you were saying I was listening to only half a speaker. I'll try more songs and see the difference between non-SDA effect and SDA effect, but the two I tried let me know the difference is very noticeable! One thing I did notice that is a slight determent is the midrange is much louder, almost overpoweringly so. However, I reserve judgement until I get the crossovers redone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVbsezuYlzw
