polk sda 2 parts...

sh429

Hi I am new here, long time polk fan (dad has 11t's i have rt3's) and i just recently bought my dream speakers for 65 bucks a set of sda2's dated 1985. One cabinet appears to be fully working but the other, both tweeters are shot and I also need a sda cable. I am handy so working on them isn't a issue, was wondering how to make a sda cable (i know if its backwards it will do damage thinking of making one with xlr) and where to get sl2000 tweeters other then ebay.

Thanks!

zane77

You can order RDO194 tweeters from Polk, these are a better replacement for the 2000's. Check the vintage forum for how to make a new cable, you will probably want to use new connectors on the speakers and the cable because I don't think the original style connectors are available anymore. Let Polk know you are a member of the forum for a discount.

sh429

Wow thanks for the quick reply!

the only thing is that my other sda still has the sl2000's in it so they may sound different... i don't think i have ever heard the RDO194 before, ill call polk tomorrow about it but still think im leaning towards sl2000's from ebay then.

brgman

Sounds like you have the original 2's with 2 tweeters in each.I believe many have decided to bypass one of these tweeters now to get better sound.
I'll let the experts chime in on this but you may find this as an option and will only need 2 working tweeters.

PolkieMan

Hi there!
This will help you with some of your questions

http://vr3mods.com/uploads/SDA_Handbook_2011_Rev2.pdf

http://www.gimpod.com/sda-id.html

westmassguy

sh429 wrote: »

Hi I am new here, long time polk fan (dad has 11t's i have rt3's) and i just recently bought my dream speakers for 65 bucks a set of sda2's dated 1985. One cabinet appears to be fully working but the other, both tweeters are shot and I also need a sda cable. I am handy so working on them isn't a issue, was wondering how to make a sda cable (i know if its backwards it will do damage thinking of making one with xlr) and where to get sl2000 tweeters other then ebay.

Thanks!

Welcome to Club Polk. The original SDA 2s with two tweeters used a blade/blade connector. Polk may still have the replacement cable, however it's very easy to make your own using quality 12-14 gauge ofc speaker cable, and Speakon connectors. The sockets and plugs are available from Parts Express:
Socket: http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=092-059
Plug: http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=092-058
These are far superior to the original blade/blade or pin/blade connectors and IC Cables.

sh429

i have read that people switched to one tweeter and it would be kinder to my wallet, however i want to know what they sounded like back in 1985 before i start changing and doing upgrades. As for the interconnect cable I'm all for making it and was thinking of just installing binding posts for PE so i can use what ever length cable needed for application and on top of that upgrade the gauge with minimal effort down the road, im wondering if you match the colors or alternate? white to white | black to blue or vise versa? Thanks again for the links and quick turn around!

PolkieMan

Look in the Sda Handbook the wiring is all there .

sh429 wrote: »

i have read that people switched to one tweeter and it would be kinder to my wallet, however i want to know what they sounded like back in 1985 before i start changing and doing upgrades. As for the interconnect cable I'm all for making it and was thinking of just installing binding posts for PE so i can use what ever length cable needed for application and on top of that upgrade the gauge with minimal effort down the road, im wondering if you match the colors or alternate? white to white | black to blue or vise versa? Thanks again for the links and quick turn around!

westmassguy

sh429 wrote: »

i have read that people switched to one tweeter and it would be kinder to my wallet, however i want to know what they sounded like back in 1985 before i start changing and doing upgrades. As for the interconnect cable I'm all for making it and was thinking of just installing binding posts for PE so i can use what ever length cable needed for application and on top of that upgrade the gauge with minimal effort down the road, im wondering if you match the colors or alternate? white to white | black to blue or vise versa? Thanks again for the links and quick turn around!

You would wire the cable large blade to large blade, small blade to small blade. There's no polarity reversal on the outside, that's done internally on the early series. I'd still recommend the Speakons over binding posts, they're fool-proof, will never disconnect accidentally, and you can change the wire gauge or length anytime you want.

F1nut

I'd still recommend the Speakons over binding posts

I agree!

PolkieMan

Me too! Speakons But if money is tight I am sure you just want it to work.

F1nut wrote: »

I agree!

westmassguy

PolkieMan wrote: »

Me too! Speakons But if money is tight I am sure you just want it to work.

Speakons are much less expensive than quality binding posts and a good set of banana plugs.

PolkieMan

Yea I was thinking monoprice.

westmassguy wrote: »

Speakons are much less expensive than quality binding posts and a good set of banana plugs.

sh429

Thanks again for the reply's! I found out a few days ago that Polk still carries the early SDA blade style cables (not the later ones however?) for 40 bucks and I may go that route with the SL2000's for 50 a peace. I got the speakers for 65 bucks so I don't have to much in them and I'm going to buy one peace at a time I think. Now i do have a second "issue" (first world issues right?) what amp tho? i have 2 in mind as I already own them.. a Marantz sr4300 80 watt into 6 ohms from 2001 and Yamaha Natural Sound A-1000 from 1984, 100 watts into 8 ohms can go down to 4 ohm@200 that the Polk's need and the Maranatz at 6 shouldn't be a huge issue. I'm leaning in the direction of the Yamaha as its a tank and have a tuner and components for it (i just got out highschool, budget tight) also have a few more amps however but their my best right now, any used sub 75 dollar options would be appreciated. just to clarify as i was going through the documetation for them i found out that they were not SDA 2's they are second gen SDA 2a's.

StantonZ

sh429 wrote: »

Now i do have a second "issue" (first world issues right?) what amp tho? i have 2 in mind as I already own them.. a Marantz sr4300 80 watt into 6 ohms from 2001 and Yamaha Natural Sound A-1000 from 1984, 100 watts into 8 ohms can go down to 4 ohm@200 that the Polk's need and the Maranatz at 6 shouldn't be a huge issue. I'm leaning in the direction of the Yamaha as its a tank and have a tuner and components for it (i just got out highschool, budget tight) also have a few more amps however but their my best right now, any used sub 75 dollar options would be appreciated.

Yamaha amps/receivers are GREAT matches for Polk speakers due to their consistent ability to drive low impedance loads. I've used 2 or 3 different Yamaha amps (a bit newer than the A-1000) with my Polks over the years (and I can't say that for a couple of other brands). I doubt I'll ever buy anything BUT another Yamaha amp for 5.1 duty with my Polks (I've had the same one now for over 10 years).

westmassguy

sh429 wrote: »

Thanks again for the reply's! I found out a few days ago that Polk still carries the early SDA blade style cables (not the later ones however?) for 40 bucks and I may go that route with the SL2000's for 50 a peace. I got the speakers for 65 bucks so I don't have to much in them and I'm going to buy one peace at a time I think. Now i do have a second "issue" (first world issues right?) what amp tho? i have 2 in mind as I already own them.. a Marantz sr4300 80 watt into 6 ohms from 2001 and Yamaha Natural Sound A-1000 from 1984, 100 watts into 8 ohms can go down to 4 ohm@200 that the Polk's need and the Maranatz at 6 shouldn't be a huge issue. I'm leaning in the direction of the Yamaha as its a tank and have a tuner and components for it (i just got out highschool, budget tight) also have a few more amps however but their my best right now, any used sub 75 dollar options would be appreciated. just to clarify as i was going through the documetation for them i found out that they were not SDA 2's they are second gen SDA 2a's.

The Speakon/Speaker Wire combination is still cheaper and far superior to the blade/blade connector, but if that's what you want, knock yourself out.
As for the SL2000 Tweeters, why spend $50.00 each for two used SL2000s which suck, when you can buy replacement RDO-194-1s from Polk for $48.00 each with free shipping? You originally said you had two tweeters in each cabinet, if so, they are not 2As, which have a single tweeter in each cab. If they have two tweeters per cab, replace the inner stereo pair, and save up for the outer dimensional tweeters, or better yet, just disconnect the outer tweeters. They were removed from later generations, since they didn't add anything to the SDA effect, and in some cases detracted from it.

sh429

well i hooked up the yamaha and it sounds much better then the marantz and also runs cooler so thats my pick for now, for the tweeters I moved the sda tweeter from one box to the next and now have speakers that function normally (still no interconnect). now for the speakons has anyone thought about xlr interconnects? just wondering but at 40 bucks and having 12 gague wire floating around i agree it may be the best way to go provided i don't cross the wires the wrong way.

westmassguy

sh429 wrote: »

well i hooked up the yamaha and it sounds much better then the marantz and also runs cooler so thats my pick for now, for the tweeters I moved the sda tweeter from one box to the next and now have speakers that function normally (still no interconnect). now for the speakons has anyone thought about xlr interconnects? just wondering but at 40 bucks and having 12 gague wire floating around i agree it may be the best way to go provided i don't cross the wires the wrong way.

XLRs are old school, and subject to deterioration. They're good, but the Speakons are the best choice. $40.00 for Speakons? $20.00 max with shipping. Don't worry about crossing the wires, do one cabinet at a time. Decide ahead of time, small blade goes to #1 terminal, large blade goes to #2 terminal. On the plugs, just make sure the marked wire (there's always one that has some type of marking on it) goes tot he same #1 or #2 terminal on both plugs.
On the Binding post cup, you'll have to enlarge the hole after you remove the blade/blade connector. The wire colors may be different from one cabinet to the other. I had one that had white/blue, while the other had white/black. Stick with what I said earlier. small blade wire to #1, large blade wire to #2. You'll do fine

sh429

fair enough. will speakons take 12 gauge? or should i use 14? i have 12 and would prefer that. and the 40 bucks was for the sda cable from polk i see the speakons are less expensive. i take it they need to be soldered as well... no big deal just wondering. And my SDA connector isnt on the plate its a inch and half below in the box, mine also lack a external fuse.

Thanks for the help!

sh429

westmassguy

sh429 wrote: »

fair enough. will speakons take 12 gauge? or should i use 14? i have 12 and would prefer that. and the 40 bucks was for the sda cable from polk i see the speakons are less expensive. i take it they need to be soldered as well... no big deal just wondering. And my SDA connector isnt on the plate its a inch and half below in the box, mine also lack a external fuse.

Thanks for the help!

That's even easier to enlarge the hole then. The Speakon will take up to #8 or #10 wire If memory serves, so your #12 will be fine.
you can solder the male spades on the socket, but I prefer to use 3/16" female spades. you can order a small bag when you order from Parts Express. The plugs are solderless

F1nut

will speakons take 12 gauge?

SpeakOn connectors come in various configurations, 2 pole, 4 pole, 8 pole and the end bells come in different sizes depending on which model you go with. For example, I use the 4 pole type (I'm only using 2 poles) and modified the end bell to accept a 22mm (about 7/8") diameter cable.

sh429

Sounds good i will be ordering them in the next day or so, also thinking about new binding posts for the speakers and was wondering if anyone had any product recommendations for a easy replacement part? or just clean the currently installed ones somehow? And the speaker grills, is the 8 dollar stuff worth it or should i just go with the 25 dollar that's 100% acoustically transparent? ether's good but was wondering as i haven't used ether product yet. Thanks again for all the help!

westmassguy

sh429 wrote: »

Sounds good i will be ordering them in the next day or so, also thinking about new binding posts for the speakers and was wondering if anyone had any product recommendations for a easy replacement part? or just clean the currently installed ones somehow? And the speaker grills, is the 8 dollar stuff worth it or should i just go with the 25 dollar that's 100% acoustically transparent? ether's good but was wondering as i haven't used ether product yet. Thanks again for all the help!

The $8.00 knit fabric is no better than what's on there now.
I use an Architectural grade, which is extremely shear and acoustically transparent.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/360286206011?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

sh429

very nice thanks! any binding post replacement recommendations? just wondering if one kind or something would replace the stoke ones easier or not.

westmassguy

sh429 wrote: »

very nice thanks! any binding post replacement recommendations? just wondering if one kind or something would replace the stoke ones easier or not.

You can go hi-end with Cardas or Vampire, however Parts Express has a good selection of quality Binding Posts that won't kill your wallet.

sh429

Alright sounds awesome, the work on my SDA 2's will start in the next few days! thanks so much for all the help. for such old speakers their seems to be a large following witch is really cool.

leftwinger57

Listen, take this from also a new owner of SDA 2bs.I have the original Silver Domes from 87' and they are on the way out.These guys absolutely know what they are talking about and would not take their advice lightly.They steered me right( after brutal battles back and forth) and I was NEVER convinced that these speakers could get any better but w/ a few inexpensive mods already I have heard a difference and just waitng till my next check or 2/3 and RDO -198s will ordered from Polk.Don't go the E-bay route for something that is already past it's prime.

sh429

no i am considering the upgrade its just right now 200 dollars for anything (havnt decided if i want to go all 4 or just the stereo tweeters yet) is kinda not in the cards with me going to school in 12 days. so im doing the small things like grills posts and the interconnect right now, im not disreguarding it its just the money problems of being 18 years old ahaha

soundfreak1

If you need a blade/blade sda cable i have one unused i can part with. Let me know.

sh429

Thanks for the offer but im going to go make one with speakon and 12gu speaker wire i have around