Second Set of SDAs
normac
Posts: 13
Another newbie on the forum.
After owning a set of sda crs+ since the 80's (due to old age the exact year eludes me) now housed improperly in a nice entertainment unit in the living room I determined it was time to put together a real system to enjoy in the basement/familyroom/ to be man cave. Suddenly a set of sda 2bs appears on ebay within 25 miles of home. I was on it, especially for the price of $200. They were well cared for and included the original paperwork!
Next I learned about this forum and all the guidance, help and advice offered. I purchased a GFA 555 and an Adcom tuner/preamp.The placement of the 2bs is terrible, I am sad to admit, as I fit them in tightly beside cabinetry and against side walls. I will work to improve this in the future. So the sound is very good, but not great. The tweeters
get grating over time and I'm surely losing much of the sda effect due to poor positioning. Its time for mods!
My plan is to do Larry's rings (feel free to contact me toolfan66), dynamat the drivers, and jb weld, followed by replacing the original drivers with the RO-198s, upgrading the capacitors and resistors. What else would you all recommend moving forward for significant improvements? Perhaps I should spike the speakers as they are on carpet.
Thank you all for all your posts, advise and sometimes good humor! Its good to be a known member.
After owning a set of sda crs+ since the 80's (due to old age the exact year eludes me) now housed improperly in a nice entertainment unit in the living room I determined it was time to put together a real system to enjoy in the basement/familyroom/ to be man cave. Suddenly a set of sda 2bs appears on ebay within 25 miles of home. I was on it, especially for the price of $200. They were well cared for and included the original paperwork!
Next I learned about this forum and all the guidance, help and advice offered. I purchased a GFA 555 and an Adcom tuner/preamp.The placement of the 2bs is terrible, I am sad to admit, as I fit them in tightly beside cabinetry and against side walls. I will work to improve this in the future. So the sound is very good, but not great. The tweeters
My plan is to do Larry's rings (feel free to contact me toolfan66), dynamat the drivers, and jb weld, followed by replacing the original drivers with the RO-198s, upgrading the capacitors and resistors. What else would you all recommend moving forward for significant improvements? Perhaps I should spike the speakers as they are on carpet.
Thank you all for all your posts, advise and sometimes good humor! Its good to be a known member.
Post edited by normac on
Comments
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Congratulations on your second set of SDAs.
This link will give you some good ideas,he is a member here and I cant think of a better spot to start.
http://www.vr3mods.com/LCSDAUpgrade.php
Hope this helps you out.
Dan
BTW- Welcome to the forums. -
Welcome to CP. Looks like you have a good start on the mods. The rings are a must upgrade. I would also reseal the inside cabinet with Loctite Powergrab. When your ready for the x-over upgrade definatly put Trey at VR3 on your short list. Can't say enough about his knowledge and excellent work. Good luck and happy listening.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. -
Congrats and Welcome to CP! Your list is a good start.
If you're comfortable with soldering replacing the caps, and resistors on the Xover boards is pretty easy. I would also recommend replacing the SDA inductor with a larger Solen 10 awg inductor, a Matthew Polk recommended mod. It will improve bass response allowing it to be deeper and better defined.
Another mod I would recommend is building a new SDA Interconnect cable out of quality wire, e.g. Teflon insulated, high purity copper. If the 2B's can use it, a Dreadnought (custom AE-1 interface) makes a nice improvement even with common ground amps. It's not compatible with some early SDA's and I don't know off the top of my head about the 2B's. Perhaps someone who does will join the post."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 to CP. Your on the right track as far as mods go. The "TL" mod for the RDO-198-1s also requires an additional capacitor, so be sure to download the schematics. Don't forget replacing the Polyswitches with .5 ohm Resistors. Blackhole5 is also recommended by some, behind the woofers, and under the Dacron Batting. Spikes, most definitely. You can also use the Loctite Power Grab to secure the magnets instead of JB Weld, it's water based, clear acrylic, and cleans up with soap and water. New Cardas or Vampire Binding Posts. As drumminman suggests, the Dimensional Inductor is a must. An affordable alternative to the Solen Air Core Inductors, are the Erse Super-Q, 14 or 16 gauge Laminated Steel. Lastly, upgrade the Interconnect Cable, and use SpeakON connectors instead of the Pin/Blade.
Welcome to the Rabbit Hole
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/ -
Welcome to the Forum. Congrats on the 2B's. That is my favorite model along with the 2A's.If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of Progress?!
Monitor 5Jr, Monitor 5, RTA12, RTA 15TL, SDA 2A, 1c, SRS 2, 1.2TL, CRS, Atrium. -
Welcome to the forum and please send pics with your mods, thanks.
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Welcome to the forum and your pick up of those 2Bs.The placement I think and I'm no expert would be fine except for the side walls. Yes the mods make a major improvement on the sound.The silver domes on mine were starting to break up and sound scratchy and when Polk restocked I did the 194s along w/ Dynamatting,rings, pulling the poly switches,Black Hole -5 and Armaflex.I also power mine w/ an Adcom 555. For the shape they appear to be in $200 is a great price and it looks like you have the darker tops which are much nicer than the white oak. Nice score and good luck with them.Someone here will give you the link to the SDA handbook which helped me out alot to understand what these speakers are all about.2chl- Adcom GFA- 555-Onkyo P-3150v pre/amp- JVC-QL-A200 tt- Denon 1940 ci cdp- Adcom GFS-6 -Modded '87 SDA 2Bs - Dynamat Ext.- BH-5- X-Overs VR-3, RDO-194 tweeters, Larry's Rings, Speakon/Neutrik I/C- Cherry stain tops Advent Maestros,Ohm model E
H/T- Toshiba au40" flat- Yamaha RX- V665 avr- YSD-11 Dock- I-Pod- Klipsch #400HD Speaker set-
Bdrm- Nikko 6065 receiver- JBL -G-200s--Pioneer 305 headphones--Sony CE375-5 disc -
Welcome with your new addition Normac, beautiful at thatpositioning the SDA's can be difficult,but rewarding. Good Luck with your upgrades. ..
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You need a bigger TV. Just sayin....Jk, welcome to CP. Check your wallet at the door!
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Congrats, you will love those speakers. Yes, placement is an issue for you, the way you have them set is far from ideal. But what's even worse than your speaker placement is your turntable placement :eek:!!!Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
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ken brydson wrote: »You need a bigger TV. Just sayin....Jk, welcome to CP. Check your wallet at the door!
The one large TV we have is in the living room. This entertainment piece, in the living room and shown below, also houses my original SDA CRS+ (with RDO-194s). I imagine placement is killing much of the sound, even though they still sound good inside the cabinet. I have placed the CRS+s on rubber "potriser" insulating pads, used to raised outdoor planters off wooden decks. This has definitely helped reduce vibration and sound dispersion. Let me know if you have any other ideas for improving sound from this type of a setup. Unfortunately, given the available space, I cannot mount them on external stands, hence the to be finished setup with the 2Bs.
But anyway, you're correct, a larger TV would be more pleasing. Its a work in process. Mods on the 2bs are the priority! -
I just pulled this Luxman turntable out of storage along with the remnants of my aged record collection. For kicks I thought I would hook it up and see what these old records sounded like on the new (for me) system. Much to my delight for the most part they were a joy to listen to. Not many scratched, blips or pops. Someone must have been careful with them, thankfully. Yeah, I know the turntable should get off the floor. Give me a few pointers on turntable placement and care, etc, as I see records will remain a portion of my library. Thanks!
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Get a Spin Clean record cleaner, best $70 I ever spent for my collection.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
