SRT System

AsSiMiLaTeD

Okay, I know this has been the 'flagship' of Polk for some time. Has anyone here ever heard the SRT system?

ohskigod

never heard it, wish it did. i heard that at loud volumes, it has the potential to do serious damage to your hearing, but that could be urban legend for all i know

AsSiMiLaTeD

I would believe it. I Believe it ships with an SPL device that keepts it from getting to certain levels that could destroy your ears.

I think Polk should hold a showcase in the larger cities in the US and demo that system...you talk about getting people interested in Polk! :-)

F1nut

Guys, the SRT's have been out of production for some time now. Some of us got to hear them at Polk HQ, awesome!!!

VR3

I agree with F1. Heard em at the HQ, totally amazing...AWESOME bass, the soundstage...amazing...

Strong Bad

Yep, was there at Polk HQ's and experienced the demo.

Unbelievable!

Yes, it could do some serious damage on your hearing and home.



John

dan t

it has the potential to do serious damage to your hearing, but that could be urban legend for all i know

That was an actual side note on the literature.


Dan

Airplay355

there was a warning in the catalog with the sRT system. polk might still have the catalog online.

AsSiMiLaTeD

Guess it just cost too much to produce and not enough demand....sure would like to hear it someday...

RuSsMaN

The point was, it is capable of output levels at, and slightly above 120db, which under repeated (even short term) exposure can and will cause hearing damage.

SRT is cool, but I look at it as Polk's 'overkill' system. In my opinion, the big SDA models have *always* been Polk's 'flagship'.

Cheers,
Russ

AsSiMiLaTeD

yes I've heard great things about both the SDA's and the LS90's, wonder why they quit making them...

dorokusai

I wish we could have had more 1vs1 time with the SRT on Polk Tour 2003. I would have liked to hear some particulars on that rack.

I believe a few factors ended up being the demise of the SRT, not just mainstream demand.

The SRT has been the pinnacle of my entire listening experience.

dan t

In my opinion, the big SDA models have *always* been Polk's 'flagship'.

Agreed. I wish I stepped up to the plate and purchased a pair of SDA-1C new when I had the chance.

Dan

Libertyc

Polk SRT HT system missing rears for $3,000 on ebay. If they were closer I think about it.

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&krd=1&from=R8&MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&query=polk+srt*

I-SIG

The SRT has a higher "jaw-drop" factor than Janet and Justin at the Super Bowl.

Totally kickass. Never will forget it. It will be mine one day, oh yes, it will be mine....

Wes

brody05

The warning is actually on the back of the front speakers and says;
WARNING, YOU WILL EXCEED YOUR LIMITS BEFORE THEY EXCEED THEIRS, and; danger capable of high SPL readings,
I can confirm that they will damage your hearing if you turn them up too loud, as you can imagine 120 db is very loud.
The front speakers make the system, you can run any center and rear combo you like so I would suggest buying them, I only use the fronts for music anyway, but regardless, not having the SRT center and rears is no big deal and in all honesty I think they could have done better with the rears.
Brody:cool:

brody05

Thankyou, I look forward to the learning and sharing of knowledge, and also reading of interesting topics (sometimes debates as I read more).
Regards
Brody

PolkWannabie

I'm curious as to why you had the SRT Subs open a bunch of times and would also like to get a feel for how easy/difficult the access is. Also which rears are you referring to that you think could be better ?

Thanks ...

brody05

The reason I had them open was to reglue the spiders as they came undone, I found that the glue that was originally used wasn't strong enough and let go under the usual operating conditions over time, I suspect the heat of the amps played some part in that too, the glue I used was araldite as it is strong, heat resistant and doesn't crack ie has some flexabilility. I couldn't pull the spider off and reglue it all at once as I didn't want to damage it so over a period as I heard the telling 'rattle' noise associated I would pull the drivers out and reglue the area required until the entire circumference was complete (which was about 2 years ago with no problems since). I also blew the crossovers (or rather a drunk friend) requiring a strip down and a few years ago I gutted them completely and refinished them in a two pot metalic paint which looks heaps better than original.
The rears I think are better are the non SDA ones, for me I just found them to be good, and for the price good didn't cut it, the RT2000i's I have in the rear have a great deal of impact in a movie which they (in my opinion) really need and with movies now as opposed to 5 years ago there is a lot more lower frequency in the rear channels (as opposed to the LFE) which gives a fuller range, the SDA ones just blended a little too much for me, but I guess that is a personal opinion, at the end of the day it comes down to what you like best rather than what is more expensive or what others think is better, for example I am using a pair of RT55i's as my center channel, the only SRT components I have are the subs and satelites and the SDA control unit.
PS, the access is easy, once the amp is removed there is only two cables going from the amp to each sub driver (a +ve and a -ve,) and one that goes from one driver to another, just mark which is which and replace the tetron packing and its as easy as that.(sorry for the lenghty reply, will try to cut it down in future)
Brody

PolkWannabie

Lengthy reply APPRECIATED ...

Thanks

PS We'd love to see pictures of the refinishing project etc.

madmax

I thought they sounded really good but I felt as if the subwoofers were not mating as seamlessly as they could have. Probably just a setup preference. I thought the system may have sounded a little more full overall than the 1.2's. I sure would like to hear them side by side with the 1.2's with the same equipment. Certainly was a great experience!
madmax

brody05

I have been trying unsucessfully for some time now to upload some photos and had enough, if you would like to see before, during and after pictures of refinishing I can email them to you, I have them scanned in but when I click on submit reply the page won't update, maybe you can tell me what I am doing wrong.
Cheers
Brody

VR3

Send them to me, I will post them for you.

vr3mxxtrmespl2k3@hotmail.com

PS: make sure you include the title of the post you want it in or I'll forget

PolkWannabie

Brody,

There is a size limitation on pictures that's just barely over 100,000 bytes. Larger than that it will just ignore.

Beyond that all one needs to do to post pix is to use the Browse button next to the Attach File: to point at the file (Only one per post) to upload.

In regards to your statements about the 2000i's/p's having more range than the surrounds, I understand but I have a question:

Is the implication here that you are sending L&R to the front subs as opposed to LFE and as a result possibly losing what otherwise might go to the front subs which in turn might necessitate having a more full range speaker in the rear ?

brody05

I have to go to work now but will try again with the pics tonight, I may have the chance throughout the day to log on to the forum at work but will rescan pics at a lower res later.
I am sending the LFE to the front subs, my amp allows both left and right and LFE signals to the front subs, the rears I have full range rear left and rear right signals to the subs in the back but no LFE, they are only capable of from memory about 28ish Hz but it really gives the rear some depth, I know it doesnt sound like much but it really is noticable. I prefer the RT2000i as they changed the crossover frequency form 3khz in the RT2000p to 2.5khz int the i series that followed which really opened them up and made them sound so much better, in my opinion the RT2000i and other speakers in that range were all some of the best Polk did.

PolkWannabie

Maybe I'm missing something but I would think if you are sending LFE to the subs and the x/o is around 80 hz, then it would appear that the rears never get anything that would be below the range of what they can deal with. This of course doesn't speak to the fact that the 2000i's may of course offer more impact than whatever surrounds one used even above that frequency.

As far as the amps capability to send "left and right and LFE signals to the front subs", there is no way for the subs to utilize all this information simultaneously, is there ?

As far as chopping down the size of the scans go, you should only have to resave the existing files in a less dense format. Don't save them as .bmp's as these will take a lot of room unless the images are very small.

brody05

You need to remember that 5.1 and 7.1 soundtracks have separate LFE channels hence the .1, but regardless of that just because the sub gets the LFE it doesn't mean that all of a sudden no other speakers are getting any frequenzy delivered to them below 80hz.
80hz is not very low and try to imagine it like a center channel only doing above 80hz every sound would be tinny, male voices would sound kinda like a female voice, by selecting 80hz as your cross over you are selecting the subs to produce sounds in the recording at below 80hz but this does not mean it automatically cuts all other speakers range to 80hz.
80hz is not very low on the scale and is more a small mid range driver, for ex my RT 55is go down to 35hz. Hope this makes sense.
The subs can utilise a lot of information, stereo bass in the front sound great, I prefer to have my subs cross over at 50 hz and let them concentrate on the bass stuff, the satalites go down to 35hz (about) which still gives a smooth transition between the 2, the subs I have are more than capable of carrying the work load I ask of them.
Brody

PolkWannabie

The 55's go down to 35 hz but roll off is 3dB at 47hz and with the SRT Satellites according to the stats I've seen the roll off begins higher than that.

If you have the subs crossed at 50 hz I would think there would be missing or at diminished information between where the subs roll off on the high side and the satellites roll off on the low side.

Maybe I'm not totally understanding the stats or the situation.

brody05

I'm not too sure off hand of the frequency range of the satalites and will look at the manual tonight at home, in saying that however I dont really get too caught up in stats, I make my adjustments until I think it sounds right, I will have a look at the exact cross over I have set, it is around the 50 mark but not higher than 55 (once again from memory), I have not looked at or talked about this for quite some time, am enjoying it too, blowing some of the cobwebs out is good for the brain, the speakers were adjusted to my liking in the room they are in some time ago and I haven't made any adjustments once all the fine tuning was done. The SRT control unit gives a lot of freedom for fine tuning and I have an AVCA1se which also allows great individual channel adjustments.
I can say this though, I watched a movie (I think it was dragon fire) and when the talking was happening I felt like the subs were been used to deepen the voice a touch too much but it just didn't sit right with me and I tweaked it down then (after much playing around) to find the just right range for me with many different soundtracks used.
Also in the past I had active speakers in each corner of the room (pre SRT days) running off the pre outs for each channel with 2 separate subs doing the LFE and it sounded really good, bass in each channel (including active center) was very noticable, now with the SRTs the rear subs get drowned out a bit but when something with bass in the rears happens I certainly know its there, and its awesome.
What kind of system are you running?
I am enjoying the conversation, and thankyou for the time, as I said in an earlier comment I plan on learning as well as sharing knowledge, I wonder if any others out there have any commentsd on how they are running there systems, I may find myself alone in my preferences, but hey, the SRTs are quite a way off 'normall'.
Cheers
Brody;)

PolkWannabie

A ways OFF normal is the place to be imho ... I don't think of the SRT's as "normal" nor do I think of any of the SDA's as "normal" in terms of the technology they utilize which may mean that ultimately they are the most "normal" or natural speakers out there.

At the moment I'm running a 7.1 system with speakers from the newer Polk line RTi12's up front, a CSi5 in the center, FXi5's on the sides and RTi6's in the back. These are powered by dual Sunfire GC II Sigs.

The only reason I know anything at all about the SRT's is from what I've read and communictation with folks at Polk and current/previous owners I've had as well as a relatively short listening experience. The reason for this amount of investigation was due to my desire to have them. That desire is about to be met as I have purchased a set which is expected to arrive the end of this week or early next. I can hardly wait. Batten down the hatches.

As far as the specs on the the major SRT components go I believe the manual has the same numbers in it that the site here does here ...

http://www.polkaudio.com/home/products.php?category=3&speaker=82&recent=1

I understand the idea behind what it sounds like .vs. what the specs say. Have you done any checks of dB levels at different frequencies to see if there was any rolloff between where the subs leave off and the sats start up ?

brody05

yes, I have an spl reader and done the full sweep with no problems noticed, congrats on the SRTs, you will love them no end and I still get shivers up and down my spine at times, you certainly sound like you know your stuff so I'm sure you wont have any trouble getting the most out of them, if I can help in any way feel free to ask.
Brody