Grizwald SDA SRS Mod Thread

Grizwald

Hi everybody, some of you recently have got to know me from my "look what I found this weekend thread" like I said on that thread I want to mod all three sets of speakers, the SDA SRS's and the two pair of 1C's eventually. Thought I would start with the SDA SRS's. Some of you have already been so helpful. Thanks. First I had to have pictures. I'm a visual kind of guy so I took a crossover's out and snapped a couple of pics. also just so you can see I am some what competent as as a DIY, my only problem these days at 54 is close up eyesight lol. I added my electronics tool box and solder extractor pic just for fun. I can solder and have no problem taking things apart and putting them back together. of course I'm here for help because a lot of you have already done this you can guide me in the right direction and save me time, mistakes and money. I can take helpful Criticism and like to punk my self (Homer Simson Doh!) so anything goes. I hope this thread can be a from beginning to end thread.

Lets get started.

leftwinger57

The only thing I can recommend to you if your doing the x-overs yourself is to start a dialog w/ Darqueknight.Like I said previously just his pix alone are worth a look but he definately goes into depth w/ whatever model SDA you have.To this day I still have no idea what model is what except for the 2Bs and that had to be confirmed here when I got them.

Grizwald

Well 1st I don't know why my pics are not showing hmm? 2nd I Pmed toofan66 about rings for all 6 speakers 3rd thanks to agfrost for recommending Boards from gimpod, drumminman for links to soniccraft, leftwinger for DarqueKnights tutorials.

Now I have not talked to gimpod but I have e-mailed him. After seeing the board layout finally with my own eyes I'm inclined to want to just build a new assy with gimpod boards. Does gimpod build PCB's for all the model Polk's or just the 1C's? I guess before I order anything (I know soniccraft is having a 20% off sale thanks drumminman) I better find out what parts gimpod boards are designed for. I have been to the sight and like the idea of connectors ect. to plug and play the board for future servicing. enough for now my head is spinning!

EndersShadow

Grizwald wrote: »

Well 1st I don't know why my pics are not showing hmm? 2nd I Pmed toofan66 about rings for all 6 speakers 3rd thanks to agfrost for recommending Boards from gimpod, drumminman for links to soniccraft, leftwinger for DarqueKnights tutorials.

Now I have not talked to gimpod but I have e-mailed him. After seeing the board layout finally with my own eyes I'm inclined to want to just build a new assy with gimpod boards. Does gimpod build PCB's for all the model Polk's or just the 1C's? I guess before I order anything (I know soniccraft is having a 20% off sale thanks drumminman) I better find out what parts gimpod boards are designed for. I have been to the sight and like the idea of connectors ect. to plug and play the board for future servicing. enough for now my head is spinning!

Gimpod is around, but is still recovering from surgery IIRC. I would address your question about his boards to VR3 as Trey has those boards in stock and may be able to answer your question quicker.

ZLTFUL

Anyone else come into this thread in hopes of seeing some gaudily lit up with neon and LEDs SDAs? Just me? Ok... :-/

Grizwald

ZLTFUL wrote: »

Anyone else come into this thread in hopes of seeing some gaudily lit up with neon and LEDs SDAs? Just me? Ok... :-/

Funny, but you have a point. guess I'm off to buy some LED lights LOL

Grizwald

Ok I've been looking at schematics, browsing Sonicap and VR3 websites and looking at the differences between the 3rd Gen SDA SRS (my pair) and the 5th Gen 1.2TL's

Just to get it out of my head:
3rd Gen SDA SRS with 8 MW6503's to 5th Gen 1.2TL with 4 MW6503's snd 4 MW 6511's with RD0198 Tweeters

There is no way I can put the 1.2TL crossover network together and install in my 3rd Gen without replacing 8 of the MW6503's with MW 6511's correct? It's a given I will be upgrading the tweeters eventually. Can this be done or should I get this idea out of my head and stick to my 3rd Gen parts list.

Thanks, I know for some of you this stuff has been answered before but please bear with me. I have a lot of learning to do before I start ordering things. I like to understand things before I jump in feet first.

F1nut

There is no way I can put the 1.2TL crossover network together and install in my 3rd Gen without replacing 8 of the MW6503's with MW 6511's correct?

Forget that idea.

Thanks, I know for some of you this stuff has been answered before but please bear with me.

Yes, it has. Do a search here as there is thread after thread covering everything you ever wanted to know about the subject matter. Most have pics too.

Does gimpod build PCB's for all the model Polk's or just the 1C's?

Go to www.gimpod.com or Vr3's site for that info. I can tell you that his boards do not work for your SDA SRS model.

Gimpod is around, but is still recovering from surgery IIRC.

Tony is going in to have surgery, so he won't be able to answer any emails. Talk to Trey (Vr3) as he is the one selling the boards for Tony.

Grizwald

Thanks F1nut, idea forgotten. I do use search a lot. When your brand new here there is so much to catch up on, unbelievable wealth of knowledge on this board! Understand Gimpod is having surgery hope he's well soon. I will introduce my self to Trey (Vr3)

Toolfan66

PM sent..

VR3

Hey guys,
The GIMPOD circuit boards are not compatible with the original SDA SRS.

We build a point to point network for them instead -

Grizwald

Hi Vr3 (Trey) pleased to meet you. First I do not have the money to buy what you have pictured above. If I win the Lotto or get lucky in Vegas I would surely take a pair of those off your hands! For now I need to keep it real. My wife already doesn't understand the need to spend any money on those big **** speakers she has had to accommodate in the living room for 22 years....and you should have saw her when I brought home the 2 pair of 1C's.....

So what do you mean Point to Point network? does that mean I'm stuck with replacing parts on the original board by making it fit one way or the other? Love your site by the way but I'm I DIY guy who likes to save money and have the great feeling of pride when doing all the work myself. So what can we do for the original SDA SRS's.

VR3

Point to point means each components is wired directly together versus being soldered to a trace on a circuit board...

The most affordable route would be to replace the components on the existing boards and mount the large values on to a separate board and mount it somewhere else in the enclosure. You could probably do the entire modification using nicer components for around $4-600 and we are glad to service DIY customers with caps, resistors, inductors, etc...

I would love to go over more options in email - vr3mods@gmail.com

Thank you for the compliments

westmassguy

Grizwald, here's one of my SRS re-builds: http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?148952-SRS-Rebuild
Might give you a few ideas.

westmassguy

Here's another one, that's a little more elaborate, added the Dimensional Inductors, which are part of the "Full Complement Sub-Bass Drive"

Grizwald

Thanks Trey. I will e-mail you and see what we can come up with. I appreciate your and everyone's help. One quick question: Why no circuit board love for the original SDA SRS? Are there not enough of them to warrant a circuit board? or are the **** children compared to newer revision SRS's?

Grizwald

westmassguy wrote: »

Grizwald, here's one of my SRS re-builds: http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?148952-SRS-Rebuild
Might give you a few ideas.

beautiful Now were talking and getting ideas rolling. Thanks. I can do this......

txcoastal1

That one board covered all the typical SDA's and Gimpod went way beyond as a soul full member to accommodate and the SRS's are a bit of a different beast

Grizwald

txcoastal1 wrote: »

That one board covered all the typical SDA's and Gimpod went way beyond as a soul full member to accommodate and the SRS's are a bit of a different beast

I understand that. Gimpod did on outstanding job on that board. I'm going to use them when I do the 1C's. So are the original SRS's considered **** children or is gimpods board able to do speaker A,B,C,D and the original SRS would have required a board just for them and cost wise not recoverable? I'm trying to learn.

westmassguy

The 4th and 5th generation SDAs used a common board. The original SRS was unique, and certainly no **** child. The board has mostly soldered connections and a handful of spade connectors. All the later SDAs used Molex type connectors.

Grizwald

Westmassguy your my new best friend lol, no really you have been there done that and I hope you won't mind me picking your brain..

question #1 did you cut the wires up off the PCB board and install a connector for ease of disconnecting the crossover from the speaker so you could work on it on the bench or did you do all your work with the crossover supported hanging in front of your SDA?

westmassguy

No cutting, one of my customers did that, and yours truly had to re-solder every connection on both boards. To do it right, all the drivers must be removed, and the whole crossover put on the bench. Just bundle them up, to keep them out of the way.

Grizwald

Got it! that's what I was thinking. Glad I have to 1C's because after the parts accumulation phase its looks like the big polk's will be down for awhile.

westmassguy

Grizwald wrote: »

Got it! that's what I was thinking. Glad I have to 1C's because after the parts accumulation phase its looks like the big polk's will be down for awhile.

Once you have all the parts, and the boards cut, the actual recap and re-assembly of the crossover is pretty straight forward.

Grizwald

westmassguy wrote: »

Once you have all the parts, and the boards cut, the actual recap and re-assembly of the crossover is pretty straight forward.

Still I want to take my time and still be able to listen to tunes. Just orderd Larry's rings for all three sets (thank You Larry). I also want to Dynamat the baskets and I'm sure you all are going to tell me all kinds of thing to do while I have them apart. One of my tops is loose and shifts a little when I move them. I'm assuming there are fasteners that hold the tops and bottoms on that I can tighten, Am I correct on that thought?

Toolfan66

You are correct, when I first picked up my set, one of the bolts was missing, I found it stuck to one of the magnets..

Grizwald

Thanks Toolfan I feel like I'm finally understanding a few things ...how there built and what to mod. I guess its time to start talking cost effective parts list.

DarqueKnight

Grizwald wrote: »

Why no circuit board love for the original SDA SRS? Are there not enough of them to warrant a circuit board? or are the **** children compared to newer revision SRS's?

Grizwald wrote: »

So are the original SRS's considered **** children or is gimpods board able to do speaker A,B,C,D and the original SRS would have required a board just for them and cost wise not recoverable?

Welcome to the forum. My condolences for the future hemorrhaging of your cash.

The original SRS crossover used a lot of parts and a lot of large value, large size parts. It is not compatible with a multiuse board design, and I can't imagine that there would be sufficient demand for a dedicated, custom designed SRS board to make it economically viable. Due to the large size upgrade components, I was not able to fit everything on one board and still have it fit in the middle of the cabinet. That area of the cabinet is the most desirable from a vibration perspective. I could have designed a larger board to accommodate everything and put in on the bottom or behind the passive radiator, but I did not want to use those locations.

My solution was two custom designed boards, a main board in the same location as the stock board and a smaller board for the large 130 uF capacitors. The three largest inductors were mounted on a very conveniently located cabinet brace just below the crossover board opening. Pictures are here:

Further-Improvements-to-the-SDA-SRS-Custom-PCB-and-SDA-Inductor

Other fun things I did with my SRS's:

Improved-SDA-Interconnect-Cables

Improvements to the SDA-SRS

SDA-Tweeter-Brackets-for-SDA-SRS-1.2TL-SDA-SRS-and-SDA-CRS

Tweaking-Home-Theater-Pt.-8-Cardas-Wire-For-Front-Stage-Speakers

Curly-Maple-End-Caps-and-Side-Strips-For-The-SDA-SRS

westmassguy

Nice work DargueKnight.
When I recap the original SRS's, I just add a supplemental riser board on top of the existing.

DarqueKnight

westmassguy wrote: »

When I recap the original SRS's, I just add a supplemental riser board on top of the existing.

I considered a third tier riser for the two 130 uF caps, but caps are very susceptible to vibration induced electrical noise and mounting the auxiliary board on the cabinet wall was a much more mechanically stable location.

westmassguy

DarqueKnight wrote: »

I considered a third tier riser for the two 130 uF caps, but caps are very susceptible to vibration induced electrical noise and mounting the auxiliary board on the cabinet wall was a much more mechanically stable location.

The original snap-in nylon standoffs were weak to begin with. I always replace them with new, threaded nylon standoffs which are much more rigid. In addition, on the last SRS I did, the supplemental riser board was attached to the original board at six points (the original four points, plus one additional standoff at each end) with threaded nylon standoffs, and the supplemental board itself was extended out to meet the large spool inductors on either end. The spools were rotated so that one of the unused mounting holes was directly under the edge of the supplemental board. A nylon wire tie was used to secure each edge to the spool. This made for a very ridged assembly.