Rta 15

nohalfstephen

Are RTA 15s any good? Someone offered me a pair for 400 bucks. Is it worth it? Sorry for all the threads.

ZLTFUL

I thoroughly love mine...but for $400 you can get into a decent pair of SDA 1Bs or the like.

westmassguy

RTA-15s, with the Dacato mod are outstanding, but 400 for stock is a bit high

nohalfstephen

Maybe I could offer 300? They were originally asking for 500. What do you guys know about rta 8ts?

Mystery

nohalfstephen wrote: »

What do you guys know about rta 8ts?

What do you want to know?
Price? Around $125.
Won't have bass like the RTA-15's.

nohalfstephen

I guess what I am asking is what's the better buy? Here in Northeast Ohio we have no deals at all on vintage polk audio stuff. In order for me to get either the rta 15s or the rta 8ts I'll have to drive 3 hours or have them shipped.

boston1450

I would think that a pair of Vgood/MINTY 15tl's would be worth that. But they would have to be in working tip top shape & condition would definitely have to be in very good condition. 8's are a great speaker also. the 15's will need alot of power to get the best out of them-so keep that in mind. Good Luck on your decision..
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welcome to club polk

Mystery

What speakers are you using now?
I'd not drive 3 hours unless I find the speakers I'm looking for or a great deal or if I need something now.

skrol

If the RTA15TL is too much, consider the RTA11TL. If you have placement constraints, the RTA15TL's can be an issue with the rear firing PR. The RTA11TL's are very placement friendly, much more so than my LSi15's. But still the RTA15TL is an excellent vintage Polk Audio speaker.

nohalfstephen

@Mystery, right now all I have are monitor 5s. I was recently given a Kenwood ka-701 integrated amp. Hence the reason I feel the need to have a couple more speakers. The setup is going in my living room which is 15x20. Thanks for everyone's suggestions.

boston1450

I had a pair of 15's in my 16-24 living room & they did a excellent job. But like all vintage speakers they could be due for fresh internal parts in time. Keep us updated. Good Luck

Zentish

I just upgraded the 5B's in my home theater to a pair of 8TL's and I couldn't be happier. Don't get me wrong, the %b's are great speakers and I've enjoyed them since I bought them new in 1985. The 8TL's seem a very similar sound to the 5B's but with a smoother highend, a bit deeper lows, and slightly less strained mids. I like the 8TL's a lot! The 11's must be even better - enjoy!

Mystery

I have yet to hear the 15's but had 8TL and didn't care for them but RTA-11's are pretty decent.

nohalfstephen

I've got another question, how do the monitors and rtas compare to the sda line? I know that I'll have to hear them for myself, but as stated earlier, no one in Northeast Ohio is selling any kind of vintage speakers, let alone vintage Polk audios. But on the other hand someone is selling a pair of kappa 7.1 speakers.

nohalfstephen

Well shock and awe, I have the opportunity to buy a pair of sda 2b speakers in my area! I'm going to have a listen and check them out Friday. With those who already have these speakers, what are some things I should look out for before buying them?

boston1450

Make sure you hook it to a Common Ground amp/receiver you should need at least 80wpc (i know it says 50 min) but ive tried 50-60wpc & they start clipping at 10-11:00 on the dial. 80wpc will make noise BUT will NOT make them sing. (Kinda like hauling a 28ft camper with a Ranger) it will work/but not well. get my point. The more quality power the better. 200wpc is a good place to START. & as stated above youll need the interconnect cord. SDA's are a great speaker. But do keep in mind that a 25 year old speaker may need refreshing parts-so open your wallet they are (to me) a better sounding speaker than the RTA/Monitor. Placement plays a big part also. They need to be 6 feet apart & 6-8 inches off wall.. Each speaker should have 3 ft on each side of them..No toe on these SDA's..... You wont need a subwoofer unless your into heavy bass.. Great speaker. Good choice.

nohalfstephen

Thanks boston1450 and nbrowser! The guy selling these speakers said he did the dynamat mod on all the speakers. What exactly is that and will it affect the sound?

boston1450

I myself have not upgraded either of my SDA's. I have had other issues in the last year with our daughter's health. I hope to do it in the near future. They sound very good to my ears now & sure they will be better when they do get done. Im sure others will chime in on what those upgrades will do-or look/search here & youll find alot of info.

ZLTFUL

nohalfstephen wrote: »

Thanks boston1450 and nbrowser! The guy selling these speakers said he did the dynamat mod on all the speakers. What exactly is that and will it affect the sound?

Basically, the idea is to place strips of Dynamat on the backs of the speakers baskets to help dampen any potential ringing from the baskets.

westmassguy

Dynamat on PRs and Woofers

nohalfstephen

Thanks guys! I'll keep you posted!!

nohalfstephen

Well, back to the hunt.... Anyone know of any Vintage Polk speakers being sold in Ohio?

nohalfstephen

Just picked up a pair of SDA 2s. As I was doing some searching on what is required to run these speakers, I had a couple of questions. I read that theses speakers needed a common ground amp to run them,I'm not sure if the Kenwood ka-701 is a common ground amp. If so will it be good enough to power them efficiently? It has a rating of 80 watts per channel @ 8ohms.

westmassguy

Which SDA-2s? The original 2s, and 2As are 4 ohm speakers. The 2Bs are 8 ohm compatible.

nohalfstephen

They're the 2As. If they were the 2B speakers it would say on the back right?

westmassguy

Maybe, maybe not. Are there two or three woofers? Is the interconnect cable blade/blade, or pin/blade?
A standard 2B has wrap-around grill, with slab top and bottom. 2B Studio version looks similar to the 2/2A, front grill with walnut vinyl.

nohalfstephen

Two woofers, pin and blade.

westmassguy

It's a 2B

nohalfstephen

So is a common ground amp still needed? Is 80 watts sufficient?

westmassguy

Common ground is needed, and the 80 watts will make noise, but not shake the house. The amp supposedly is rated for use with 4-16 ohm speakers, but it's really not going to power them properly, especially if you like your music loud, and like a lot of bass.

BKphoto

Mystery wrote: »

I'd not drive 3 hours

remember you are on a site where everyone here has driven at least that long for something we weren't quite sure we wanted...its called crazy...! its a good crazy, but still...