SRS SDA 1.2tl New Owner / Member

pink3y3

Good afternoon ... I hope you guys have room for one more.

I just purchased a pair of the SDA 1.2tl polk's and I'm trying to get them setup best and while searching the net I happened upon you fine folks at this site. A family member had these guys and I always loved them however, what I have found is I think my room is a bit "brighter" than his. He had them in a dedicated rectangle closed off room with carpet, drapes, etc. and now I have them in my room which is open on one side and the back with hardwood so I'm getting some really "bright" highs (I assume due to reflective surfaces) when I play certain artists. I guess, I'm hoping you guys might have some suggestions for me in order to get these baby's tuned in perfect. When playing Roger Waters, Dave Matthews, Ray Lamontagne they sound absolutely amazing. In fact, I highly highly recommend you guys try Ray's "God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise" cd, specifically track number 3, the title track and just be amazed.

Anyway, have you guys ran into this before with these speakers? I have searched a bit on the forum and it seems like you all do a lot of upgrade and mods on these speakers?

My gear is as follows to give you guys a point reference, I have the 1.2's, I'm powering with an Ampzilla power amp, I have Sunfire Theater Grand for my preamp, and a Hsu vtf-15h to help on the low end. I have a vintage Pioneer PL-550 turntable with an Audio Technica Signet TK7e cartridge and a reference Pioneer PD-91 cd player.

Thanks for letting me stop by.

Mystery

Welcome!
Open sides is actually better for them than closed sides as they need at least 3 feet each side for SDA effect.
Are you using interconnect cable?

Wait for others to chime in.

drumminman

Welcome to the forum!

You'll probably want to experiment with placement, which may help. Cardinal rule with SDA speakers is 6-8 feet apart and no toe in. Room diffusers may help tame the brightness. As you've seen with your friend heavy carpet, overstuffed furniture, drapes can all make a positive improvement. Did you get the interconnect cable with them?

There are several mods which can take those speakers to a much higher level. First mod I'd recommend is replacing those tweeters, the SL 3000's, with the upgraded RD-0198's. These can be ordered directly from Polk. If you tell them you're a member you get a discounted price ($48 ea) and free shipping.

The next thing would be replacing all the caps (I'd do the inductors too) on the Xovers.

Other mods include Larry's rings (or Hurricane nuts) for the drivers, Black Hole 5, replacing the big SDA inductor, making a new IC cable out of higher quality wire, etc. One really good mod is to build your own AI-1 interface, aka the Dreadnought. You can search the forum for threads on these.

If you're not comfortable with a soldering iron there are knowledgeable folks on the forum that are happy to help out.

erniejade

I would get a warmer amp, tube pre. What is your speaker cables?
Huge Ray fan here. When I had 1.2's, I didnt find them too bright.

How are your speaers setup? I think 3 feet from the corner, up against the back wall is one of the "recommended" settings for the SDA. Also, make sure they are facing strait without tilting them. Are you using the SDA cable?

Are the tweeters stock or do you have RDO replacement?

F1nut

I believe you are hearing how bad some recordings actually are for the first time. What speakers did you use before?

pink3y3

Wow, thanks for the quick posts and info!

Yes, sorry I didn't mention it in my initial post ... I do have the interconnect cable.

I am kind of restricted on space and location in my room, one thing I am fighting against is probably my room size. I have them sitting about 10 feet apart - about 10 inches off the back wall. The front left 1.2 is probably right at 3 foot from the side wall, the right 1.2 doesn't have a wall to its side. Listening position is probably 13 - 14 feet back and I have no toe-in implemented with the speakers.

They are the original SL3000 tweeters. Are the new tweeters a lot better than the originals? Just curious why you all recommend changing them out .. what the improvements are etc.

Thanks again for the responses and info. That list of mods is a bit imposing and scary lol

pink3y3

...I'm coming from Infinity Kappa 8.1's

Mystery

No need to hurry to change the tweeters.
SL3000 is okay if working fine.

Check if all the drivers move in/out freely.
You can do that by pressing on the big passive radiator on the bottom.

You can also do a phase test to make sure both are in phase.

pitdogg2

So is the sub in the mix? It is listed and if you have it taking care of the low end and sending the rest of the signal to 1.2's that might be why they sound so bright also.
There should be plenty of low end put out by those with no need for a sub.

F1nut

Move them so they are 6 to 8 feet apart and 5 to 6 inches from the back wall. You should not need a sub with those speakers.

Mr. Bubbles

Welcome to the forum. I have the same speakers and do not find them bright. However, room treatments can definately contribute to the brightness of the high end of any speaker. Just like they can contribute to the low end as we hear it at our ears. If they cam from a room full of carpet and curtains and into a room with little to no sound absorbinfg materials to absorb reflections they will definately sound brighter in the second room. Whether this is good or bad will depend on personal preference and many other things such as placement, etc. which also controls points of reflection.

LeftCoast

I auditioned (and bought) a pair of 1.2's a couple of days ago. They are in fantastic shape. They have the SL2000 tweeters. I also experienced something similar, in that I liked them better on one genre of music over another. Interestingly, I did not find them too bright. The seller is keeping an a set of original SDA SRS. They sounded brighter than the 1.2's, But to me, they sounded better than the pair I am buying when playing a cd by Eddie Palmieri. Salsa/Jazz with big bold horn section attacks, and crazy acoustic piano riffs. You would think that this cd would demonstrate whether or not a speaker is too bright or not. The SRS he is keeping didn't sound too bright to me, it sounded nice, and I have a pretty educated ear. Having been a performer all of my adult life, I know what live instruments and vocals sound like when in the room with them.

When we switched to the 1.2's I bought, there wasn't that brightness, but I also didn't like them as well. They sounded a bit laid back. However, they sounded great when we made tuner adjustments.

Then I switched to something very different. Rickie Lee Jones's Pirates cd. Played the first track, "We Belong Together. Again, acoustic instruments, but a more intimate sound with both instruments and vocals.

On this cd, the 1.2's were spot on.

So I think it will be a matter of adjusting the sound based on what type of music I am playing. I usually don't like fiddling with that stuff, and just listen with the tuner pretty much neutral, the point being that I'm trying to hear the music as it was recorded and intended to be heard. But oh well, I'll play with sound, and just enjoy having them.

But I think they sound fine the way they are, so for the moment, I'm not planning on doing any upgrades. But again, I will have to see how they sound in my room, which is very different from the room I auditioned them in.

vmaxer

pink3y3 wrote: »

Good afternoon ... I hope you guys have room for one more.

I just purchased a pair of the SDA 1.2tl polk's and I'm trying to get them setup best and while searching the net I happened upon you fine folks at this site. A family member had these guys and I always loved them however, what I have found is I think my room is a bit "brighter" than his. He had them in a dedicated rectangle closed off room with carpet, drapes, etc. and now I have them in my room which is open on one side and the back with hardwood so I'm getting some really "bright" highs (I assume due to reflective surfaces) when I play certain artists. I guess, I'm hoping you guys might have some suggestions for me in order to get these baby's tuned in perfect. When playing Roger Waters, Dave Matthews, Ray Lamontagne they sound absolutely amazing. In fact, I highly highly recommend you guys try Ray's "God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise" cd, specifically track number 3, the title track and just be amazed.

Anyway, have you guys ran into this before with these speakers? I have searched a bit on the forum and it seems like you all do a lot of upgrade and mods on these speakers?

My gear is as follows to give you guys a point reference, I have the 1.2's, I'm powering with an Ampzilla power amp, I have Sunfire Theater Grand for my preamp, and a Hsu vtf-15h to help on the low end. I have a vintage Pioneer PL-550 turntable with an Audio Technica Signet TK7e cartridge and a reference Pioneer PD-91 cd player.

Thanks for letting me stop by.

Welcome, great speakers!! Some good advise you have received so far.

Moose68Bash

Welcome to the Forum!

SRS 1.2tls are great speakers! Congratulations.

Very wise of you to join the Forum; however, it may not be financially prudent!

In suggesting upgrades, you are being introduced to the infamous "rabbit hole." Beware.

Nevertheless, having gone down that hole on two pairs of vintage Polks, I assure you you will be very pleased with the upgrades/modifications that you choose to make. Have at them!

Again, welcome.

westmassguy

Welcome to CP! If you have a very "live" room, acoustical treatments, carpets etc. will tame some of it.The Modifications do not have to be done all at once. The two biggest bang for the buck items are new tweeters, and rebuilding the crossovers. The remaining upgrades are cumulative, and can be done in phases. As F1 noted, you do not need a sub with the 1.2TLs, unless you're incorporating them in a Home Theater setup. Even then, it would have to be a high end sub to even equal the deep base the 1.2s are capable of, when upgraded. Plenty of us will help you down the rabbit hole.

dpowell

Congrats on picking up a great pair of speakers! If you feel the need for a sub in music mode, there are probably a few of things going on. You need to spike them for one. Second, experiment with distance from the back wall. An inch or two can make a great difference in bass response. Third, if the XO's are original, the caps on those are shot. The last two pairs of SDA's I bought both were lacking in bass until I redid the XO's. Welcome to the club!

tonyb

Speaker cables and or your interconnect/rca cables can make a huge impact on the final sound. What are you using now ? What speakers did you have before ?

markamerica

pink3y3,

Let me ask a question about your 1.2TLs: Did the person you got them from have them bi-amped? If so, did you get the small jumper cables that bind the two red and the two black binding posts on the back together? I ask this because I know a guy who got a pair of SRSs that didn't have those jumpers and called me to ask why they didn't seem to be reproducing any base. He didn't know much about them but had listened to them at the home of the guy he bought them from, and had connected his single amplifier to the top pair of posts (one red, one black). Since without those small jumper wires, the high frequencies and low frequencies are divided, he was hearing only the top end. I went over to help him out, and turned one of the speakers around... No jumpers.

Long story short: Seller forgot to mention/assumed buyer would know, and as it turned out, he had the jumpers stored in some ziplock back laid on top of his amp. When buyer contacted seller, seller said "oh, yeah, come on over and get them."

It's a small thing, and I'm sure probably not the problem in this case, but it's an example of how easy it would be for somebody new to SRSs to run into a problem.

Congrats on the purchase! Awesome speakers, and you'll have lots of fun with them. Folks here are a great help.

Mark

pink3y3

thanks for all the great info, suggestions, and tips! he did have them biamped but he also had the jumpers so I do have those in place. I have my stand alone hsu sub more for movies than anything else. I have my polk's set to large and my sub is turned way down with he freq range set to like 30Hz ... it plays down to 15Hz so I merely use it for the just a little added punch. moving the Sda's back a bit closer to the wall did make a difference.

I'm not sure if any work has ever been done to the crossover however, he did tell me that he had to replace three or four tweeters 6 or so years ago (said he replaced them with the original 3000's). I'm curious about the new Rd tweeters some of you mentioned. Would that be a big improvement? I ask as I think even I could do that mod lol
...how hard is it to do the crossover work? does it just slide out or is it a bit trickier than that? I wasn't sure how much room you had to work with considering the internal wires etc.

PolkieMan

Great speakers! Lots of good questions.
Well let me chime in and mention the SDA Handbook.
http://vr3mods.com/uploads/SDA_Handbook_2011_Rev2.pdf
And my favorite x-over guy.
http://www.gimpod.com/

F1nut

Replace the stock jumpers with high quality speaker cable. The stock jumpers were never very good and by now have oxidized. If you haven't already add some nice spikes, which will improve the bass and tighten up the mids.

The RD0198-1 tweeters are worth every penny.

drumminman

F1nut wrote: »

Replace the stock jumpers with high quality speaker cable. The stock jumpers were never very good and by now have oxidized. If you haven't already add some nice spikes, which will improve the bass and tighten up the mids.

The RD0198-1 tweeters are worth every penny.

Good advice. I found the RD-0198's to be a massive improvement over the SL3000's. Much smoother and yet with better detail.

The xovers are easy to get to and easy to work on. You can use the original boards or ( and I recommend this) get a set of Tony's (Gimpod) boards. Better made and larger which provides room for the larger film caps you'll want to use. The nice thing about these boards is you can get on his website, http://www.gimpod.com/, and the graphics will show you exactly which components go where as you move your mouse over the board. Just select the speaker you're working on. Also has a parts list.

If you're not comfortable with a soldering iron several folks on the forum can do the crossovers for fee (westmassguy, VR3).

headrott

F1nut wrote: »

I believe you are hearing how bad some recordings actually are for the first time. What speakers did you use before?

Absolutely agree with this.

jdebbold

I also have a set of the 1.2tl. And like alot of you my room is also too small. Actually its way to small. They are about 8 to 10 inches from the side wall and only about five feet apart. Im running either one or sometimes two carver tfm 55 amps to them. I think its the size of my room that makes them not have a lot of bass. I feel they need alot more room to breath.

drumminman

jdebbold wrote: »

I think its the size of my room that makes them not have a lot of bass. I feel they need alot more room to breath.

I think you're right.

westmassguy

jdebbold wrote: »

I also have a set of the 1.2tl. And like alot of you my room is also too small. Actually its way to small. They are about 8 to 10 inches from the side wall and only about five feet apart. Im running either one or sometimes two carver tfm 55 amps to them. I think its the size of my room that makes them not have a lot of bass. I feel they need alot more room to breath.

They need a lot more room, and you probably have standing waves canceling each other out