Looking to buy pair of CRS or CRS+

Rational

Hi there,
Looking to buy a pair of CRS or CRS+ series speakers. Or the empty cabinets and all assorted parts to reassemble a pair. Starting my Polk collection with CRS next!

Just got a pair of 10As and ready for more. Please let me know what you have.
Sooner is better as I have a line on a pair already but am seeking input and other offers.

Thanks everyone.
R

drumminman

If you don't find any here you may have to resort to ebay or Craigslist (where I found mine).

vmaxer

drumminman wrote: »

If you don't find any here you may have to resort to ebay or Craigslist (where I found mine).

Yep, I got a nice set of CRS+ from an original owner from Ebay.

Rational

Thanks guys.

The lead I had on the CRS just fell through. He didn't want to ship "overseas". FPO/APO military addresses are really the same as a California address, yet some people balk at that. So sad. Ah well... wasn't meant to be. I'll continue looking.

Never tried Craigslist. Seems rather cryptic and risky compared to ebay. I guess I'll try and learn it. Thanks guys.

Dennis Gardner

FPO/APO addresses may cost the same to ship to CA., but the time frame of 4-6 weeks has caused issues with unhappy customers in my experience. Few want to wait that long and most don't want to pay the price for Priority USPS that would get there in 7-10 days.

Rational

Thanks Dennis. Spot on.

Priority mail is only 7-10 days on average. I've received stuff in as little as 4 days. But you're right, if you go surface it can take 45 days. Many don't realize you need to ship Priority and both seller and buyer end up suffering.

I've been ordering to here now since '89 and can remember vividly my first order placed with CDW back then for computer parts and was in shock when I learned it was going to take 45 days... lol. That was FOREVER for a young guy. I was distraught to say the least. I've ordered via Priority since with great success. Not that much more expensive really.

Just learned last week that the USPS.com website has a new "Priority Mail Military - Online" option that offers a substantial discount. I just received my two Polk Monitor 10As this week for $25 each shipped with the military online option. Love it. Those suckers are 40lbs each and were huge boxes. So it's a great deal they're offering those of us here supporting the troops.

Sadly though I can't ship SRS sized units... Max size is 70lbs and 108 inches total. So I'm trying to figure out what the largest sized Polks I CAN order, haha! Think I might be able to squeeze a pair of SDA 2s into the postal system one day if I can get the seller to remove the drivers and ship them separately. lol. They're right at 70lbs and 108 inches boxed.

---

BTW, anyone know anyone that has a pair of empty CRS/CRS+ cabinets? I could start there and rebuild.

nspindel

My advice would be to hold out only for CRS+. Stick with the single-tweeter form factor, and work from there.

Rational

Thanks nspindel. I'll take that advice. I've been reading your posts and am impressed with your knowledge and contributions to the community. Really enjoyed your CRS rebuild thread. Beautiful work.

So what are the thoughts on the dual tweeters? Overdone high end? Phase not so hot? Sound like people have found the single tweet a lot better from your recommendation.
And would that advice also apply to the older SDA-2 model with two tweets? Curious to learn.

teekay0007

Rational wrote: »

Thanks nspindel....Really enjoyed your CRS rebuild thread. Beautiful work.

One of the classic reads of the Forum! Oftentimes, I've pulled up that thread to read as I drift off into blissful slumber and happy dreams...

drumminman

It depends on the implementation of multiple tweeters. When they're part of the SDA circuit weird phase issues arise (so I've read - haven't heard them). The multiple tweeters in my 2.3TL's are a point source, which, along with the Xover design, MW selection, number and placement of drivers, creates stunning imaging and clarity.

The best CRS+ are supposed to be the last generation, produced in 1989.

Rational

Awesome. Thank you drumminman. More knowledge for my understanding. Appreciate it.

F1nut

When they're part of the SDA circuit weird phase issues arise (so I've read - haven't heard them).

I've heard them, it gets weird.

nspindel

Rational wrote: »

Thanks nspindel. I'll take that advice. I've been reading your posts and am impressed with your knowledge and contributions to the community. Really enjoyed your CRS rebuild thread. Beautiful work.

So what are the thoughts on the dual tweeters? Overdone high end? Phase not so hot? Sound like people have found the single tweet a lot better from your recommendation.
And would that advice also apply to the older SDA-2 model with two tweets? Curious to learn.

Sorry, I didn't see the notification that this thread had some updates! New forum blues....

As drumminman said, not all multi-tweeter SDA's are created equally. The 1C's, for example, have two tweeters, but neither are part of the SDA circuit, they are both stereo tweeters. The bigger SDA's have four tweeters, none of which are part of the SDA circuit.

But in some of the earliest generations of SDA, Polk was using both dimensional drivers and dimensional tweeters. It was later decided to abandon the dimensional tweeter and use the SDA technology only in the drivers. The dimensional tweeter was introducing unwanted artifacts and was doing little to improve imaging.

The CRS was one such model, and the move from CRS to CRS+ included the move to the single tweeter. So it's often recommended here that people simply disable the dimensional tweeters.

Also, if you look at the schematics for the CRS vs. the CRS+, you will notice that the older crossover design included some very large caps, which would cost a lot of money to replace with high quality film caps when you get round to redoing the crossovers. That's money much better spent elsewhere in your rebuild.

nspindel

teekay0007 wrote: »

Rational wrote: »

Thanks nspindel....Really enjoyed your CRS rebuild thread. Beautiful work.

One of the classic reads of the Forum! Oftentimes, I've pulled up that thread to read as I drift off into blissful slumber and happy dreams...

Haha. The thought of you thinking about me as you're drifting to sleep is actually a bit scary bro!

nspindel

drumminman wrote: »

The best CRS+ are supposed to be the last generation, produced in 1989.

If you're looking to just go with the stock speaker, that's true. The 1989 version was the third generation. There were only minor tweaks from the second generation, though, and nothing that wouldn't already be included with the upgrades you're going to do anyway, other than maybe one of the MW's is a different model. Can't recall, and don't remember how to find the schematics in the new forum. The 4th generation was never actually commercially available, that's the 4.1TL. But the schematic was published by Polk, so when we do the TL mod the CRS+ we do affectionately call them 4.1TL's around here.

The one to be avoided is the first generation with the dual tweeter.

DollarDave

I have almost all of the schematics from the old forum downloaded and can share via PM or e-mail.

Rational

Sweet. I would love to get all the schematics on file locally for future reference. Mind reposting links for everyone?

Seems that they really killed a ton of old links on the old forum layout. For several weeks before joining, I actually thought Polk dropped support for vintage polks completely. Thought they got bought out by a cheap volume producer profiteer and dumped us all. Not a good image booster to have done that. They need to address this seriously.

Can't they just run both the old and new themes in parallel and give us the option?

Anyway, kind of off topic there. But yes, please.

And more great info guys. Thanks! I'm catching up quickly. Still need to understand how tweets can be taken 'out' of the SDA circuit vs 'in'. But since it's my goal to start tackling how to rebuild crossovers and hopefully learn about electronics over the next few years, perhaps those schematics are just what I need.

More fun times ahead.

And I've got a nice surprise contribution to add to the community knowledge base here soon. Trying to contribute already if I can.

Peace out for now.
R

westmassguy

A little clarification on the CRS. There were four official models produced. The 1984 CRS is 2nd generation, has two horizontally mounted tweeters, a blade/blade interconnect, can only be used with a common ground amplifier, and lacks the sub-bass drive circuit. Due to the dimensional tweeter, and less than stellar bass, this is the least desirable model.
The 1986 CRS+ is 3rd generation, single tweeter, blade/blade interconnect, can only be used with common ground amplifiers, but does have the sub-bass drive circuit for improved bass. As noted, the lo-pass section contains very large value capacitors, which are expensive to upgrade. It can however, be fully updated, including the "TL" mod (non-sanctioned), and will hold it's own against later models.
The 1987 and 1989 CRS+ are 4th generation, single tweeter, pin/blade interconnects, can be used with common ground or non-common ground amplifiers with the AI-1 or Dreadnaught, have the sub-bass drive circuit, and can be "TL'd" AKA 4.1. The only difference between the two, is the stereo driver. The '87 used MW6503s, the '89 used MW6510s, otherwise they are identical.

nspindel

What's the first generation then? I don't recall seeing a schematic for anything older than the 1984 model.

westmassguy

Neil, there was no 1st generation CRSs