New here, and finally scored the speakers of my teen dreams...
daddyjt
Posts: 2,507
I got a killer deal (or so I thought) on the speakers of my dreams, when I was in my late teens. $500 for the SDA SRS pair (W/ interconnect cable), a NAD tuner, pre, and amp, and a 12' pair of Kimber 8 VS.
Come to find out now, these speakers need heavy modding to provide optimum sound. I got a few links from Carversite folks, but the link I got for new tweeters is showing as not valid..? Are these still available, and how much do they run? What other mods do you guys (gals) reccomend?
Thanks,
Mark
Come to find out now, these speakers need heavy modding to provide optimum sound. I got a few links from Carversite folks, but the link I got for new tweeters is showing as not valid..? Are these still available, and how much do they run? What other mods do you guys (gals) reccomend?
Thanks,
Mark
"Conservative Libertarians love the country, progressive leftists love the government." - Andrew Wilkow
“Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free.”
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
“Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free.”
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Comments
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Welcome to the forum- just call Polk customer service,1-800-377-7655, and order the RDO194's. Mention your a member of the forum and get a discount. Hold on to your wallet- I bought a pair of SRS's a little over a year ago and now have spent way more in mods than I paid for the speakers.Speakers: Polk SDA-SRS xovers rebuilt by David, RDO194's, Dynamat, BH5, glued magnets, new cloth, custom aluminum terminal plates with Cardas posts and Speakon interconnect
Speaker Cables, Jumpers & Interconnect: DIY Douglas Connection
Power Amp: Sunfire Architect's Choice Series II
Preamp: Adcom GFP-750
SACD/CD: Oppo BDP-95
Tuner: Sansui TU-717
TT: Technics SL-MA1
Phono Pre: Emotiva XPS-1
Music Server: Mac Mini w/JRiver - iPad w/JRemote
DAC: Eastern Electric MiniMax Plus
Other Polks: SDA: 1A, 1C, 2B, CRS+ / Monitor: 10A, 5jr, 4 / RT5 -
oh that's a killer deal - they will sound great as is - you should listen a bit - but plan for upgrades, because that's when they go to another level! Congrats on the steal!VA HT HK AVR20II, Sony S9000ES CD/DVD/SACD, Polk Audio RC80i / Polk Audio CSi3, 60" Panasonic Plasma, Nordost / Signal Cable A2 / Wireworld / Pangea / Magic Power
VA 2 Channel Focal Electra 926 speakers, Pass Labs X150.5 Amp, Eastern Electric MiniMax Preamp (Tutay mods), Eastern Electric Minimax CDP (Scott Nixon mods), Music Hall mmf 5.1 Turntable, Parks Audio Budgie Phono Pre , Audioengine B1 streamer, MIT S3 IC's / MIT Shotgun S3 Speaker Cables / PS Audio power cables
Noggin Schiit Valhalla, Pangea, Phillips Fidelio X1, Polk UF8000
Polk SDA1c modded
Polk CRS+ 4.1TL modded (need veneer)
Polk SDA2BTL (fully modded)
A/L 1000VA Dreadnought Canare 4s11 SDA cable
SACD Marantz DV8300
Sony S9000ES CD/DVD/SACD
Yamaha YP-D6
Soundcraftsmen PCR800
Audible Illusions L1 Preamp
Vincent MFA based Cocci Tube Preamp
Pho-700 Phono Pre
Signal Cable Silver Resolution IC's -
I believe you can TL those. Do a search and you should be able to get information."Science is suppose to explain observations not dismiss them as impossible" - Norm on AA; 2.3TL's w/sonicaps/mills/jantzen inductors, Gimpod's boards, Lg Solen SDA inductors, RD-0198's, MW's dynamatted, Armaflex speaker gaskets, H-nuts, brass spikes, Cardas CCGR BP's, upgraded IC Cable, Black Hole Damping Sheet strips, interior of cabinets sealed with Loctite Power Grab, AI-1 interface with 1000VA A-L transformer
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Not if they're 2nd/3rd generation SRS. The 1.2s can be TL'd but require several mods to the crossovers.What was the NAD Gear?
Home Theater/2 Channel:
Front: SDA-2ATL forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/143984/my-2as-finally-finished-almost/p1
Center: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/150760/my-center-channel-project/p1
Surrounds & Rears: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/151647/my-surround-project/p1
Sonicaps, Mills, RDO-194s-198s, Dynamat, Hurricane Nuts, Blackhole5
Pioneer Elite VSX-72TXV, Carver PM-600, SVS PB2-Plus Subwoofer
dhsspeakerservice.com/ -
Nice score at a great deal. If you looks at the sticky topics at the top of this section there is a all mods in one place topic which will link to a source with a wealth of information on a lot of SDA. I second the vote to enjoy them for a bit before tweaking. There may even be a member near you with a modded pair you could compair to.
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Sorry, wrong quote. Was meant for drumminmanHome Theater/2 Channel:
Front: SDA-2ATL forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/143984/my-2as-finally-finished-almost/p1
Center: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/150760/my-center-channel-project/p1
Surrounds & Rears: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/151647/my-surround-project/p1
Sonicaps, Mills, RDO-194s-198s, Dynamat, Hurricane Nuts, Blackhole5
Pioneer Elite VSX-72TXV, Carver PM-600, SVS PB2-Plus Subwoofer
dhsspeakerservice.com/ -
You look vaguely familiar....
Mark is it
... Welcome to the site, I'm sure the SDA experts will be along shortly to answer any question you've got.....
Firstly, I will be honest here.... NAD is good stuff, but there are better amps out there....
I know guys using the Carver M1.0t MKII opt002 to drive em, but I think a lot of guys prefer to use the Sunfire amps for em.
They do like lots of power to really shine like they should. And some folks will suggest that you may need something other than Carver or Sunfire.....
I've heard a set of 2.3TL's on a set of Silver 9t's and they sounded quite good, so there is always that
Additionally if you plan to hold onto them for a bit, it would be wise to start scouring the web for additional passive drivers. Not because they are prone to fail, simply because the mid and tweeters are still a driver you normally source direct from Polk (dont know the exact driver models Polk makes but yours is probably one of them), but they do not make replacement passives......
P.S., if you haven't figured out who I am, you may know me by another name...."....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963) -
Welcome to the forum. Beautiful speakers & with that kind of deal it sure makes it easy to do more to them. Enjoy your new speakers..
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Congrats! Is the interconnect cable blade/blade or pin/blade?SDA SRS 2.3TL's
Silk Audio MS-90-BT integrated tube amp
Yaqin MS-20L integrated tube amp
SDA 2B TL's -
Chains? I have more than one?Home Theater/2 Channel:
Front: SDA-2ATL forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/143984/my-2as-finally-finished-almost/p1
Center: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/150760/my-center-channel-project/p1
Surrounds & Rears: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/151647/my-surround-project/p1
Sonicaps, Mills, RDO-194s-198s, Dynamat, Hurricane Nuts, Blackhole5
Pioneer Elite VSX-72TXV, Carver PM-600, SVS PB2-Plus Subwoofer
dhsspeakerservice.com/ -
Congratulations on making a "killer" deal!
Welcome to the Forum. You'll soon learn about the rabbit hole, and then we'll see how well you can hold onto the $s in your wallet!
I, for one, will tell you that there are many mods you can make on those SRS -- some will dramatically improve the sound, and others will extend their life.
Enjoy them. They are great speakers.Family Room, Innuos Statement streamer (Roon Core) with Morrow Audio USB cable to McIntosh MC 2700 pre with DC2 Digital Audio Module; AQ Sky XLRs to CAT 600.2 dualmono amp, Morrow Elite Speaker Cables to NOLA Baby Grand Reference Gold 3 speakers. Power source for all components: Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One with dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel.
Exercise Room, Innuos Streamer via Cat 6 cable connection to PS Audio PerfectWave MkII DAC w/Bridge II, AQ King Cobra RCAs to Perreaux PMF3150 amp (fully restored and upgraded by Jeffrey Jackson, Precision Audio Labs), Supra Rondo 4x2.5 Speaker Cables to SDA 1Cs (Vr3 Mods Xovers and other mods.), Dreadnaught with Supra Rondo 4x2.5 interconnect cables by Vr3 Mods. Power for each component from dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel, except Innuos Statement powered from Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One. -
^^^ yup, what Moose68Bash said! The rabbit hole is waiting!!!
Welcome to the forum, and most importantly, what a killer deal on such beautiful speakers! I myself am looking for a set of the SDA SRS! Enjoy them for now and also check VR3 for mods to the crossovers.
Frank.SRT Seismic System with dual PSW1200's
RT5000 x 2
RT2000p
CS400i
CS350-LS
LS F/X
PSW650
PSW1000 w/Dayton SPA1000
DSW MicroPro 4000
Adcom amps
Pioneer Elite SC-89
Pioneer PLX-1000 Turntable
PS4
XBOX One
MIT Interconnects
BJC -
drumminman wrote: »I believe you can TL those. Do a search and you should be able to get information.
I have no intention of using the NAD gear, but here it is:
"Conservative Libertarians love the country, progressive leftists love the government." - Andrew Wilkow
“Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free.”
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn -
oops - Wrong quote!"Conservative Libertarians love the country, progressive leftists love the government." - Andrew Wilkow
“Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free.”
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn -
EndersShadow wrote: »You look vaguely familiar....
Mark is it... Welcome to the site, I'm sure the SDA experts will be along shortly to answer any question you've got.....
Firstly, I will be honest here.... NAD is good stuff, but there are better amps out there....
I know guys using the Carver M1.0t MKII opt002 to drive em, but I think a lot of guys prefer to use the Sunfire amps for em.
They do like lots of power to really shine like they should. And some folks will suggest that you may need something other than Carver or Sunfire.....
I've heard a set of 2.3TL's on a set of Silver 9t's and they sounded quite good, so there is always that
Additionally if you plan to hold onto them for a bit, it would be wise to start scouring the web for additional passive drivers. Not because they are prone to fail, simply because the mid and tweeters are still a driver you normally source direct from Polk (dont know the exact driver models Polk makes but yours is probably one of them), but they do not make replacement passives......
P.S., if you haven't figured out who I am, you may know me by another name....
Yes, you remind me of someone...:-)
As you well know, I have Carver power for DAYS... might pull a Gene, and bi-amp with two pair of 9t's...:-)
"Conservative Libertarians love the country, progressive leftists love the government." - Andrew Wilkow
“Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free.”
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn -
michaeljhsda2 wrote: »Congrats! Is the interconnect cable blade/blade or pin/blade?
One larger blade, one smaller blade....
"Conservative Libertarians love the country, progressive leftists love the government." - Andrew Wilkow
“Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free.”
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn -
Those are SDA SRS's. You cannot TL them and you cannot use non-common ground amps or mono blocks.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
EndersShadow wrote: »You look vaguely familiar....
Mark is it... Welcome to the site, I'm sure the SDA experts will be along shortly to answer any question you've got.....
P.S., if you haven't figured out who I am, you may know me by another name....
Yes, you remind me of someone...:-)
As you well know, I have Carver power for DAYS... might pull a Gene, and bi-amp with two pair of 9t's...:-)
FYI, based on your picture you have 8PR Kimber Kable (gray/brown) not 8VS (gray/black)....... Unless the color is off.....
Also flip the NAD gear to pay for the RDO's. Then sell the SL2000's or SL3000's (dont remember which are in that model) and you can come out with some cash....
Look up Larrys Rings from @Toolfan66 to buy his rings for your tweeters and drivers. He is out of custom cases for the dreadnaught but someone here might sell you one and they come up for sale occasionally, but keep your eyes out for one. They are something you need to buy while they are around. Same with the better crossover boards (purchased from @VR3 ). The rest of the stuff can be purchased as you have funds (Blackhole, cardas binding posts, neutrick SDA cable replacements, dreadnaught.
So my advice is as quickly as you can buy the following:
1. Larrys rings for all your drivers
2. Dreadnaught using a 1000va transformer
3. Gimpods boards
Then the other upgrades to do are
1. Dynamat the drivers
2. Rebuild the crossovers
3. New binding posts & SDA connector
4. Buy new RDO tweeters
They may take a bit to get to sound their best and if you really want to hear them as they can sound your going to have to put some money and time into them. You decide how much you want to invest...
I'm going to PM you my number so we can chat if you want."....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963) -
daddyjt- if your interested in a crossover rebuild, check with westmassguy- he did my SRS's. If I recall correctly there are no gimpod boards for SRS's and no dreadnaught.Speakers: Polk SDA-SRS xovers rebuilt by David, RDO194's, Dynamat, BH5, glued magnets, new cloth, custom aluminum terminal plates with Cardas posts and Speakon interconnect
Speaker Cables, Jumpers & Interconnect: DIY Douglas Connection
Power Amp: Sunfire Architect's Choice Series II
Preamp: Adcom GFP-750
SACD/CD: Oppo BDP-95
Tuner: Sansui TU-717
TT: Technics SL-MA1
Phono Pre: Emotiva XPS-1
Music Server: Mac Mini w/JRiver - iPad w/JRemote
DAC: Eastern Electric MiniMax Plus
Other Polks: SDA: 1A, 1C, 2B, CRS+ / Monitor: 10A, 5jr, 4 / RT5 -
Those are SDA SRS's. You cannot TL them and you cannot use non-common ground amps or mono blocks.
Jesse,
I don't understand why the SRSs cannot be mod'd to "TL" level.
If you replace the stock MW6503 SDA drivers with MW6511s and the SL2000 tweeters with RD0198-1s, fully mod the crossovers to TL specs, replace the SDA interconnect connectors with Neutrik Speak-on connectors, replace the SDA inductors with ones that are TL spec, aren't you left only with differences in the cabinet bracing?
Is the cabinet bracing critical? If so, can't it be modified appropriately?
I know I'm no expert on this issue (or any other, for that matter), but it seems that these days virtually every essential component of the SRSs is being upgraded or replaced (the drivers being the usual exception).
So, why not upgrade the original SRSs to TL?
Again, just asking out of curiosity and ignorance!
Family Room, Innuos Statement streamer (Roon Core) with Morrow Audio USB cable to McIntosh MC 2700 pre with DC2 Digital Audio Module; AQ Sky XLRs to CAT 600.2 dualmono amp, Morrow Elite Speaker Cables to NOLA Baby Grand Reference Gold 3 speakers. Power source for all components: Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One with dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel.
Exercise Room, Innuos Streamer via Cat 6 cable connection to PS Audio PerfectWave MkII DAC w/Bridge II, AQ King Cobra RCAs to Perreaux PMF3150 amp (fully restored and upgraded by Jeffrey Jackson, Precision Audio Labs), Supra Rondo 4x2.5 Speaker Cables to SDA 1Cs (Vr3 Mods Xovers and other mods.), Dreadnaught with Supra Rondo 4x2.5 interconnect cables by Vr3 Mods. Power for each component from dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel, except Innuos Statement powered from Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One. -
You're right Phil, instead of cannot I should have said don't bother.
Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
2. Dreadnaught using a 1000va transformer
3. Gimpods boards
Nope and nope.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
You're right Phil, instead of cannot I should have said don't bother.
Thanks for clarifying. It sounds like you are advising that the prudent choice, if somebody wants want SRS TLs, would be to wait till a pair comes up for sale that are either already TLs or that can be more easily modified.Family Room, Innuos Statement streamer (Roon Core) with Morrow Audio USB cable to McIntosh MC 2700 pre with DC2 Digital Audio Module; AQ Sky XLRs to CAT 600.2 dualmono amp, Morrow Elite Speaker Cables to NOLA Baby Grand Reference Gold 3 speakers. Power source for all components: Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One with dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel.
Exercise Room, Innuos Streamer via Cat 6 cable connection to PS Audio PerfectWave MkII DAC w/Bridge II, AQ King Cobra RCAs to Perreaux PMF3150 amp (fully restored and upgraded by Jeffrey Jackson, Precision Audio Labs), Supra Rondo 4x2.5 Speaker Cables to SDA 1Cs (Vr3 Mods Xovers and other mods.), Dreadnaught with Supra Rondo 4x2.5 interconnect cables by Vr3 Mods. Power for each component from dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel, except Innuos Statement powered from Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One. -
It's just that you'd have to replace so much....crossovers, drivers, complete rewire, etc. Just seems silly to me and you'd still have the SRS cabinets, which are constructed differently than the 1.2 and 1.2TL. That said, I've done some silly mods, so......Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Pardon my ignorance, but what is a "dreadnaught"?"Conservative Libertarians love the country, progressive leftists love the government." - Andrew Wilkow
“Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free.”
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn -
Yes Dan, you are correct - the Kimber is the PR. I have 8TC running my Kappa 9s, and for some reason I only thought there was one Kimber below the TC... Now I remember there are two."Conservative Libertarians love the country, progressive leftists love the government." - Andrew Wilkow
“Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free.”
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn -
I hooked the whoe system up in my garage (Just the NAD gear and the SDAs sans the interconnect cable) for a quick audition - I know, awesome acoustics in the garage!
Anyway, the amout of bass was a real surprise - even with the modest output of the NAD. Very tight and punchy, even though the NAD ran out of gas pretty quick. The highs seemed a bit harsh, but I will atribute that to "garage acoustics" for now."Conservative Libertarians love the country, progressive leftists love the government." - Andrew Wilkow
“Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free.”
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn -
Pardon my ignorance, but what is a "dreadnaught"?
Mark
Link here to a bunch of reading, but basically its a isolation transformer that allows you to use a non common ground amp with the SDA's. However people have found that using one even WITH common ground amplifiers results in a better sound
Additional reading
"....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963) -
EndersShadow wrote: »Pardon my ignorance, but what is a "dreadnaught"?
Mark
Link here to a bunch of reading, but basically its a isolation transformer that allows you to use a non common ground amp with the SDA's. However people have found that using one even WITH common ground amplifiers results in a better sound
Additional reading
If he has the original SRSs, which I believe he does, he can't use the dreadnaught.Home Theater/2 Channel:
Front: SDA-2ATL forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/143984/my-2as-finally-finished-almost/p1
Center: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/150760/my-center-channel-project/p1
Surrounds & Rears: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/151647/my-surround-project/p1
Sonicaps, Mills, RDO-194s-198s, Dynamat, Hurricane Nuts, Blackhole5
Pioneer Elite VSX-72TXV, Carver PM-600, SVS PB2-Plus Subwoofer
dhsspeakerservice.com/
