Please Help, my SDA 1s are driving me crazy!!!
Commander7716
Posts: 10
I have a pair of SDA 1s that are hooked to a Parasound 2125 amp and I listen to music thru a PC with a Asus Xonar STX soundcard. The problem is that I am getting an intermittent wow factor from my speakers. What I mean is that occasionally the SDA will work & it is like WOW, I can hear all the detail and the soundstage is wide. Other times it seems the SDA is working, as far as all the tests from the SDA handbook, but there is no wow & the soundstage is small. This happens on same songs, so there is no issue with recordings. This has been going on for about a year and when it is not working, I generally tear everything apart and check for bad wiring, componetnts etc. I am no novice when it comes to electronics, but intermittent issues will drive you crazy. Has anyone out there experienced this? Could there be a weak cap that causes this? I upgraded with Clarity caps awhile back. Thanks!
Comments
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Could the SDA interconnect have an issue?afterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
No, I checked polarity & continuity, both good. Like I said, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Even when it is not working, continuity is good. Just to be sure, polarity from left to right thru the interconnect is + to + & - to -, right?
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I would have immediately said it's in the recording based on your description, but I see it happens on the same songs even, so that's moot... intermittent is the most maddening for certain.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 -
It's likely the blade/blade sockets. The clamping action weakens over time, so you get intermittent contact. Best to replace them and the cable terminations with Neutrik SpeakOn sockets/connectors.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 -
Already replaced those when I did the cap upgrade. What it sounds like to me is a drop in the frequency response. When it is not working there is a loss of low & high frequency, the bass is not kicking and cymbals seem more distant & less crisp. The PC & sound card are new so that only leaves the amp & speakers. I have another parasound hca 1000 that I have tried & I get the same thing so I assume the issue is the speakers or maybe my hearing is going out.
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I bet you have a cold or cracked solder joint. I'd pull the Xovers and check the connection to the SDA circuit as well as the board itself. It may be more than one thing if the tweeter output is affected as that's not part of the SDA circuit.
Intermittant electrical issues will definitely drive you crazy."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 -
Sound card switching back to mono intermittently?POLK SDA 2.3 TLS BOUGHT NEW IN 1990, Gimpod/Sonic Caps/Mills RDO-198
POLK CSI-A6 POLK MONITOR 70'S ONKYO TX NR-808 SONY CDP-333ES
PIONEER PL-510A SONY BDP S5100
POLK SDA 1C BOUGHT USED 2011,Gimpod/Sonic Caps/Mills RDO-194
ONKYO HT RC-360 SONY BDP S590 TECHNICS SL BD-1 -
Clarify which sda1 please sda1, sda1a or SDA 1b sda1c or even sda1 signature which is really sda1a..
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Hey PolkieMan you are da man! I reinstalled the sound card drivers and bam, the wow factor is back! Whoda thunk that this would be the cause of my nightmare? I have powered off & back on several times & it is staying put. Thanks for yours & all the polk folks for the help. My wife doesn't understand that once you've heard the SDA effect, there's no going back. She suggested getting other speakers...silly woman!
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I know it happened to me in 1990 costs me almost $3000 and back trouble :-). Soundcards do some weird things headphones work then they don't strange driversCommander7716 wrote: »Hey PolkieMan you are da man! I reinstalled the sound card drivers and bam, the wow factor is back! Whoda thunk that this would be the cause of my nightmare? I have powered off & back on several times & it is staying put. Thanks for yours & all the polk folks for the help. My wife doesn't understand that once you've heard the SDA effect, there's no going back. She suggested getting other speakers...silly woman!
POLK SDA 2.3 TLS BOUGHT NEW IN 1990, Gimpod/Sonic Caps/Mills RDO-198
POLK CSI-A6 POLK MONITOR 70'S ONKYO TX NR-808 SONY CDP-333ES
PIONEER PL-510A SONY BDP S5100
POLK SDA 1C BOUGHT USED 2011,Gimpod/Sonic Caps/Mills RDO-194
ONKYO HT RC-360 SONY BDP S590 TECHNICS SL BD-1 -
Congrats! Glad you got everything working again."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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I hate electrical problems. Especially speaker amps. Glad ones bad experiences turned out to be able another NOT to have to go down the whole length of that bad road. Props to PolkieMan !!!Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them.
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Commander7716 wrote: »Hey PolkieMan you are da man!!
Woo-Hoo, way to go PolkieMan!
Well done, Pal. Intermittent electrical issues can be such a PITA.
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now if I could 2nd guess the stock market
teekay0007 wrote: »Commander7716 wrote: »Hey PolkieMan you are da man!!
Woo-Hoo, way to go PolkieMan! Well done, Pal. Intermittent electrical issues can be such a PITA.
POLK SDA 2.3 TLS BOUGHT NEW IN 1990, Gimpod/Sonic Caps/Mills RDO-198
POLK CSI-A6 POLK MONITOR 70'S ONKYO TX NR-808 SONY CDP-333ES
PIONEER PL-510A SONY BDP S5100
POLK SDA 1C BOUGHT USED 2011,Gimpod/Sonic Caps/Mills RDO-194
ONKYO HT RC-360 SONY BDP S590 TECHNICS SL BD-1
