New to Forum. Just Acquired SDA2B Speakers

slbenz

Hi Everyone,

Brand new to this forum. Just picked up a pair of Polk Audio SDA2B speakers in real wood. Also came with the interconnect cable so that I can experience the "SDA" sound. Definitely a different approach to the Carver Sonic Hologram Generator that I used to own. Haven't fully calibrated the speakers as of yet. But the short time that I played them, they do present a very large sound stage with a very realistic life-like sound. Was curious how they would fair against the Magnepans and Mirage speakers that I currently use is the reason why I picked them up from a local Craigslist ad. Once I calibrate them with my processor this weekend, then I will determine if they are keepers and if they need the use of my subs. If there is anything I should know about these speakers to maximize their sound, short of replacing components, please let me know.

MrBuhl

Welcome to the forum and congrats - 2b's are highly regarded here. To sub or not to sub depends on preference I think, I've never found I needed one with my 2bs. I used to run the sonic hologram generator as well - I like this sound better, but not everyone does.

Your ears and your system will be the best judge of how they fare vs. the Maggies or Mirage, but wall placement is key - they need to be off the walls and away from corners, NO toe-in whatsoever for best sound. Mine are about 7" off the back wall and have about 4' on each side from the side wall. If you like'em enough, there's a lot you can do to like them even more - known here as "the rabbit hole".

This link to the manual should help you set them up, it makes a HUGE difference to have them properlly placed. http://www.polksda.com/pdfs/SDA1C.pdf

Congrats and enjoy!

dkfreebird

Those were my start into the Sda's and they did not disappoint.Placement is key and there are a lot of upgrades that you can do that don't cost a lot before the crossovers and tweeters.The first thing I have done on mine is the loctite power grab on the magnet of the midwoofers to prevent magnet shift.Then dynamat the baskets and make sure the cabinets are sealed tight.Welcome and enjoy the ride.Ps I still have them in storage for future use.

RandyCroissant

I am working on my second and final upgrades hopefully.. to my 2bTLs. I have owned them since new in 88. Every now and then we make a decision on something no matter what it is that we know was really good SDA's are one of my best investments so to that statement I am reinvesting in them enjoy..

F1nut

They need to be spiked.

The SL2000 tweeter leaves a lot ot be desired. At a bare minimum replace with the RD0194-1. Even better use the RD0198-1, but that requires a crossover mod.

Once I calibrate them with my processor this weekend

Are these for music or HT?

gudnoyez

Welcome to the club enjoy your 2bs, I own a pair of the studio 2B's and enjoy them. A lot of SDA owners here.

RandyCroissant

F1 you mentioned spikes in this and other posts that good aye...

MrBuhl

^^ yes, that good ^^

motorhead43026

Big fan here of anything SDA. Own 2B'S myself, and starting the crossover and TL upgrades this weekend.

F1nut

RandyCroissant wrote: »

F1 you mentioned spikes in this and other posts that good aye...

Indeed sir, indeed.

slbenz

F1nut wrote: »

They need to be spiked.

The SL2000 tweeter leaves a lot ot be desired. At a bare minimum replace with the RD0194-1. Even better use the RD0198-1, but that requires a crossover mod.

Once I calibrate them with my processor this weekend

Are these for music or HT?

I will be using these for both but mainly for music.

Rex81

I got my 2Bs a couple weeks ago. Added spikes and replaced the SL2000 tweeters with the RDO-194s. Just call Polk, ask for them and tell them you're a member here. They'll ship you a pair for $100. Nice upgrade, and they drop right in. I love these speakers. I just fell into a pair of SDA SRS and although they're impressive, for my small listening room, I prefer my 2Bs. They're a lot of fun once they're set up properly. And you'll know when they're set up properly. Listen to Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil. If the bongo sound is coming 4'+ outside of the right speaker, you have them set up. If not, you don't. Keep working until you do.

slbenz

Rex81 wrote: »

I got my 2Bs a couple weeks ago. Added spikes and replaced the SL2000 tweeters with the RDO-194s. Just call Polk, ask for them and tell them you're a member here. They'll ship you a pair for $100. Nice upgrade, and they drop right in. I love these speakers. I just fell into a pair of SDA SRS and although they're impressive, for my small listening room, I prefer my 2Bs. They're a lot of fun once they're set up properly. And you'll know when they're set up properly. Listen to Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil. If the bongo sound is coming 4'+ outside of the right speaker, you have them set up. If not, you don't. Keep working until you do.

Just curious what positive differences did you experience when you replaced the stock tweeters with the updated one?

F1nut

Mo' better sound.

Stew

Indeed. 194's and 198's are both much smoother than originals. 198's (with very simple crossover mod) are a step up in clarity and transparency.

slbenz

I now see two of you mention 198 tweeters in conjunction with a crossover mod. I probably need to look into what entails with the crossover mod vs. just replacing the stock tweeters with the 194. So far, the SDA 2Bs after my calibration, according to my wife, sounds every bit as good as my Magnepan IIIas for the mids/highs which says a lot for the SDA's stock components.

My early impressions of the SDA 2Bs vs. my Magnepans and Mirage speakers are:

• Better overall dynamics, especially in the mid to low bass region. Because of this, the overall sound seems more balanced when compared to my other speakers without using my Velodyne subs.
• In two channel, there doesn't seem to be a need for the use of my subs. The 2Bs can go down low by themselves and provide that life-like bass slam that my Magnepans in particular need with my subs.
• Image height seems compressed vs. my other speakers.
• Sound stage is just as wide and deep as my other speakers.
• The SDA effect is definitely more defined and seems more forgiving than my Carver C-9 or Carver C-1's Sonic Hologram Generator that I remember.
• The 2Bs can certainly play much louder and without strain vs. my other speakers.
• The mids are very similar to my Magnepans with an airy sound similar to both my Magnepans and Mirages.
• My wife likes the 2Bs better than my Magnepan IIIas. So she is asking me to sell them. The Magnepans are now listed on Audio Asylum and Craigslist if anyone is interested. I should probably also post my ad onto this forum as well.
• I would suspect replacing the stock tweeter with one of the others suggested will help improve the highs to sound more life-like. That is something that my other speakers can do a bit better and would like to improve upon.

Hope this information that I am sharing is similar in experience with others. If not, then this is new information on how the SDA 2Bs are comparing them to my Magnepans and Mirage speakers. Two very dissimilar speaker designs that provide a very open, deep and wide sound stage.

F1nut

Please do not try to sell anything here or mention elsewhere until you have 100 posts.

drumminman

I know you don't really want to do mods right now, but you should know that replacing the worn out caps with high quality film caps, and the resistors with better ones, will take your 2B's to a level that will surprise you. IOW, if you like them now, you'll be amazed post Xover rebuild.

Oh . . . and welcome to CP! I thought your name looked familiar - I frequent AA quite a bit.

teekay0007

drumminman wrote: »

I thought your name looked familiar - I frequent AA quite a bit.

Sssssshhhhhhhhhh....no names plese, AA is supposed to be synonymous!

Moose68Bash

@slbenz,

Welcome to Club Polk and congratulations on picking up a fine pair of SDAs!

You remind me of me about three years ago.

I own two pairs of SDAs that I have modified or had modified to about the limits of what the guys on the Forum have found to be possible over the years.

With respect to my 1Cs, I first replaced the SL2000s with RD0-194s and then, along with several other mods, had the crossovers rebuilt and the SDA inductors replaced by VR3 Mods.

The replacement of the SL2000s is a relatively inexpensive and easy mod, and the result is improved high frequency transients, clarity, and timbres without the edginess of the SL2000s. (My opinion.) The 1Cs are not capable of the TL mod, and therefore cannot upgraded the RD0-198s.

With my SRS1.2s, I first replaced the SL2000s with RD0-194s and had the crossovers rebuilt by VR3 Mods with a Gimpod circuit board and high quality caps, resistors, and inductors and also replaced the stock SDA inductors with high quality perfect-lay inductors.

These mods dramatically improved the sound quality of these SDAs. I cannot tease out improvements directly related to replacement of the SL2000s with RD0-194s because I did several mods simultaneously.

However, I can say that improvements in high frequency sound quality were similar to my experience with the 1Cs. [To avoid confusion, I should say that I am relating this sequence out of chronological order. I did the first mods on the SRS 1.2s before the mods to the 1Cs. With that said, the sound quality differences were similar, as I described them above.]

Having lived with the improved sound quality of SRSs for awhile and continuing to read about further improvements "TLing" them would achieve -- that is, further modifying the crossovers to support the RD0-198s -- I decided to take the next step with SRSs.

VR3 Mods provided the Monastery "Abbot" level mods (crossovers, internal wiring, binding posts, SDA inductors, etc.), and I installed RD0-198s.

These mods made an extraordinary difference, which, if you are interested, you can read about in my thread on the subject.
e thinking about building a Dreadnought
My point in relating this is that, if you decide to do mods, then I would urge you to step up to the TL-level with your first step. It is definitely worth it, and if you take the "baby" step first, you will end up spending more in the long run, if you decide to TL your 2Bs.

Just my $0.02 worth.

There are several guys on this Forum who can give you very clear, good advice about taking your SDA 2Bs as far as they can go. And they will be very generous in their advice.

Welcome to the rabbit hole!

PS: You should also think about building a Dreadnought, whether or not you use a non-common ground amp. Like others, I have found that a Dreadnought, used to replace the stock SDA interconnect, improves sound quality, even with a common ground amp, which does not require one.

leftwinger57

Again Sim sala Bim, to the forum. I also snagged a pair of '87 SDA 2Bs w/ the cable at a desperate house wife's moving sale for $50 in 2013. Bone Stock and not used in twenty some odd years and I also was very hesitant to do any mods but smarter people prevailed and I did the full monty on them.Kli
with fantastic results. All mods listed on my sig. The 2 small Klipsch H/T speakers have been move to a more strategic location

motorhead43026

SDA-2BTL

Just finished up the crossovers, including dynamating the baskets and adding BH5.The hurricane nuts will have to wait as they are on backorder. Cabinets are air tight so no big deal. Sound real good and will improve with some run time.

slbenz

Everyone,

Thanks for the heads up on the different mods for this speakers. Sounds similar to mods that can be done with my Magnepans which I tried a few with success. When I have a chance, I will probably go with the tweeter replacement first to quell the harshness of the highs with the stock tweeter. I have been working on removing the water stain left from the previous owner and probably got 90% of the offending mark out. Much better but not back to original. Also, F1nut, thanks for the posting requirement for ads. Had a chance to read the guidelines and will leave it to AudioAsylum and Craigslist to do their work selling the Magnepans and Mye Stands.

Since I am using a Dolby Atmos enabled preamp, I was thinking of having the 2Bs used as my mains and stacking my Mirage speakers on top of them to act as the Atmos or height channels for my home theater. Just a thought. Not sure how the wife would feel, especially how they would look. So far, I am liking what the 2Bs can do. With most of my music that I listen to, the 2Bs really don't need the Velodyne sub assistance. Probably because the 2B is rated down to 16Hz and my Velodyne is rated only down to 20Hz with some output down to 16Hz. Appreciate all the suggestions, advice and pictures that everyone is sharing. It is a lot of information to digest but appreciated.

leftwinger57

I know this is a few days off but once you said you had water stained tops it gave me a chuckle. Mine also had what seems to be the requisite water plant stained tops. My mantra was always no real p[ants, kids, cats, near audio gear. My before and after w/ a bleach job minor sanding, staining and a poly finish.

westmassguy

slbenz wrote: »

Everyone,

Thanks for the heads up on the different mods for this speakers. Sounds similar to mods that can be done with my Magnepans which I tried a few with success. When I have a chance, I will probably go with the tweeter replacement first to quell the harshness of the highs with the stock tweeter. I have been working on removing the water stain left from the previous owner and probably got 90% of the offending mark out. Much better but not back to original. Also, F1nut, thanks for the posting requirement for ads. Had a chance to read the guidelines and will leave it to AudioAsylum and Craigslist to do their work selling the Magnepans and Mye Stands.

Since I am using a Dolby Atmos enabled preamp, I was thinking of having the 2Bs used as my mains and stacking my Mirage speakers on top of them to act as the Atmos or height channels for my home theater. Just a thought. Not sure how the wife would feel, especially how they would look. So far, I am liking what the 2Bs can do. With most of my music that I listen to, the 2Bs really don't need the Velodyne sub assistance. Probably because the 2B is rated down to 16Hz and my Velodyne is rated only down to 20Hz with some output down to 16Hz. Appreciate all the suggestions, advice and pictures that everyone is sharing. It is a lot of information to digest but appreciated.

Welcome to CP. Don't jump the gun on the Tweeters just yet. The RDO-194-1s are fine Tweeters, and light years ahead of the SL2000s, but the RDO-198-1s Are even better. Not as dramatic a change as going from the 2000s to the 194s, but well worth the additional capacitor on the crossover.
The 194s will give you instant gratification, but the 198s will surpass them.

slbenz

Lots of great suggestions from everyone on what to do to make these speakers even better aurally and cosmetically. It sounds like I have to do a bit more work in order to obtain the best out of these speakers. From what is being described, it certainly much easier than a rewire on a set of Magnepan speakers that I did to several years ago on another set of Magnepan IIIas that I owned.

Moose68Bash

slbenz wrote: »

Lots of great suggestions from everyone on what to do to make these speakers even better aurally and cosmetically. It sounds like I have to do a bit more work in order to obtain the best out of these speakers. From what is being described, it certainly much easier than a rewire on a set of Magnepan speakers that I did to several years ago on another set of Magnepan IIIas that I owned.

It is worth the effort!

And, if you can do the work yourself, it is also fun!

theblood2pay

I am new here also I just recently picked up a pair of the Monitor 11 speakers.

ken brydson

theblood2pay wrote: »

I am new here also I just recently picked up a pair of the Monitor 11 speakers.

Congrats and welcome to the group. Do check your wallet at the door as we're REALLY good at spending other peoples money...

slbenz

ken brydson wrote: »

theblood2pay wrote: »

I am new here also I just recently picked up a pair of the Monitor 11 speakers.

Congrats and welcome to the group. Do check your wallet at the door as we're REALLY good at spending other peoples money...

You certainly have that right. Looks like a lot of people want me to open my wallet for a tweeter and crossover mod instead of just a tweeter replacement.

westmassguy

slbenz wrote: »

ken brydson wrote: »

theblood2pay wrote: »

I am new here also I just recently picked up a pair of the Monitor 11 speakers.

Congrats and welcome to the group. Do check your wallet at the door as we're REALLY good at spending other peoples money...

You certainly have that right. Looks like a lot of people want me to open my wallet for a tweeter and crossover mod instead of just a tweeter replacement.

All upgrades don't have to be done at once. If you want to do a down'n'dirty upgrade, with the better RDO-198-1 Tweeters, get a couple NP Electrolytics: http://www.parts-express.com/56uf-100v-electrolytic-non-polarized-crossover-capacitor--027-334
Solder one across the 2.7 ohm resistor on both crossovers, and install the 198s. You can enjoy them that way until you save up for the other upgrades.
The actual value you need is 5.8uf, but the 5.6uf will do fine until you decide to do anything else.