Polk SDA 1C Mod Progress

sfosselman

Just thought I would share some of the progress with the modifications to my Polk SDA 1C's. So far the speakers have been gutted and internals sent to westmassguy for upgrades Spikes were installed with a bit of struggle but again David was there to walk me through the hurdles. The cabinet has been sealed with Loctite as well as the center brace. The woofers and PR's were given the Dynamat treatments and magnets were sealed with Loctite. New tweeters have arrived and will be installed after the crossover, and bin

ding cup returns new and improved. Next, I will be installing the Sonic Barrier and Hurricane nuts when they arrive this week, covering the tops with glass (I set my computer on top when I’m streaming
), and possibly painting the cabinets...All in all this has been more work than expected but I am very excited to hear the outcome! I have attached a few pictures..

Mike Reeter

Lookin good, you will be rewarded for your efforts! Spikes are on my "to do" list as well.

Nightfall

I don't think I've ever seen someone join this forum and go all out in less than 2 weeks. Those 1C's are in good hands with you. Congrats! How long have you been listening to them stock?

sfosselman

I've had them stock for all of two weeks They sounded amazing stock but I can't leave anything alone I came across this forum, saw the glowing reviews for each mod, met westmassguy, and the rest is history

Mike Reeter

Your X-overs are in good hands with Dave, he does impeccable work.

Moose68Bash

@sfossleman,

Well done!

Great progress and very nice work, indeed.

You will be richly rewarded when you get your new crossovers installed.

PS: I would have said that your patience "will be richly rewarded," but I haven't seen much evidence of patience on your side!

Onward and upward.

sfosselman

Patience has never been my virtue I'm afraid

MrBuhl

Patience and Virtue's are over-rated! Excellent progress!

westmassguy

Looking great Steve. You might want to check the fit on the PRs. Looks like you might have gone too far down with the Dynamat.

F1nut

westmassguy wrote: »

Looking great Steve. You might want to check the fit on the PRs. Looks like you might have gone too far down with the Dynamat.

Drivers too.

sfosselman

Some more progress has been made

F1nut- I test fitted the drivers and they seem to fit fine with the current Dynamat configuration...I did however remove some of the Dynamat on the PR to allow for a better fit in the cabinet. Also, Sonic Barrier was added to the rear wall behind the drivers. I used two 4" x 12" strips on each (I was tempted to put in more since I paid for it but David wisely advised against it. I've attached pictures, (1) the removal of some of the Dynamat on the PR, (2) the SB on the back cabinet, (3) one speaker with the polyfill installed...Thanks everyone...Westmassguy in particular..for your continued support

cortico

Very clean! Those speakers will turn out great. What were your cap choices for the crossovers?

voltz

Seeing those speakers come together is a beautiful site! WTG!

cortico

One thing I noticed, are you not adding polyfill behind the tweeters?

sfosselman

For the crossovers I went with Sonicap Gen I MP Caps for Hi and Lo-Pass and Mills MRA-12 Resistors. I also will not be adding polyfill behind the tweeters because that's the way I found them . Unless someone can tell me a good reason to add more to the top Tonight I successfully installed hurricane nuts to the tweeters, drivers, and PRs...pics to come. It has been a good amount of work but enjoyable none the less

sfosselman

Finished putting in the hurricane nuts and customized with some

protective glass on the tops. As soon as I get the crossovers back from Dave these babies are ready for an audition!

BlueBirdMusic

You are really doing a great job on posting of photos with the descriptions.

I bought a set of 1C's with end caps last Sunday for $220. They will enjoy their companion 2B studio speakers. Per wessmassguy, I put the RD-0194's in my 2B's more than a year ago - Incredible difference.

I plan to follow your upgrade and proceed with the mods of my speakers in 2016 as I have not had the time the past year plus. I will use the services of wessmassguy too.
Harry Jones
Marietta GA

sfosselman

Dave is a great guy to work with and extremely knowledgeable....it has been a learning process for sure...I will continue to post progress as parts come in. Thanks for your kind words

Moose68Bash

@sfosselman,

Thanks for all your updates, and keep up the great work.

You'll really appreciate the results.

sfosselman

Just got the word from Dave that the crossovers, binding Post Cups, inductors, and upgraded interconnect cable have been completed and are heading back home ....updates to come

Rex81

Anxiously awaiting updates. These look great!

boston1450

^^^^ This

sfosselman

We're getting there....crossovers, binding posts, etc... have all been installed. The last hold up is one of the driver (I’m not sure how) had a magnet shift so I had to order a new one from Polk. One that arrives and is installed both speakers will be up and running!!!

boston1450

That svcks when that happens. Project looks great sir. Sure you cant wait to burn it all in. Looking forward to hear'n your impressions..

BlueBirdMusic

sfosselman,
Can you post a picture of the magnet shift. I have never seen one. I'm happy all things are coming together for you.

sfosselman

It would look like any other driver...you can tell a magnet has shifted when you push on the PR and the woofer does not move when all drivers are installed.

Nightfall

You can also move the midwoofer cone with even and small pressure around the dustcap. Scratching noises? Shift. Frozen? Shift.

boston1450

They can also sound very distorted & scratchy to the feel if you lightly press in on the woofer. I have tried to repair them with no success..... But have heard some have

sfosselman

So close guys....getting the replacement woofer today (going to dynamat and loctite the magnets) and will have everything up and running...I also have the new Matricom G Box Q running Tidal, spotify, and Kodi (hooked to the Eastern DAC>Belles Pre>Parasound HCA-1200ii

) for ultimate streaming options. Here are some pics of the upgraded crossovers and binding posts done by Dave to pass the time

george daniel

Nice work,, remember after you get em buttoned up,,prepare for the roller coaster ride,,aka,,burn in

sfosselman

Well friends I had two hickups. I had brought in my fiance after everything was buttoned up for the BIG REVEAL and, wouldn’t you know it, the PR started buzzing with bassy sections of a song. It took some trial and error, but in the end it could be contributed to a loose screw in the PR. OK, now with that done we were finally ready to enjoy the fruits of our labor. Not quite! After the rattle issue, the tweeter in my right speaker started to make a loud, and unsettling popping sound. It was a loud pop that I thought, after the magnet shift in the woofer incident, that I was just fed up with these speakers. Turns out after troubleshooting that the optical cable running from the Android box had a kink in it. Who would have thought a kink in an optical cable would cause the tweeter to do that? After smoothing out those wrinkles do you know what happened next....beautiful music! I can finally say that the upgrading process is COMPLETE!!! *knock on wood* ....and how does it sound....if I could describe it in one word it would be live....the entire night I had a stupid grin on my face pouring through my collection I had heard many times before (but not like this) Everything was so open! The space created by the SDA's coupled with the smooth tube qualities is a combination I can listen to for hours. Also, I have always played my music fairly loud but with this set up, even at low volume, the sound was incredibly articulate and clear. Even though this process has been taxing, both emotionally and financially ,it has been worth it. The sense of satisfaction I get, and will get for years to come, from the system is truly amazing!