New SDA 2B's, Larry's Rings, & Dynamat
Nightfall
Posts: 10,086
Short story short, I drove a ridiculous distance to pickup a mint pair of SDA 2B's. Ridiculous. Went straight to modding them. The plan is to install Larry's rings into the 2B's, Monitor 5's, and Monitor 4's as well as Dynamat all of them and go over all of the cabinet seals with Power Grab Express to make sure they are as air tight as I can get them.
First thing first, I had to buy all of the appropriate tools including a cordless Milwaukee drill and a Dremel 4000 for cutting the rings.
Enough rings to do three pairs of speakers and tweeter brackets for the SDA's
12 square feet of Dynamat
Two pairs of the suspects
Started with the Monitor 5's - easiest to replace
Power Grab on the M5 cabinets
Finished with M5's
Next up the SDA's
All finished and put back together
Still have to do the M4's and haven't put Dynamat on the M5's yet but I'm getting there. Really loving the soundstage on these speakers. I'll be sticking with these for a long, long time.
Big thanks to @F1nut for all of the help and @Toolfan66 for taking time out of his busy life to make these awesome rings.
Crossovers done by @westmassguy is on the list, Sonicaps, Mills, Inductors, Cardas BPs, SpeakON, and Dreadnought. In due time.
First thing first, I had to buy all of the appropriate tools including a cordless Milwaukee drill and a Dremel 4000 for cutting the rings.
Enough rings to do three pairs of speakers and tweeter brackets for the SDA's
12 square feet of Dynamat
Two pairs of the suspects
Started with the Monitor 5's - easiest to replace
Power Grab on the M5 cabinets
Finished with M5's
Next up the SDA's
All finished and put back together
Still have to do the M4's and haven't put Dynamat on the M5's yet but I'm getting there. Really loving the soundstage on these speakers. I'll be sticking with these for a long, long time.
Big thanks to @F1nut for all of the help and @Toolfan66 for taking time out of his busy life to make these awesome rings.
Crossovers done by @westmassguy is on the list, Sonicaps, Mills, Inductors, Cardas BPs, SpeakON, and Dreadnought. In due time.
afterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk
Comments
-
Very nice...good job!
-
Good excuse to buy some power tools. Looks good!
-
I was pretty excited to buy some power tools, actually. This Milwaukee drill is the bees knees and I can see the Dremel being useful in a lot of situations.ken brydson wrote: »Good excuse to buy some power tools.Conradicles wrote: »Very nice...good job!
Thanks! Maybe one day I will get the caps done like you had on those 1C's but purely cosmetic upgrades are way low on the list. They are dead sexy end caps though.Nightfall, awesome work and beautiful speakers, especially the SDAs!
Thanks!afterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
Looking good!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 -
Looks great, and sounds like you had some fun doing it.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/ -
Looks good!
-
Crossovers done by @westmassguy is on the list, Sonicaps, Mills, Inductors, Cardas BPs, SpeakON, and Dreadnought. In due time.
Just don't forget the tweeter upgrade either, I'm replacing my SL2000 ones with RD0-194s...gonna be placing the order next week for 6 of em.
Indeed. I will be going TL when I get the crossovers done, I think I'll just live with the SL2000s until then.afterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
You will need the RDO 198 tweeters with the TL mod. Great project you have going on there.Yamaha RXA1030, Yamaha CD-S2100, Yamaha AS-2200, Bluesound node 2i
Polk SDA2btl highly modded
Polk SDA 1C modded
Polk CS350 LS x2
Kimber 8TC
Sony 55" Bravia
Wish list SVS sub -
RandyCroissant wrote: »You will need the RDO 198 tweeters with the TL mod.
That's the plan. Thanks for the kind words.afterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
I didn't see where you mentioned that you applied powergrab to your magnets but since you got 4 tubes of it, I'm assuming you did. I'm also curious how long did it take for that powergrab to cure in the cabinets? It looks like a job well done.Home Theater
Parasound Halo A 31 OnkyoTX-NR838 Sony XBR55X850B 55" 4K RtiA9 Fronts CsiA6 Center RtiA3 Rears FxiA6 Side Surrounds Dual Psw 111's Oppo 105D Signal Ultra Speaker Cables & IC's Signal Magic Power Cable Technics SL Q300 Panamax MR4300 Audioquest Chocolate HDMI Cables Audioquest Forest USB Cable
2 Channel
Adcom 555II Vincent SA-T1 Marantz SA 15S2 Denon DR-M11 Clearaudio Bluemotion SDA 2.3tl's (Z) edition MIT Terminator II Speaker Cables & IC's Adcom 545II Adcom Gtp-450 Marantz CD5004 Technics M245X SDA 2B's, SDA CRS+
Stuff for the Head
JD LABS C5 Headphone Amplifier, Sennheiser HD 598, Polk Audio Buckle, Polk Audio Hinge, Velodyne vPulse, Bose IE2, Sennheiser CX 200 Street II, Sennheiser MX 365
Shower & Off the beaten path Rigs
Polk Audio Boom Swimmer, Polk Audio Urchin
-
I left the drivers out of the cabinets for 24 hours while the Power Grab in the cabinets and on the magnets cured.afterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
Yes, you need it? I have the self dispensing type now I returned the caulk gun tubes because it was too big to get inside the cabinets without being really awkward.afterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
Awesome and WTG! I think you going to love those when you get everything done and upgrade to the RDO-198's
2 ch- Polk CRS+ * Vincent SA-31MK Preamp * Vincent Sp-331 Amp * Marantz SA8005 SACD * Project Xperience Classic TT * Sumiko Blue Point #2 MC cartridge
HT - Polk 703's * NAD T-758 * Adcom 5503 * Oppo 103 * Samsung 60" series 8 LCD -
Nice job, Nightfall!b]Beach Audio[/b]: Rega RP6 (mods) - AT33PTG/II - Parks Budgie SUT - PSAudio NPC * Eversolo DMP-A6 * Topping D90iii * Joule-Electra LA-100 mkIII * Pass Aleph 30 * MIT S3 * Polk SRS 2.3tl (mods) * PSAudio PPP3
Beach Study: Pro-Ject Stream Box S2 Ultra & Pre Box S2 * Pass ACA * DH Labs SS Q10 * Brines Folded ML-TQWT RS 40-1354 * PSA Dectet
Beach Master: WiiM Pro * Dayens Menuetto * Zu Libtec * Dynaudio Audience 50
Beach Den: Bluesound Powernode 2i * DH Labs SS Q10 * Zu Omen DWII * Richard Gray RGPC
Town Study: WiiM Pro * Chord Qute (Pardo) * Elekit TU-8600 * MIT S3 * Revel M22 * Beyer DT-990 * Shunyata Hydra 2
Town Den: Music Hall mm5.1se - Denon DL-103r - Jolida JD9ii (mods) * WiiM Pro * Cary xCiter * Rogue 99 Magnum * Schiit Aegir * MIT S3 * Polk SRS 1.2tl (mods) * Dectet * Bottlehead Crack - Senn 600
Town Porch: WiiM Pro Plus * Sunfire Sig II * Canare 4S11 * Magnepan 1.6 * Dectet -
Looking good! Quite a collection of Polk Audio you have!
-
Mike Reeter wrote: »Looking good! Quite a collection of Polk Audio you have!
Me? Look at yours lol! I'd be happy to help you add a pair of RTA-12B's - I'll give you a great deal.
afterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
Mike Reeter wrote: »Looking good! Quite a collection of Polk Audio you have!
Me? Look at yours lol! I'd be happy to help you add a pair of RTA-12B's - I'll give you a great deal.
Ha! Thanks, but I'll have to pass...don't want to come off looking like a hoarder
-
Mike Reeter wrote: »Mike Reeter wrote: »Looking good! Quite a collection of Polk Audio you have!
Me? Look at yours lol! I'd be happy to help you add a pair of RTA-12B's - I'll give you a great deal.
Ha! Thanks, but I'll have to pass...don't want to come off looking like a hoarder
Mike, you are a "Hoarder", but in a good way.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/ -
westmassguy wrote: »Mike Reeter wrote: »Mike Reeter wrote: »Looking good! Quite a collection of Polk Audio you have!
Me? Look at yours lol! I'd be happy to help you add a pair of RTA-12B's - I'll give you a great deal.
Ha! Thanks, but I'll have to pass...don't want to come off looking like a hoarder
Mike, you are a "Hoarder", but in a good way.
Hey Dave, my wife would whole heartily agree with you, except for the "in a good way" part -
Nightfall,
you made some great pictures. Did you say how far you drove? Those M18 drills are excellent as I have one. Your 2B's look so much better than my 2B Studios. I didn't realize how much better the End-Cap versions looked until I got 1C's in November last year. I have a lot of upgrade work to do. You pictures will help me.
Harry
Marietta GA"Sometimes you have to look to the past to understand where you are going in the future"Anger is just anger. It isn’t good. It isn’t bad. It just is. What you do with it is what matters.
You can use it to build or to destroy. You just have to make the choice. Jim Butcher
Harry / Marietta GA -
BlueBirdMusic wrote: »Nightfall,
you made some great pictures. Did you say how far you drove? Those M18 drills are excellent as I have one. Your 2B's look so much better than my 2B Studios. I didn't realize how much better the End-Cap versions looked until I got 1C's in November last year. I have a lot of upgrade work to do. You pictures will help me.
Harry
Marietta GA
13-14 hours there and the same back. It was lunacy but I'm happy and quite infatuated with these speakers already.
This drill is amazing, I wish I had more things do drill with it LOL. Maybe I need to get a TV wall mount now so I can use it again. Milwaukee makes some fantastic tools. I also have their worksite "boombox" that can run off either a wall outlet or a Milwaukee battery which I take with me to work to listen to in the kitchen, it has held up like a champ.
I also agree that they look better than the studios. I think the risers on old floor standing Polks are ugly and I like the fabric sides. Although they do make it more difficult to pickup/move around the speakers unless you're fine with tearing the fabric.afterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
Nice work! Yay for power tools!
my 3.1TLs
I will fix your shifted magnets for free. -
Very nice job Nightfall! What size bit did you use to enlarge the holes for Larry's rings? Was the same bit used for both the MW rings and tweeter brackets? Thanks.
-
9/32, yes, and yes.afterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
Nicely done. I caught this thread before I installed Larry's rings in my CRS+s last night. Thanks for posting and hope you're enjoying the sonic improvements.Lexicon RT-10, Parasound P5, McCormack DNA 0.5, Polk SDA CRS+, SVS Sub
Schiit Modi, Luminous Audio Axiom II, McCormack DNA-1, Digital Phase AP 2
Marantz AV7701, Emotiva XPA-5, Paradigm 11se Mkii, DCM Time Windows, NHT 2C, SVS Sub
Spares - Kenwood C1 Pre, NAD 2200PE, Polk Monitor 10B, Polk Model 11, other odds and ends -
I just got turned on to this forum after picking up a pair of M5 speakers at a Pawn Shop. $50 tax included. I have them set up in my office which doubles as my music listening room. I use an old Sansui TR-707a receiver. I've had various speakers in here over the years but these are quickly becoming my favorite. From what I'm reading, these are a 5A with SL-2500 tweeter. I will probably do the crossover cap and resistor replacements with the recommended sonicaps. Question for you guys about dynamat on the woofer baskets. I've never heard of anyone doing this before. What's the reason? Is it to just stiffen up the frame to prevent flexing of it? I have plenty of dynamat left over from a car audio project a few years back so could put it to good use here. Is it recommended to dynamat any parts of the cabinet such as on the back behind the speakers as well? It appears the previous owner already rolled up and stapled the polyfill from behind the PR.
-
americannight wrote: »From what I'm reading, these are a 5A with SL-2500 tweeter.
5A's should be Peerless. Are they all black with a very small hole directly in the center?americannight wrote: »Is it recommended to dynamat any parts of the cabinet such as on the back behind the speakers as well?
No Dynamat on/in the cabinets. Small strips of Blackhole 5 (there are cheaper substitutes) directly behind the midwoofers are what you want for that. You want about a 4" wide x 6-7" tall strip.
Here's a thread about that
http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/148198/blackhole-5-damping-material-in-the-sda-srs-1-2tlafterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
Bing the basket with your fingernail and you'll know why you should add Dynamat Xtreme. Do not put it anywhere other than the baskets.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 -
Here is what I've got. Is this the sl-2500 tweeter? It has a circle of foam around the tweeter element and appears to be a small dot in the center of the tweeter. I can't tell if it's a hole, though.
-
I believe those are Monitor 5 Series 2, not 5A's. Yes, 2500.afterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk
