Upgrade of 3.1TL complete and my humble opinion of the results
Gunther16
Posts: 243
Ok so I'm done, Burn in time complete and here is what I think.
Don't really know which of the upgrades had the most effect but the combination of all is tremendous.
Upgrades done: Gimpods boards, Sonicaps, Mills resistors, sealing of cabinets, T-nuts on speaker attachments, Dynamat, 4"x4" x11/4 Sound absorbent behind Drivers, RDO-198 Tweeters, adhere the magnets, cardas binding posts, better quality jumpers.
Most prominent improvement is in clarity and soundstage, much smoother and mellow, projection of instrumentals and positioning of same also seemed improved. I am hearing background vocals and instruments that I never heard before. Pink Floyds cut Run Run Run from the Pulse CD actually had me turning my head because of the music coming from the side of me even though I played in stereo. I was astounded to say the least. I was surrounded by music. Never have these 3.1's sounded so good and gave me this much pleasure.
I am very much pleased with the upgrades and I thank each and everyone here that gave me advice and help with all the questions. Special thanks go to Westmassguy, F1Nut and some handles I can't think of right now for steering me in the right direction. I'm much new and improved and a really happy camper.
Rock on Polk
Don't really know which of the upgrades had the most effect but the combination of all is tremendous.
Upgrades done: Gimpods boards, Sonicaps, Mills resistors, sealing of cabinets, T-nuts on speaker attachments, Dynamat, 4"x4" x11/4 Sound absorbent behind Drivers, RDO-198 Tweeters, adhere the magnets, cardas binding posts, better quality jumpers.
Most prominent improvement is in clarity and soundstage, much smoother and mellow, projection of instrumentals and positioning of same also seemed improved. I am hearing background vocals and instruments that I never heard before. Pink Floyds cut Run Run Run from the Pulse CD actually had me turning my head because of the music coming from the side of me even though I played in stereo. I was astounded to say the least. I was surrounded by music. Never have these 3.1's sounded so good and gave me this much pleasure.
I am very much pleased with the upgrades and I thank each and everyone here that gave me advice and help with all the questions. Special thanks go to Westmassguy, F1Nut and some handles I can't think of right now for steering me in the right direction. I'm much new and improved and a really happy camper.
Rock on Polk
Comments
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Enjoy them, you earned it
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 -
Enjoy those puppies Gunther. Glad I could help.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/ -
I have no doubts as to what you are saying, my 3.1's have become my first choice in my set-up, as you say, the clarity of the single tweeter and the imaging is spooky good.
In my current space they have bested my 2.3TL's, which I really never thought that could happen.
Enjoy your new SDA's, they are the "Cream of the Crop"!!! -
congratulations on the hard work and enjoyment. I have never heard this particular model but it sounds like they are winners.
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I'm glad you're a happy camper. 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 -
Cangrats on your upgrades!!!
Hatred
Jealousy!
One of these days when I FINALLY get around to being able to do mine you can bet I will be contacting you with a million questions
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Congrats and thank you for sharing your impressions!
my 3.1TLs
I will fix your shifted magnets for free.
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Another happy customer, great!
One really has no idea how much better they sound until they are refreshed and modern caps and resistors are added. As well as all the little tweaks too. Many of the tweaks and suggestions have come from Polk engineering or Matt himself, so it's not like these are just guesses at updating.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
Congrats - nothing more satisfying than getting em done, (doing some or all of the work yourself), and hearing the great results!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 -
Thanks cant wait until they settle down completely
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Nice write-up. I need to start on my 3.1 TLs soon. Glad to hear the positive results.
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Thanks, Just keep in mind its just my opinion and is it worth my opinion? Ohhhhh Yeahhhh.
