Should I or Should I not?

pauldsteve

pitdogg2, but I just got my Polk Card. LOL. Ignorance is never an excuse or a good defense, right? LOL I was not thinking in terms of Polk SDA-1A's but rather in terms of finally getting a dream 7.1 media system set up. And I have to admit the setup gave me 7.5 years of pure, bad to the bone, pleasure. But I guess with every Ying there is a Yang and now I have to live through the Yang. Will I end up with something that works. Stay Tuned.

pauldsteve

Here is a fast update with picture. I got the bad boys off the wall, cleaned them up and replaced the Stereo TL-2000 with a new RDO-194-1. I disconnected upon this Forums advice the Dimensional Tweeter and remounted it. The Left Channel Speaker I have had apart four times now so one of the screws stripped out on it. Thus when I performed the Radiator compression test I only got 5 seconds. I still have 10 seconds on the Right Channel Speaker though. I think Hurricane Nuts and Driver mods are in the near future.
I got my Fluke VOM and performed the test that is on page 41 of the SDA Handbook 2011 Rev 3 version. The Test is Table 4.2 Proper Resistance Values. To my surprise the Left Channel Speaker was dead on specification with all 6 measurements. But the Right Channel Speaker when measuring from pin 1 of the IC plug to (-) the reading is 4.3 ohms. Actually to be technical it wondered between 4.1 to 4.9 ohms up and down. But it stayed on 4.3 ohms the most. The accepted range is 2.72 to 4.08 ohms or as it is written 3.4 ohms +/- 20%. All the other readings on the Right Speaker were within specification and rock steady. IS THIS SOMETHING TO WORRY ABOUT AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
So far no popping but I have not had time with the election and other responsibilities to listen to a Movie. I will advice. But since I put them back in normal place can I have my Polk Card back, LOL?

motorhead43026

That is just so wrong.......lol.

F1nut

Seriously wrong

pauldsteve

I mounted them to TV mounts good for 100 pounds each. I put them up there in August of 2008 and I just took them down Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016. They were and still are the front mains of my 7.1 Surround Sound System. The ceiling height is 14 foot there so these things were like 10 foot in the air. I did not think it was all the unique until I contacted westmassguy and started getting advice from him about the Popping noise. They are on the floor "normal" now as you can see with the IC Cable connected and my room is a little small for them on the floor because of the damn walkway to the kitchen and back rooms of the house. That is a Velodyne ULD-18 you see in Right Corner of both pictures. Hey, you got to think out of the box. I did not know I was committing sacrilege. I was just trying to get them 14 feet apart and out of the way. I have corrected the error of my ways oh gods of Polk Audio. Stay tuned.

F1nut

I like a person who listens to the advice given so freely here and takes it to heart. This is a person looking to improve their sound enjoyment, which is what most of us are here for.

Congrats, your card has been returned.

BlueBirdMusic

The only possible advantage for mounting those speakers to the wall would be to camouflage new ones (ie larger SDAs) from the woman of the house. I doubt anyone would look that high up for them.

You certainly think outside the box!

pkquat

I'm really curious what they would have sounded like on the wall like that with the SDA cable attached.

Glad you got them setup as they should be. I manually adjusted the speaker width on my AVR to be a foot or two wider than the measured width for movies. This seamed to work better with a center or phantom center.

Before movie night, I would find a few 2Ch favorites, sit in the optimal seating position, and first listen at a lower or medium volume to reduce reflections. Relax and enjoy it. The sound should seam like its coming from the candle and the hallway. Hanging a blanket, throw rug or something like that on the side wall with the sub may help remove reflections from the wall. The same is true for the entry way if the side wall is just as close.

On a side note I once saw a set of giant Cerwin Vega's mounted upside down attached to the corners of the ceiling. They were aimed a little downward and toed in. The guy was a very creative and innovative handyman and tinkerer so some thought or experimentation was put into it. The sound was surprisingly good and the bass was mind boggling. The setup had more of a concert / live sound vs. purist, but it sounded much better than I would ever have guessed. Thinking about it now makes me wonder if Mr. @mhardy6647 has ever tried a setup like this.

pauldsteve

Nightfall, BlueBird Music, I am going to do the Hurricane Nuts with screws, new gaskets, Dynamat Extreme on the Cages and Gluing the Magnets if I can find out where the Popping culprit is and know I can fix it. So that is going to be soon. Actually mounting up that high, they sounded just awesome. But there were no females that ever missed them. In fact, the Front Door would be located opposite the walkway that is in the picture. First thing people noticed. They were the subject of many conversations and first thing a Cable Repair guy would ask is, "May I hear what it sounds like". I would throw in the Transformer Movie or Guardians of the Galaxy and turn them up about 1/3 volume on my AV Receiver and they would sit there and be blown away. They really did sound awesome, and I am not sure what the dimensional effect would have been like because I never tried it. I just know that westmassguy was not over enthused when I sent him the picture. That was my first indication I had committed ultimate sacrilege.

F1nut

There would have been no dimensional effect whatsoever.

machone

^^^
Read the technical info available on this forum that explains how the SDA's work.

crashb4

That's awesome. I would love to see video of you hanging those bad boys.

BlueBirdMusic

pauldsteve
I am glad you can endure the "fun" side of the Polk Forum.

I have a pair of SDA 1A's that I "deleted" the Dimensional Tweeter on each speaker per westmassguy's advice. They definitely sound better. It's strange how small your SDA 1A's look in the picture attached to the wall.

I found another creative adventure that may interest you. I saw this arrangement in the Copper publication on the PS Audio website. I have one from the 70's that I may try to use for the same purpose.

crashb4

pauldsteve
Sorry if I came off like a jerk. Not my intention. As I stated earlier, I disabled the dimensional tweets on my SDA 1A and prefer them that way. The best way to learn about these unique speakers is to read the SDA handbook here

http://www.vr3mods.com/uploads/SDA_Handbook_2011_Rev2.pdf

Great info here. I found that attention to detail when setting up the speakers is critical to their sound. Ensure that each is equal distance from the wall, watch the triangle measurements and be sure each is plumb and level. It makes a difference. Keep reading and ask questions. The people here have a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience. They have helped me a great deal.
Enjoy the ride

pauldsteve

crashb4, I never took it that you were being a jerk. I am asking questions to learn and I need all the help I can get. I have read the Rev_3 of the manual cover to cover. I did not bother with the Rev_2. That is where I got the resistance test from.

leftwinger57

That was really wrong. Now though you have them grounded and that needed clearance of 3' on both sides w/ maybe that low table (?) on the left might bother it some so you should get the full SDA treatment as effect is not really liked to be used here, but it's easier.

pkquat

F1nut wrote: »

There would have been no dimensional effect whatsoever.

machone wrote: »

^^^
Read the technical info available on this forum that explains how the SDA's work.

I think these were directed at my comment

pkquat wrote: »

I'm really curious what they would have sounded like on the wall like that with the SDA cable attached.

I know how the SDA's work and such. It was more wondering how the dimensional sound being bounced around would sound. It would be nothing near as intended with some odd effects and probably not sound good. More just wondering what it might have sounded like.

machone

Pkquat,

Got it

pauldsteve

leftwinger57, That table is a Velodyne ULD-18 Subwoofer. And I am limited by space, thus the reason why I hung the SDA-1A's in the first place. However, as an update. I did the calibration of the listening area last night. Boring and slow but necessary and after it was all said and done, with 12 samples from different places in the listening area, the calibration showed that the Mains were located about 14.3' from the main listening area (by sound). Physically they are located at exactly 11.8' from the listening area (and only 10' apart outside to outside on a 14' wall). Which tells me that the Polk effect is working. Because two reasons; 1) my room media room is 14' x 20' (counting doorways). 2) The estimated speaker measurements for the Subwoofer, Center Speaker, the two Main Surrounds, and two back Surrounds were within inches of being accurate. But the front Mains showed that they were each 2 foot wider (further) than they truly are located. Even the picture showed them located in the corners of the room this time. So something is fooling the receiver (Audyssey program) . All the readings on the mains changed drastically from when they were mounted up high on the wall. I would say that is Dr. Polk's magic. So then I listened to about 15 minutes of the Transformers first movie. Awesome sound but no popping. So I am really curious now. I will experiment more this weekend when I have time. Happy Veterans day and thank you so much for those that served. You have my respect and loyalty.

pkquat

Great that the popping is gone. I am surprised Audyssey did it accurately. Others have had issues trying to set things up automatically. I'll bet if you pop in a 2Ch CD without any effects it will sound like sound is coming emanating very near to where Audyssey guessed.

pauldsteve

pkquat, I have played some CD Music. I put my Best of REM CD in yesterday because I had that song "End of the World As We Know It" stuck on loop tape in my head. That CD has some interesting Stereo effects though not like the recordings of the 60's and 70's where they played with them on purpose. And you are right the sound still sounded like it was coming from the corners of the room instead of from the middle half of the room. Kind of weird in a way because you eyes are telling you one thing but your ears are telling you something else. I was never technically sure what Dr. Pope was trying to achieve all these years but I think that between westmassguy and the technical paper on the SDA's I got off VR3's post it is supposed to expand the soundstage in front of you making it seem bigger and more lifelike. I think the effect is working. Back when I bought these new (1985) I just know that Cerwin Vega's, Bose 901's and Ribbon Speakers (all the rage at the time, where are they now?) of the era, none of them sounded as good to me. Bose 901's came close but were ugly to me. I am not sure about the Popping, what was causing it and if it is gone. I am still experimenting. I just know so far I have not had one Pop since moving the speakers down to the floor. That is a good thing but it is frustrating on the other side. Usually when problems disappear for a short period it means there is an explosion ahead. LOL

crashb4

Were your speaker cables terminated with spades by chance? Just wondering if the connection at the binding post may have loosened up over the years. Moving the speakers would have resulted in re tightening of the connection and the popping magically disappeared. Just a thought.

BlueBirdMusic

pauldsteve,

It sounds like progress to me!! Keep posting.

Harry Jones
Marietta GA

pauldsteve

crashb4, I had that thought way back when I started having the problem in March of this year. I checked that first thing. No I did not have spade lugs on the wire. I have always tinned the ends of my speaker wire. One of the frustrations I have always had with Polk's Quality control is on my Right Channel Speaker, I actually have two different brand terminals. And the Red Terminal will only take size 14 gauge wire. They are all cheesy cheap crap terminals but having three that take 12 gauge speaker wire and on that I have to shave the wire down to fit is aggravating as hell. It is visibly different though I pulled them out of the box, brand new, that way. I should have made Polk fix them on warranty but you know what they say. Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda never gets things fixed or done. I am going to upgrade this in the near future. I am kind of excited about all the things I want to do but because of my income situation I will have to do all the mods I want to do a little at the time. No one ever answered me on my resistance test results so I guess that out of spec reading is no big deal, right? I will keep everyone appraised. Everyone here has been so nice and helpful. Have a wonderful weekend.

crashb4

I'm all too familiar with the QC issues at Polk. Here is documentation of what I found with mine.

http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/174677/i-hate-oak-caution-graphic-nudity#latest

It has been a long road correcting the issues, but the results have been well worth the effort. They have really started to come around.
A great weekend to you as well.

westmassguy

Paul, there could be issues internally, with the connectors, Polyswitches, and possibly corroded connections. As long as all the drivers that are supposed to be working, are working, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

pauldsteve

westmassguy I am going to do the Hurricane Nuts, Screws, Dynamat Speaker Cages and Armacell gaskets next. While I have the drivers out I am going to inspect them under extreme magnification for cracks in the spider or cones and then glue the magnets with Loctite. That way the drivers, passive radiators, and tweeters will not be in the area of being the problem. The problems, if any in the speakers, will be from the drivers back towards the damn termination post. Then it will be as I have the money from your checklist. I suck at wood finishing so I am not going to touch that. And the speaker cloth is the last thing on my mind right now. I am excited about it now. LOL Will take pictures and post. Thank you crashb4 for some good ideas of what to look for. Have a great rest of the weekend. Football tomorrow.

mhardy6647

pauldsteve wrote: »

H

Oh, my.

txcoastal1

^^^^
The guy heeded advice and took the criticism in good context, moved them to the floor, and was a happy listener