Time to Upgrade My 2.3s

pitdogg2

I'd also check to see if the interconnect wires are in fact connected to the socket.

Rrusse11

Sorry Randy, couldn't remember the proper nomenclature.
Will do pitdogg, if they ain't, I'll drop an amp and try the SDA cable.

michaeljhsda2

To simplify troubleshooting just use one amp in stereo mode. Hook a CD player directly to the Carver and use the front gain to adjust the volume. Make sure it's turned all the way down before you start playing music.

How far from the back wall are your speakers? How far apart are they? How far apart from the side walls? Does any furniture extend past the front baffles of the speakers? All these situations will affect the performance of the speakers.

michaeljhsda2

I'm assuming you have the Carver TFM 35 with the gain knob on the front. The 35 x does not have that feature as I recall.

Rrusse11

Michael,
I hear ya' on the trouble shooting mode, yes, the TFM 35 has a split gain/volume control. I was very cautious when bridging the amps. So I'm suspicious of the internal
SDA connection.
Speakers are 6" off the back, RH side is 25" from side wall/corner, LH 33".
4 1/2 feet apart. There is a couch on the LH speaker that doesn't cover any of the passive radiator. 11.5' ceilings, real plaster, the external walls on the this old house
are about 20" thick. NO cavity. Approximately 14'x14'. Carpet on the wooden floor.
So about 2250 cubic feet with a double door opening into the dining room kitchen.

That should give an idea of the volume and aspect ratio of the space.

F1nut

That's a lot of speaker for that size room. You'd be better off with the 2B's.

Rrusse11

F1,
This pair might be a bit more to "scale".
https://allentown.craigslist.org/ele/d/pair-of-polk-audio-speakers/6443195956.html
They look good, but I'll upgrade what I've got first.
No regrets having the 2.3s.

Rrusse11

Or go a little further and grab this pair;

https://baltimore.craigslist.org/bik/d/polk-audio-sda-1c/6455604735.html

Anything much to pick between them? 1A vs 1C, 2nd generation vs 4th?

pitdogg2

1c all day everyday and twice on Sunday.

Rrusse11

Thanks pitdogg.

Pulled one of my crossovers and got some photos. SDA cable certainly seems to be connected on the RH side. I'll figure out how to post some pics. I'm pleased to report
that I got it out, and back in, with no issues, speaker is still working!

On common ground, would having both amps plugged into the same circuit/power board tie them together? Also my understanding is that the Carvers have a grounded chassis. Tying the 2 chassis together would possibly "common ground" the pair?
"Scuse my ignorance on all things electrical if the above is completely off the planet,
but hey, you don't know unless you ask.

F1nut

You don't want the 1A and I'd take a pair of modded 2BTL's over modded 1C's

No and no to your last 2 questions.

Rrusse11

Thanks F1 on the answers.

But here's a significant improvement, picked up a Carver C-1 preamp. MUCH better than the NAD 1130. The Carver's holographics don't do anything for me, but it's a cleaner sound. And it's more apparent that the RD0198s are bright! Bass is improved as well.

Pulling, and then reinstalling the crossover also helped, I suspect just cleaned off the contacts a bit. I'll do the LH side next. Incremental improvements add up, definitely got to get some sealant, butyl rubber will do the trick, and some dynamat. No signs of any kind of gasket around the passive radiator, and one of the screws was stripped, not much for them to hang on to. I'll cut a reinforcing ring of plywood to give them a better bite.

Cheers!

F1nut

The RD0198 tweeters are not inherently bright, anything but. It's a result of them being the wrong tweeters for your speakers.

F1nut

I'll cut a reinforcing ring of plywood to give them a better bite.

There's a right and wrong way to do things, that's the wrong way. Instead, install Hurricane nuts with cap screws to secure the PR's and all the drivers.

verb

F1nut wrote: »

I'll cut a reinforcing ring of plywood to give them a better bite.

There's a right and wrong way to do things, that's the wrong way. Instead, install Hurricane nuts with cap screws to secure the PR's and all the drivers.

I just went down that path with tutelage from @f1nut and others from CP. Please see my thead:
http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/179960/another-1c-upgrade-path#latest

RandyCroissant

^^^ good advice ^^^

Rrusse11

verb,
Nice! Just the kind of helpful detail i need. The hurricane nuts look like the go!
Better mounts and dynamat have got to help the speakers deliver better sound.
Nice zebrawood! Thankfully the fabric on my 2.3s is in great shape.

F1,
I'm leaning towards keeping the 2.3 "stock", so I'll take your advice and get a set of the RD0194s, should be no problem selling my 198s. Straightforward swap out.
I'll do the basic upgrades before I worry about getting the crossovers reworked.
And keep on ugrading the audio sources, the vintage shop where I just got the Carver preamp has some nice gear at fair prices. I need a better CD player next.



Cheers gents! Any and all input much appreciated!

pitdogg2

I might be swayed to help take those 198's off your hands.
Keep it in mind pm me see if we can work it out

michaeljhsda2

Did you take a pic of the crossovers? Based on past experience from a friend who bought SDA SRS 1.2's a few years ago, it's possible that someone started doing the TL upgrade on your 2.3's and didn't finish it. That could be the case because when the person put in the RD-0198's, they had to go to the trouble of putting a larger connector on the negative wire where it plugs into the tweeter so it's not a simple swap of the tweets.

If your speakers have the original crossover components, you'll have to change all the tweeter negative wires back to the smaller connector in order to accommodate the RD-0194's.

If the crossover caps are not original and someone did start the TL conversion process, you'll have to decide if you want to finish the conversion or change the crossovers back to the specifications of the 2.3's and install the smaller connector on the tweeter wires.

pitdogg2

That would be a very expensive transition Mike.
Very Expensive

I agree some pictures of the XO are in order.

michaeljhsda2

Expensive for sure. If the person that installed the 198's wasn't trying to do the conversion, you'd think a little red flag would go up when they saw the larger negative post on the tweeter.

pitdogg2

Then again i know many who would just be like, no problem just get a bigger connector and boom we're done.

michaeljhsda2

LOL

Rrusse11

Testing!

pitdogg2

Those to me look unmolested so far, that being said i have not seen 2.3 XO and i wonder why the tweeter connector looks to have two connections hanging off the side?
What is the sticker number there?

Rrusse11

There you go gents! Courtesy of Imgur after Photobucket went stupid. Just signed up and lo and behold, I've remembered how to do this.

Pittdogg,
I'll certainly keep you in mind for the 0198s. That would probably be the smart thing to do, provided the above XO hasn't been messed with.
The only thing that puzzles me is that the tweeter input has 4 wires? 2 of the pins aren't connected to the board.

Rrusse11

pitdogg2 wrote: »

Those to me look unmolested so far

Got more pics, I must say it all looks clean and "factory" to this novice. Let me know what kind of detail would be helpful. And I'll have a look at the LH speaker too.

Rrusse11

F1nut

Those are original 2.3 crossovers, but someone has used the tweeter wiring harness from the 1.2 or 1.2TL.

pitdogg2

F1nut wrote: »

Those are original 2.3 crossovers, but someone has used the tweeter wiring harness from the 1.2 or 1.2TL.

I was wondering