Has anyone veneered the face of their SRS's?
JayMX
Posts: 446
The guy I have lined up to buy this pair of SDA SRS 2's wants the fronts to be “blonde”. “So the drivers really stand out.” Has anyone ever veneered the face of these cabinets? I’m leery - afraid it’s gonna look weird... thoughts?? Examples? Both good and bad? Thanks!
Current Collection: Monitor 4a (Peerless), Monitor 5B (Peerless), Modified Monitor 7b (Peerless), RTA15TL (SL3000), SDA CRS+ (194’s), SDA SRS 2.3TL, R100's, R200’s, R300 🤩
Comments
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IMHO, If someone wants a custom job....then they need to handle it on their own
Do they want the existing veneered blond or the entire speaker??
2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC
erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a -
Tell him to find another speaker.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 -
Hey, I'll buy that car you have for sale but only if you paint it red first.
Yeah, no, buy them or don't buy them but they come as is. Do it yourself, pay someone else to do it, or find a different pair of speakers.
What happens when he hits you with "I don't like the way they look or the job you did, I think I'll pass. Good luck!"
afterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
Let him do it !!!!Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them.
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I did see some photos a few years ago of a pair that had been veneered on the face, but I agree it's not a good idea for performance reasons. The tolerances on the front baffle between cabinet and drivers are very important. To do things right, much more would be involved than just pasting some veneer onto the front of the cabinet.
If the potential owner really wants the drivers to stand out visually he could get a roller and a can of white paint and have at it.
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I agree with all of the above. My original plan was just to refinish the end caps and side panels to a darker color to match his decor, but then he brought up the face idea. He is a personal friend and I’m doing the refurbishment for him as a favor at cost.
After thinking and considering, it would be sorta tricky to do. I don’t really want to strip the vinyl and I wonder if there would be any issues with contact cement adhesion if I didn’t strip it. Also routing the openings for the tweeters would be a precision operation... Feels like the PITA factor really ramps up. I also agree that adding the thickness of the veneer to the face would cause tolerance issues with the grilles fitting properly. I’m looking for excuses here. Any acoustic arguments against it that I could use? Thanks all.Current Collection: Monitor 4a (Peerless), Monitor 5B (Peerless), Modified Monitor 7b (Peerless), RTA15TL (SL3000), SDA CRS+ (194’s), SDA SRS 2.3TL, R100's, R200’s, R300 🤩 -
Yes, the vinyl material on the bezel has diffraction properties. Using wood veneer will cause those to change and not for the better.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 -
In addition, the speakers are voiced with the grills on, so they should be played that way. Furthermore, if a person is serious about listening they do so with eyes closed.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 -
"Excuse me, Miss....I would like to start dating you, but only if you change your hairstyle and color, change your makeup, lose 20 pounds, change your wardrobe, watch different TV shows and movies, listen to different music, change your diet, root for different professional sports teams, drive a different car, find a different career, and trade your cat for a pug."
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Flame away fellas, I know some will disagree with what I did here. I did this for one of my best friends and it got a fantastic pair of cabinets into his new home. He will love the sound and I feel like they came out looking nice. I placed them today and came away paid with a little extra to cover dinner with the Mrs.
On the fronts I used white oak veneer and glossy polyurethane to finish. The original oak caps and side panels were sanded and stained with Old Masters Spanish Oak penetrating stain. Topped with Howard’s Feed n’ Wax. Trimming out the tweeter openings was a pain. Dremel and exacto knife then a lot of careful sanding... The thickness of the veneer did not really affect the fit on the grilles. They sit out maybe 1/16” in front of the caps now, and there was enough stock space between the grilles and the cloth side panels that the veneer sheets basically filled that gap and the grilles just fit tighter than stock. I did replace all of the mounting pegs since those little buggers don’t come out easily. Might as well just break them off and replace...
Overall it was a kinda tricky project but with a rewarding result. In retrospect it would have been better to completely remove the cloth sidepanels and replace them. I taped them off to mask them from the contact cement and polyurethane. But it worked and I only had to clean the cloth in a couple spots. In time I’ll guide him into the internal updates - crossovers, h-nuts etcetera...
Really enjoy this hobby. Now it’s time to dive into my new pair of $25 SDA2’s!!
Current Collection: Monitor 4a (Peerless), Monitor 5B (Peerless), Modified Monitor 7b (Peerless), RTA15TL (SL3000), SDA CRS+ (194’s), SDA SRS 2.3TL, R100's, R200’s, R300 🤩 -
Those fronts really pop! Looks like very nice work. Well done!Denon AVR X4200W
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"The early Klingon gets the Gagh" -
I like them nekkid....w/o grills 2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC
erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a -
I don't personally care for their new aesthetics (to each his own though), but it's obvious that the quality of your work is impeccable. Job well done man!
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I second on the great job comment. I'm sure they will sound just as great when innards are renewed too. It's something special when you can rest-mod something and tie it all in with the decor. Cudos.Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists.
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So most everyone on here changes tweeters, crossover parts, binding posts, SDA cables and ends, internal wiring, adds BH5, etc which all change the sound, but don't do anything to the baffle because it might change the sound that the Polk engineers intended? Doesn't make much sense to me. If you are wanting them to sound as Polk sold them, don't change everything trying to make them better sounding. Replace worn out parts only with the same new parts if keeping Polk's original sound is your priority. I say they're your speakers and do what you want to them. If you don't like the results try something else.
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Changing the surface material of the baffle can have a detrimental effect. The other proven modifications enhance the performance. That's the difference.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 -
For me - potential sound signature changes aside, I actually kind of like the look. I wouldn't do it, but what you did looks good to me.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
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I agree with @MrBuhl I like the look of them. I personally don't mind the all black Studio SDA 2Bs I got so I wouldn't attempt it and yes I would be too afraid of affecting the sound to do anything with the front baffle. Just me personally but those are YOUR speakers to do with whatever YOU want.
If you like to look at them cool, if you like to listen to them cool, if you like both then go for it.Just a dude doing dude-ly things
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Wow, i really like them. Makes me not want to keep mine. Nice work!
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Wow, i really like them. Makes me not want to keep mine. Nice work!
Makes me want to keep them. Typo, my bad.
Where did you source the vaneer from? -
Where did you source the vaneer from?
http://www.macbeath.com
They have a local store here in Salt Lake City but I believe that you can order online and they will ship. I’ve purchased from them several times. Always excellent quality. Great selection.Current Collection: Monitor 4a (Peerless), Monitor 5B (Peerless), Modified Monitor 7b (Peerless), RTA15TL (SL3000), SDA CRS+ (194’s), SDA SRS 2.3TL, R100's, R200’s, R300 🤩 -
To follow up, I found another Adcom GFA-555 and a GTP-500 (I was very tempted to keep them - mint in original boxes) for my buddy and we hooked things up this week. They sound fantastic in his room. The 194’s need to break in, but overall everyone is very pleased!
Current Collection: Monitor 4a (Peerless), Monitor 5B (Peerless), Modified Monitor 7b (Peerless), RTA15TL (SL3000), SDA CRS+ (194’s), SDA SRS 2.3TL, R100's, R200’s, R300 🤩 -
I think those look pretty awesome! Nice job. And unless you have been very intimate with your SDAs like @F1nut, I don’t think you’ll hear the difference...Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
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Changing the surface material of the baffle can have a detrimental effect. The other proven modifications enhance the performance. That's the difference.
Detrimental? Seriously? If veneer or laminate was so horrible I doubt it would be as common as it is on speaker enclosures. Or slick finish paint. Everyone would just rattle can the front of their cabinets if everything else was detrimental to the performance. -
Changing the surface material of the baffle can have a detrimental effect. The other proven modifications enhance the performance. That's the difference.
Detrimental? Seriously? If veneer or laminate was so horrible I doubt it would be as common as it is on speaker enclosures. Or slick finish paint. Everyone would just rattle can the front of their cabinets if everything else was detrimental to the performance.
Yes, seriously and fyi, the OP's original baffle material was a type of laminate.
Some speakers, such as the OP's were designed/voiced with that particular baffle material. Other speakers, such as the ones you eluded to were designed/voiced with whatever their baffle material may be. Heck, some speakers come with felt "rings" stuck on top of whatever the baffle material may be because the designer deemed it necessary.
There's more to it than you obviously realize.
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 -
I would gladly trade a possible small disturbance in the design to have mine look like his! I th8nk they look sweet.
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Like I said before, the aesthetic was important in getting these in the door. WAF was in full effect. But now she isn't pissy about having “big ugly old golden oak speakers in my brand new house.”
Are they exactly in spec from original, nope... Do they still sound amazing, especially with the 194's? Yep. The SDA “effect” still works great. The soundstage is still impressively wide. The bass is still full and amazingly deep especially when you think about the physics of four 6.5” MW's moving in tandem to actuate that big ol PR. That is what impressed my friend when he heard the exact same model in my home. I understand and agree with the purist sentiment and if maintaining factory spec was the goal, then we wouldn’t have gone down this road. But we got him a very nice pair of fun-to-listen-to speakers that made him and his wife happy.
That said, this was a challenging project that worked out well, IMO. My buddy and I can still have some fun as time goes on doing other upgrades to the crossovers and sealing them up tighter, etcetera. Not gonna sweat the small performance difference that changing the bezel material may have caused. It was fun, we succeeded. Nuff said. Thanks to all for the positive comments and constructive criticisms. This is a fantastic hobby. Love it and enjoy the interactions here.Current Collection: Monitor 4a (Peerless), Monitor 5B (Peerless), Modified Monitor 7b (Peerless), RTA15TL (SL3000), SDA CRS+ (194’s), SDA SRS 2.3TL, R100's, R200’s, R300 🤩 -
You did a nice job.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 -
I don't recall ever hearing a home speaker that didn't benefit from adding felt around at least the tweeters.
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I just caught this thread. Exquisite job @JayMX !Basement: Polk SDA SRS 1.2tl's, Cary SLP-05 Pre with ultimate upgrade,McIntosh MCD301 CD/SACD player, Northstar Designs Excelsio DAC, Cambridge 851N streamer, McIntosh MC300 Amp, Silnote Morpheus Ref2, Series2 Digital Cables, Silnote Morpheus Ref2 Series2 XLR's, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Pangea Power Cables, MIT Shotgun S3 IC's, MIT Shotgun S1 Bi-Wire speaker cables
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