I ended up with 2 left SDA SRS 2.3's from craigslist, now what?

Hi Everyone,

I found a mint pair of SRS 2.3's on craigslist brought them home and found out they are both left speakers? Am I screwed or can I still use them and will they still good? I have not hooked a cable between them because I'm concerned it may damage something in my amp or the speakers. Really bummed, I was totally looking forward to enjoying these for years to come. Any advise is appreciated.

John
«134

Comments

  • John, not good. Sell the components on the bay.
  • Thanks for the reply, sucks
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,474
    Sell me the passives
  • Nightfall
    Nightfall Posts: 10,042
    Oof. I'm sorry man.
    afterburnt wrote: »
    They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.

    Village Idiot of Club Polk
  • Yep, not cool....anyone know if I can use these? Are they the same inside and should I use a cable between them?
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,474
    edited September 2019
    It will not work correctly for SDA with two of the same sides. As for plain stereo speakers it may work ok but still not ideal. Plugging in the cable the amp may see a direct short and let the magic smoke out.
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,034
    It would take a serious commitment, but you could make a new front baffle for one of them I suppose... I have zero experience in doing that kind of work, so take that advice with a large grain of salt...
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,704
    Part them out.
    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

  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,034
    Why would a new baffle not work Jesse?
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
  • mdaudioguy
    mdaudioguy Posts: 5,165
    It would take a serious commitment, but you could make a new front baffle for one of them I suppose... I have zero experience in doing that kind of work, so take that advice with a large grain of salt...

    Good idea... or just start scouring the country for the person with 2 right ones! :p
  • So, if I understand you would not use the cable to connect the 2 speakers? But it may be OK, to use them like regular speakers? I was hoping the internals are all the same and it was just the layout of the drivers? This I can live with. But I really wanted to try the SDA Cable
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,704
    John312 wrote: »
    So, if I understand you would not use the cable to connect the 2 speakers? But it may be OK, to use them like regular speakers? I was hoping the internals are all the same and it was just the layout of the drivers? This I can live with. But I really wanted to try the SDA Cable

    You'll never obtain a balanced soundstage.
    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

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,704
    Why would a new baffle not work Jesse?

    It would....after you destroy the cabinet trying to take it apart.
    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

  • BlueFox
    BlueFox Posts: 15,251
    Did you try to return them?
    Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
    Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
    Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes

    Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
    Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
    Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables

    Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
    Three 20 amp circuits.
  • I'm trying to contact the seller now, but no reply, I've been looking for some of these for a while and was very, very excited to try them, This is my first leap into vintage speakers and vintage Polk. I had no idea there was a left and right util I got home. Expensive lesson for sure. Is it safe to hook them to my amp? is it safe to connect a wire between them? I would like try and give a listen.
  • BlueFox wrote: »
    Did you try to return them?

    Craigslist has a return policy?
  • Nightfall
    Nightfall Posts: 10,042
    edited September 2019
    BlueFox wrote: »
    Did you try to return them?

    Maybe the seller will be understanding. Probably not but there are good people out there. Maybe he had two pairs in storage and wasn't paying attention either. Maybe he'll refund you. Maybe he knew all along and he'll ignore you. Find out.
    afterburnt wrote: »
    They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.

    Village Idiot of Club Polk
  • Flip upside down and hoop a wire between them? Or just run a normal stereo speakers without connecting them together with the SDA cable?
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,034
    edited September 2019
    One of the cabinets would need to be rewired as a right side before trying anything with the SDA, so no. If these are hard to come by in your neighborhood, I would seriously consider reworking one of them to be a right side. If you do not have the skills to do so, a competent cabinet builder should be able to pull it off.
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
  • I hope the seller is cool, trying to reach him now, but no luck.
  • Thanks everyone for the input. Is it just moving the drivers? Or do I have to worry about the guts, crossovers and all the internal's? I'm worried about damaging the speakers or my amp...last thing I need is smoke and fire
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,034
    I would not worry about anything right now until you get the front baffle squared away. You will not be able to get anything that sounds like what they should until the speakers are mirror-imaged. After that, you can rewire the drivers.

    This is going to be a big commitment in time and money to get sorted, but it will be a rewarding experience and be worth it in the end.
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
  • It's a shame, they are in very, very good condition and I'm embarrassed to say I paid a almost full price. Lets just say far north of $500....crap
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,034
    edited September 2019
    Were you planning on doing any upgrades to them at all? Hopefully the seller will be a stand-up guy and at least give you some of your money back, if not a full refund. Where are you located?
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
  • I hope so, I asked for a partial refund and got nothing....Crickets
  • audioluvr
    audioluvr Posts: 5,420
    So let's back up here a second. Are you SURE they are both the same channel? One should have two drivers on the right and one should have two on the left. If that's not the case then John has a point that you could possibly have the opposite channel have two holes filled and two drilled (if done right) The crossovers and internal wiring (albiet on the wrong side) are the same so you shouldn't have magic smoke if you connect an interconnect as long as you are running a common ground amp.

    As for Jesse's comment about imaging symmetry... well, no one knows for sure what the impact would be but there is always that possibility. IF you want to pursue this further there are a few here that could help with proper repair (including Jesse...).
    Gustard X26 Pro DAC
    Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
    B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
    Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
    Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
    Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)


    There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus
  • Thank you Audioluvr and everyone! And I think I will try the baffle mod. Both speakers are labelled "left" on the rear and both have 2 drivers on the left side. If the internals are the same I will move 2 drivers and fill 2 drivers as suggested. Not sure how to fill them so they look good but I may try. they look so darn good without the grills on.
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,704
    edited September 2019
    The cabinets are a monocoque construction. IIRC, the joints interlock, so I don't know one could remove the baffle without destroying the cabinet.

    There's no way they will sound right with the SDA cable in use as is. One thing you could try is swapping the stereo and SDA drivers along with their wires in what would become the right channel. In the 2.3 the SDA drivers are the two in the middle of the row of four. The top and bottom donut drivers are frequency restricted (sub bass) stereo drivers.
    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

  • audioluvr
    audioluvr Posts: 5,420
    I think if you drill the two holes with a hole saw then use those pieces and the sawdust mixed with wood glue as filler or even an epoxy to reglue it in the holes that would work. Use a greased piece of cardboard or something taped to the inside for backing so your filler piece sits flush.
    Gustard X26 Pro DAC
    Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
    B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
    Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
    Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
    Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)


    There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus
  • Wow this looks like some work, also is there an easy way to check if my amp is a common ground amp? and is it safe to hook these to any amp without the SDA interconnect hooking then 2 speakers together? I just picked these up today and I'm dying to try them out....Great forum and awesome people on here. Nice job and many thanks everyone!