Polk SDA-SRS 1.2 and CS1000P
pray4sno
Posts: 10
We have the above speakers. My wife is convinced they are sounding tired compared to some newer speakers we have. I am not a speaker expert. There is nothing visibly wrong with the speakers and I am not convinced its anything more than just the differences between the speakers design. Anyone have any comments on whether speakers get "tired", if they do is it the speakers themselves, the electronics in the speakers or both, is there anything a person can do about it in speakers of this age? They have been great speakers. If we replace them is there a market for these and does anyone have any thoughts on value. Thanks
Answers
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Crossover components do age and over time, go out of spec, or otherwise fail. The SL2000/SL3000 tweeters also did not age well. Thankfully, this forum is loaded with information on how to go about restoring and actually improving the performance of your speakers. For less than a grand, you can make them sing like new or even better.
I have the 1.2TL's and they are my end-game speaker.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 -
Speakers, like everything, get old and no longer perform as well as when new.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. -
Caps drift out of spec but it sounds more like your wife might not like large speakers in the house anymore and she's trying to let you down easy.afterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
Caps drift out of spec but it sounds more like your wife might not like large speakers in the house anymore and she's trying to let you down easy.
And that is why I pointed out they can be restored far cheaper than replacing them.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 -
Thank you for the responses. She is just trying to let me down easy. But for a different reason. While they may be a little smaller in dimension she's just looking for a reason to get the GoldenEar Triton Reference speakers. I'll do some digging into how to bring the Polk's back. For a grand maybe we'll have a couple pairs of speakers around if she insists on the Goldenears.
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Where did she hear the Tritons?
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The restored SRS will beat the Tritons IMHO...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 -
She hasn't yet. We have some Triton 2's in another room that she really likes though. We've found a stereo shop owner who has a pair in his house it sounds he is willing to bring in for us to listen to. We'll be headed there in the next few weeks to hear them.
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Whatever the outcome you should be extremely happy your spouse is involved in audio. Some, but NOT all, newer speakers are voiced to be more treble hot or forward. That may be what she's hearing in the Tritons vs. the SDA 1.2's. Female hearing is supposedly more sensitive? than males.
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The SRS have been/are amazing speakers. I like the idea of restoring them even if she opts to get the Tritons. She is also contemplating the Legend 800. We have a friend who was on a carrier who tells us the beginning of Top Gun on the SRS's is the closest thing to being on the deck he has ever heard.
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Her interest in audio certainly beats an interest in jewelry or clothes...lol. I do believe the Triton 2's we have are more treble forward than the SRS's. At least in the SRS's current state. I give her a bad time about the Tritons sounding kind of tinny compared to the SRS's.
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Get on restoring those crossovers and replacing the tweeters. Post up some pictures so we can assist you in getting them right.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 -
Thanks for the encouragement. I will get the tweeters coming and replace them. My perception is that replacing them should be pretty easy. The crossovers I am a little more intimidated by. I will probably not jump into them until I have a little more time in May. I will post pictures.
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The crossovers can be as easy as plug and play. Just order the parts and have them shipped to me. I will assemble them for free and ship them to you.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 -
Thanks for the offer! I may still take you up on it if things get ugly. However, I do have electronics soldering equipment and have found information available on the parts required and a wiring diagram for the crossover if I replace the SL2000's with the 194's. I have also read where I can replace them with the newer 198's if I upgrade the crossover. Since I will be doing the crossover what are your thoughts on going with the 198 instead of the 194?
Do you know anything about the Polk CS1000P? -
If I was upgrading the XO for the 1.2's I'd go the whole 9 yards for the 198's myself. It's easy enough to do.
The center channel will benefit from better poly caps as well. I'm not sure if there ever was the ability for it to be able to use the 198. -
If you decide to install the RD0-198's, you will need to add a larger quick connect for the negative tab on the tweeter. You will also need a Molex tool to switch the polarity of all 8 wires at the crossover.Since I will be doing the crossover what are your thoughts on going with the 198 instead of the 194?
SDA SRS 2.3TL's
Silk Audio MS-90-BT integrated tube amp
Yaqin MS-20L integrated tube amp
SDA 2B TL's -
@pray4sno are the red binding post nuts on the back of your speakers on the left or on the right?SDA SRS 2.3TL's
Silk Audio MS-90-BT integrated tube amp
Yaqin MS-20L integrated tube amp
SDA 2B TL's -
Every photo of an SDA SRS 1.2 (pin/blade IC socket) that I've seen has a 1st generation SDA SRS (blade/blade IC socket) sticker on the back of the cabinet. The problem with that is the 1st generation SRS's have the positive binding post nuts on the right, whereas the 1.2's have the positive binding post nuts on the left.
That's why owners of confirmed SDA SRS 1.2's (pin/blade IC socket) should make sure that the positive binding post nuts are on the left and not the right, irregardless of what the sticker says. Otherwise they're unwittingly listening to the 1.2's out of phase.
I would recommend removing the binding post cups to confirm that the positive wires are in the correct location .SDA SRS 2.3TL's
Silk Audio MS-90-BT integrated tube amp
Yaqin MS-20L integrated tube amp
SDA 2B TL's -
We purchased the speakers new in late 1987 but they have the SL2000 tweeters based on pictures I have seen of them and the SL3000. As a result, I believe they are 4th generation SRS SDA 1.2's. They have the blade and pin IC and the red posts are on the right and the sticker says they are the positive connections. I will check but the speakers were spectacular for many years. Its only been in the last 5 to 10 years we have felt like maybe we were losing some of the higher ranges.
I am not proposing to do anything with the tweeter in the CS1000P. We bought it new in 2001 and at one point quite a few years ago felt like it was missing the higher ranges and voices so we had it worked on and things were fine until a week ago. Again it seems like we have lost the higher ranges. When I open the back of the speaker the crossover I see doesn't look anything like the pictures people have posted of their CS1000P crossover or the wiring diagram I found. We are thinking when the shop worked on the speaker they replaced the crossover for some reason. At this point I am wondering if it has one of the polyphase switches I have read about and it has failed but with no information on what was installed I may have to take it to someone smarter than I am to figure it out.
Thanks again everyone.
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Correct, you have 1.2's because of the pin/blade socket. However the 1.2's are supposed to have the positive binding post nuts on the left, not the right. Only the original SRS has the red on the right. Your speakers are hooked up out of phase because the factory set them up according to the label on the back of the cabinet. Polk was Notorious for using up old stock on newer models. In this case that was a major manufacturing error. Look closely at the sticker on the back and you will notice two rectangles instead of a circle and a rectangle. That signifies blade blade interconnect and only the original SRS has that socket. You can correct that by unscrewing the red binding post nuts and move them to the left side. Then your speakers will be in phase and sound the way they should.SDA SRS 2.3TL's
Silk Audio MS-90-BT integrated tube amp
Yaqin MS-20L integrated tube amp
SDA 2B TL's -
michaeljhsda2, I pulled the terminal post plate off both speakers. While the wire colors do not match the wiring diagram gimpod prepared, the IC wire clearly is shown going to the negative post in the diagram and in our speakers it runs to what we have been treating as the positive post based on the red color. This also led us to look more closely at the speaker manual. It shows the positive on the left. It will be interesting to see what difference this makes. Thank you for the comments.
