Polk SDA SRS 2 pin/blade - Polyswitch - Resistor Replacement

jimkelly101
jimkelly101 Posts: 24
in Vintage Speakers
Hello all,
I completed a recap on these speakers a couple of months ago. I removed the polyswitch and replaced it with a .33 Ohm Mills resistor. Now I'm hearing a rather nasty peak between 2.5K hz and 5K hz. I'm going to change to a .5 ohm. Any preference as to what brand of resistor or recommendation for a different impedance?
Thanks.
Maketrax :cool:
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Answers

  • Dr_Wu
    Dr_Wu Posts: 335
    Vishay Mills and Mundorf are the brands that seem to be most often mentioned here.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,591
    Mills
    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

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  • jimkelly101
    jimkelly101 Posts: 24
    Thank you both for your reply. I've ordered 2) 0.5 Ohm Mills resistors. After further reading, some people are saying that the Mills resistors are very colored sounding. Do you think that their "sound" could be the cause of my lower treble bump?
    My crossover was recapped with Sonicaps on top and Clarity Caps PX on the bottom.
    Any advise you can give me will be very much appreciated!!
    Thanks
    Maketrax :cool:
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,470
    I've used mills or vishay-mills (new owner) in several sets of SDA's and I have been very happy. I do not find them colored at all. YMMV
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  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,487
    Do your speakers have the SL2000 tweeters? I believe those are infamous for a disgreeable peak in the response somewhere around there. Perhaps the lower resistance just made it more noticeable to you, if so.
    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,591
    jimkelly101 wrote: »
    Thank you both for your reply. I've ordered 2) 0.5 Ohm Mills resistors. After further reading, some people are saying that the Mills resistors are very colored sounding. Do you think that their "sound" could be the cause of my lower treble bump?
    My crossover was recapped with Sonicaps on top and Clarity Caps PX on the bottom.
    Any advise you can give me will be very much appreciated!!
    Thanks

    Everything adds it's own color to the sound. Mills resistors are not causing what you're describing. Are you still using the original tweeters?

    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

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  • jimkelly101
    jimkelly101 Posts: 24
    Been using RD0194 replacements for years now. Original SL2000's are long gone. I'm very familiar with the RD0194 and this problem didn't appear until I recapped and changed all the resistors to Mills.
    Maketrax :cool:
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,591
    Ok, well it's definitely not the Mills, although you should have used the .5 ohm value. It could be the caps, how many hours do you have on them? Another possibility is you are hearing an upstream issue such as your source, pre or power.
    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

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  • jimkelly101
    jimkelly101 Posts: 24
    Ok, I'm using a Denon DA-300USB DAC which is a very good sounding DAC. Harmon Kardon 3390 Receiver (Pre-Amp out only) in to a Carver TFM-42 Power Amp (Recapped by Rita several years ago).
    I'm guessing that I have 300 to 500 hours on them. It's hard to judge. I use this system while I'm working at my computer with TV (online) sound coming through them at fairly low volume. When I do listen to music, I turn it up for maybe a couple of hours a day.
    I've checked my system and it sounded fine before the recap. Changed cables to be sure. I did own a commercial recording studio here in Maryland for a while. I'm no expert, but I know a little something.
    Also, this does seem to be somewhat dependent on the source recording. It doesn't do this on all recordings, but it does occur on old recordings that didn't do this before.
    Maybe it's my old ears now. Don't get old!
    Maketrax :cool:
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,591
    Your ears are still good. What you are hearing now is more than likely the true nature of the mastering.
    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

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  • jimkelly101
    jimkelly101 Posts: 24
    Ok. Thanks. One last opinion from you, if you don't mind. When shopping for a .5 ohm resistor I noticed a .56 and I was tempted to buy that one. What do you think? Will it make a difference?
    Maketrax :cool:
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,591
    Absolutely, grab a few different values and tweak away.
    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

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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,470
    Here in the states all I could find for awhile were .47 or .56 12watt. I ordered my .5 mills from hifi collective when i ordered my inductors.
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  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,487
    If the ears are in doubt perhaps play some white noise and check the frequency response with an app on your smart phone. See if you see any peak like what your ears are perceiving.
    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • jimkelly101
    jimkelly101 Posts: 24
    Ok. thanks very much for all you responses and ideas. I think the first thing I'll do is try a couple of different values of resistors.
    I appreciate your help. Have a great day, and safe out there!
    Maketrax :cool:
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  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,487
    Another thing to check would be to make sure that none of the MWs have frozen up or are experiencing a binding voice coil situation.
    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • jimkelly101
    jimkelly101 Posts: 24
    Ok. Thanks.
    Maketrax :cool:
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