Making in walls out of SDA 1C's
Have my original SDA's from 1987 and have enjoyed them for many years. Time for a change so l'm trying something different by converting them to in walls. I cut the enclosures off from the faceplate that houses the drivers. Installed tongue and groove panels on an angle in each front corner. Eliminated the interconnect cable and re wired the crossovers to a standard 3 way speaker. I will upload pics. They are on another device. Lost some bass due to the size of the corner panels. But I'm using a subwoofer so no big deal. Actually very surprised and happy with the sound they still produce.
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"Some people find it easier to be conceited rather than correct."
"Unwad those panties and have a good time man. We're all here to help each other, no matter how it might appear." DSkip -
I have to know.....were you really tired of having good imaging and soundstage OR was it wife problems?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 -
The speakers are 34 years old and were about to be a yard sale. I plan on replacing them with klipsch in Wells. So this is just a project that save me around 500 bucks. They still rock and sound amazing
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Sorry man you will get no sympathy for that...
I really want to know how you worked the XO -
I wire the dimensional drivers the same as the stereo drivers. So they are in series instead of parrarell
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Well all I can say is say is that the setup looks really cool! I love the natural wood paneling and the light sea foam green paint. The floating cabinet is really modern looking but the paneling and curtains give it a very light, bright, airy and welcoming feel. And compared to like 98% of American setups, I’m sure it sounds awesome. Nice job!
And nice Congas! You play any other instruments?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
Game Room 5.1.4: Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
Bedroom 2.1 Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer -
Yes I also play drums.
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I think you should have used a different speaker for that in wall set up, but it does look cool.
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If I understood correctly he is planning to replace them with Klipsch In Wall Speakers, like these I suppose:
https://www.klipsch.com/in-wall-speakers
I suppose you can sell the Polk drivers as individual units. The crossover won't have any value after your mods. The SDA 1C's would've been worth more uncorrupted.
Are the corner unit boxes sealed or open at the top and bottom?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 -
I should've also said that I agree the room does look very nice. Good use of the knotty pine.
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 -
UghPolitical 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 -
Gardenstater wrote: »If I understood correctly he is planning to replace them with Klipsch In Wall Speakers, like these I suppose:
https://www.klipsch.com/in-wall-speakers
I suppose you can sell the Polk drivers as individual units. The crossover won't have any value after your mods. The SDA 1C's would've been worth more uncorrupted.
Are the corner unit boxes sealed or open at the top and bottom?Gardenstater wrote: »If I understood correctly he is planning to replace them with Klipsch In Wall Speakers, like these I suppose:
https://www.klipsch.com/in-wall-speakers
I suppose you can sell the Polk drivers as individual units. The crossover won't have any value after your mods. The SDA 1C's would've been worth more uncorrupted.
Are the corner unit boxes sealed or open at the top and bottom?
They are sealed and have batting in them -
Gardenstater wrote: »If I understood correctly he is planning to replace them with Klipsch In Wall Speakers, like these I suppose:
https://www.klipsch.com/in-wall-speakers
I suppose you can sell the Polk drivers as individual units. The crossover won't have any value after your mods. The SDA 1C's would've been worth more uncorrupted.
Are the corner unit boxes sealed or open at the top and bottom?
Yes. I’m still considering the klipsch 5502’s. They are currently out of stock. One of the reasons I decided to go this route for now.
I was never concerned about making any money by selling the sda’s. I’ve gotten plenty of use out of them. The crossovers are fully intact I just re-directed the internal wiring -
Honestly some VERY nice quality work, I would like to hear this set up!
And I get why some purists balk at dismantling an older vintage speaker, but if the OP is happy, why not?
At least it is not some total hack job, some class and work to what he did!~ -
👍
That’s definitely thinking “outside the box”....
When you’re ready to ditch them , let us know , instead of pitching them to the curb ....
Someone here may want those mid-woofer drivers as spares - like me !
😊
BkPS Audio S300 , WiiM Ultra , Yamaha wxc-50 , Salk SuperCharged Songtowers , Kimber Kable 4TC, Sony 48” - BEDROOM
B&K EX-442 ( it will go in my casket when I die ... ) , PS Audio 4.6 preamp ( old school , but it still jams on ... ) , Eversolo DMP-A6 , Boston Acoustic voyager 7’s - POOL
Parasound A21, Eversolo DMP-A8 , Kimber Kable 4vs , Ascend Acoustics ELX Ribbon Towers , Sony XBR-A8F 65” OLED - DEN , MAIN system
Onkyo TX-nr609 , Polk atrium 7 , Boston acoustic sound ware (4) , Boston acoustic sub , B&W center , Sony 65” TV - PATIO -
The designer/fabricator in me, is curious what actual interior volume those corner boxes would measure?
They seem a good bit larger than the original box for sure.
That would account for much of the loss of bass, exempting sealing issues.. If the box is far larger than the original design (which this visually seems to be) that would drastically lower the box tuning to the point where the passive would not contribute much to the bass, as originally designed. -
I'd have to agree to that assessment. They used a 15" passive in the bigger SDA SRS 2 which used the same drivers.
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Hansvelton wrote: »The designer/fabricator in me, is curious what actual interior volume those corner boxes would measure?
They seem a good bit larger than the original box for sure.
That would account for much of the loss of bass, exempting sealing issues.. If the box is far larger than the original design (which this visually seems to be) that would drastically lower the box tuning to the point where the passive would not contribute much to the bass, as originally designed.
during the intial trial with no sub, I noticed the bass loss. So I packed the upper and lower sections of corners with batting. I left the area behind the 4 drivers down to the passive open. That brought back some bass and it is more than enough when used in conjuction with my sub. -
👍
That’s definitely thinking “outside the box”....
When you’re ready to ditch them , let us know , instead of pitching them to the curb ....
Someone here may want those mid-woofer drivers as spares - like me !
😊
Bk
I see you have B&K amp. I have a ton of equipment including B&K 654 amp, pro 5 preamp and tuner. Denon 4400 mono blocks and alot more just collecting dust in storage. To simplify, I switched over to Pioneer Elite recievers and couldnt be happier. -
Hansvelton wrote: »The designer/fabricator in me, is curious what actual interior volume those corner boxes would measure?
They seem a good bit larger than the original box for sure.
That would account for much of the loss of bass, exempting sealing issues.. If the box is far larger than the original design (which this visually seems to be) that would drastically lower the box tuning to the point where the passive would not contribute much to the bass, as originally designed.
during the intial trial with no sub, I noticed the bass loss. So I packed the upper and lower sections of corners with batting. I left the area behind the 4 drivers down to the passive open. That brought back some bass and it is more than enough when used in conjuction with my sub.
Something you may (or may not) want to try, is to see how well sealed the "Box" is, by pushing carefully on the middle of the passive, then release it and watching how slowly or quickly it moves back to the normal position.
That will give you a fair idea (outside of running an impedance sweep) of how much air loss is occurring or not. -
Hansvelton wrote: »Hansvelton wrote: »The designer/fabricator in me, is curious what actual interior volume those corner boxes would measure?
They seem a good bit larger than the original box for sure.
That would account for much of the loss of bass, exempting sealing issues.. If the box is far larger than the original design (which this visually seems to be) that would drastically lower the box tuning to the point where the passive would not contribute much to the bass, as originally designed.
during the intial trial with no sub, I noticed the bass loss. So I packed the upper and lower sections of corners with batting. I left the area behind the 4 drivers down to the passive open. That brought back some bass and it is more than enough when used in conjuction with my sub.
Something you may (or may not) want to try, is to see how well sealed the "Box" is, by pushing carefully on the middle of the passive, then release it and watching how slowly or quickly it moves back to the normal position.
That will give you a fair idea (outside of running an impedance sweep) of how much air loss is occurring or not.
It moves back fairly quick -
Hansvelton wrote: »Hansvelton wrote: »The designer/fabricator in me, is curious what actual interior volume those corner boxes would measure?
They seem a good bit larger than the original box for sure.
That would account for much of the loss of bass, exempting sealing issues.. If the box is far larger than the original design (which this visually seems to be) that would drastically lower the box tuning to the point where the passive would not contribute much to the bass, as originally designed.
during the intial trial with no sub, I noticed the bass loss. So I packed the upper and lower sections of corners with batting. I left the area behind the 4 drivers down to the passive open. That brought back some bass and it is more than enough when used in conjuction with my sub.
Something you may (or may not) want to try, is to see how well sealed the "Box" is, by pushing carefully on the middle of the passive, then release it and watching how slowly or quickly it moves back to the normal position.
That will give you a fair idea (outside of running an impedance sweep) of how much air loss is occurring or not.
That is NOT the way you test, that will tell you nothing.
Passive test is
1. push quickly in until bottoms out and hold there and watch mid-woofers hold until MW are back at resting position
2. count time it takes MW to recede to resting position
3. the longer the better report back
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👍
That’s definitely thinking “outside the box”....
When you’re ready to ditch them , let us know , instead of pitching them to the curb ....
Someone here may want those mid-woofer drivers as spares - like me !
😊
Bk
I see you have B&K amp. I have a ton of equipment including B&K 654 amp, pro 5 preamp and tuner. Denon 4400 mono blocks and alot more just collecting dust in storage. To simplify, I switched over to Pioneer Elite recievers and couldnt be happier.
4400 mono blocks you say? -
👍
That’s definitely thinking “outside the box”....
When you’re ready to ditch them , let us know , instead of pitching them to the curb ....
Someone here may want those mid-woofer drivers as spares - like me !
😊
Bk
I see you have B&K amp. I have a ton of equipment including B&K 654 amp, pro 5 preamp and tuner. Denon 4400 mono blocks and alot more just collecting dust in storage. To simplify, I switched over to Pioneer Elite recievers and couldnt be happier.
4400 mono blocks you say?
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Hansvelton wrote: »Hansvelton wrote: »The designer/fabricator in me, is curious what actual interior volume those corner boxes would measure?
They seem a good bit larger than the original box for sure.
That would account for much of the loss of bass, exempting sealing issues.. If the box is far larger than the original design (which this visually seems to be) that would drastically lower the box tuning to the point where the passive would not contribute much to the bass, as originally designed.
during the intial trial with no sub, I noticed the bass loss. So I packed the upper and lower sections of corners with batting. I left the area behind the 4 drivers down to the passive open. That brought back some bass and it is more than enough when used in conjuction with my sub.
Something you may (or may not) want to try, is to see how well sealed the "Box" is, by pushing carefully on the middle of the passive, then release it and watching how slowly or quickly it moves back to the normal position.
That will give you a fair idea (outside of running an impedance sweep) of how much air loss is occurring or not.
That is NOT the way you test, that will tell you nothing.
Passive test is
1. push quickly in until bottoms out and hold there and watch mid-woofers hold until MW are back at resting position
2. count time it takes MW to recede to resting position
3. the longer the better report back
MW recede quick
I did run a 5 to 200 Hz test off of YouTube through my sound system with the sub disconnected and the SDA1C’s were audible starting at 40 Hz -
👍
That’s definitely thinking “outside the box”....
When you’re ready to ditch them , let us know , instead of pitching them to the curb ....
Someone here may want those mid-woofer drivers as spares - like me !
😊
Bk
I see you have B&K amp. I have a ton of equipment including B&K 654 amp, pro 5 preamp and tuner. Denon 4400 mono blocks and alot more just collecting dust in storage. To simplify, I switched over to Pioneer Elite recievers and couldnt be happier.
4400 mono blocks you say?
Right next to the VCRGustard 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 -
I've got a soft spot for old Denon iron
