SDA Cable
Kwikfinger
Posts: 1
I have a pair of SDA 1C Polk Audio Speakers that I picked up for $50 on OfferUp, but they are missing the interconnect cable, is there anyone out there who knows where I can find this ? Or does anyone have information about the cable itself ? I'm curious about if it can be replicated, if I could make one myself ? I've been searching everywhere for 6 months now & finding zilch ! Please help !🤪
Answers
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Sure, just use an rca cable to the pin slot....the blade slot is irrelevant.
It works and is 100% safe....I assure you.
Enjoy!I plan for the future. - F1Nut -
Early 1C's used a blade/blade cable. Both blades carried a signal.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 -
Learn something new every day....I plan for the future. - F1Nut
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Early 1C's used a blade/blade cable. Both blades carried a signal.
My question to that is....
What then were the difference between the early C and the previous B model?
Drivers and caps?
I had known early C had B/b socket BUT I clearly was wrong to presume that the connection was both blades were NOT active. -
I could be corrected on that one.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 the OP....IF it has a pin/blade connection....use the RCA cable.
Blade/Blade.....ebay probably best bet.I plan for the future. - F1Nut -
A typical RCA interconnect will likely have a tiny conductor. The RCA pin may be approximately the right size to plug into the speaker, but the cable it's attached to is probably insufficient. (Unless you're custom-making an SDA interconnect cable using "speaker wire" connected to RCA plugs.)Sure, just use an rca cable to the pin slot....the blade slot is irrelevant.
It works and is 100% safe....I assure you.
I don't think so. At least, not until you use the isolation transformer. One blade socket on those wasn't connected to anything. That's the big "fix" for those--to add a foot of wire between one of the blade connectors and the negative terminal so both the blades are electrically active.Early 1C's used a blade/blade cable. Both blades carried a signal.
https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/131691/2b-and-early-1c-ai-1-modifications#latest
The 1B had blade/blade, and both conductors carried signal. There were major differences in the way the SDA signal was transferred between the two speaker cabinets between the 1B and earlier speakers, and the 1C and later speakers.
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Well, in the case of a pin/blade connection......and your choices are
A. Connect the with an RCA cable (you might have to shave the collar)
Or
B. Listen to the speakers with no cable
I’ll take what’s behind door number one, Monty.
I’ve done it. Many others have done it.....I’m pretty sure Polk Audio suggested it as a work around.....and nobody has suffered any ill effectsI plan for the future. - F1Nut -
I don't think so. At least, not until you use the isolation transformer. One blade socket on those wasn't connected to anything. That's the big "fix" for those--to add a foot of wire between one of the blade connectors and the negative terminal so both the blades are electrically active.
Yep, I think you're right. Thanks!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 -
The "ill effects" would be a reduction in SDA volume (and clarity?) due to excess resistance in the RCA cable conductor. It'd "work" but not be "right". I'm thinking that Polk used 16- or 18-gauge wire in the SDA cable; while the center conductor in typical RCA-terminated interconnects are thinner than that.Well, in the case of a pin/blade connection......and your choices are
A. Connect the with an RCA cable (you might have to shave the collar)
Or
B. Listen to the speakers with no cable
I’ll take what’s behind door number one, Monty.
I’ve done it. Many others have done it.....I’m pretty sure Polk Audio suggested it as a work around.....and nobody has suffered any ill effects
I'd suggest
C. Build a custom cable using speaker wire and modified RCA ends
D. Remove or bypass the OEM connector socket, install an aftermarket connection point--banana plugs, the fancy Neutrik air-tight audiophile connector body, or some other connector. This "works" no matter which style of connector Polk originally supplied on the 1C.
E. in the case of those 1Cs built with blade/blade connector sockets, spend the rest of your life looking for the "Adapter Plugs" that were once provided by Polk, but which are probably decades out-of-production. But God bless eBay, you might get lucky. (I doubt it.) Then use Option C. -
And you know this for a fact because?
Perhaps, I am just that dumb, but I ran SDA’s for a long time and found no loss of anything....nor has anyone else reported such....
YMMV.I plan for the future. - F1Nut -
Just moved into what I hope will be
my last house. Broke out my SDA-SRS’s (circa 1985) and went into a panic. No IC cable! Then big sigh of relief when I found it in a box with component cables. Now I’m ready to unbox my SDA-1C’s. . . Will there be an IC cable there? They have been in their boxes for a few years. Saw pin/blade cables on ebay $65. What would be a good cable to use for building a new one? Bought both sets new. -
Whatever speaker wire you prefer, along with cable ends/connectors to suit.What would be a good cable to use for building a new one?
It's the ends on the cable, and the matching connector bodies on the cabinets that's the problem. Far as I know, the OEM connections are no longer available. Perhaps I'm wrong.
As said, the "hot" set-up as I understand it is the airtight/sealed versions of the Neutrik connectors. Just remember that your "original" SDA-SRS is wired differently than the newer generations.
You only need one dedicated "SDA" connector terminal on each cabinet, the input for the SDA drivers via the big capacitors and inductor. The two conductors in the SDA cable carry full-range, full-volume signal to the opposite speaker cabinet. You could piggyback the SDA cable output conductor onto the regular positive speaker terminal. So from each speaker, you have a conductor leading from the positive terminal to the opposite speaker's SDA input terminal.
It also works for the SDA 1B, SRS 2 blade/blade, SDA 2A, and maybe some older generation speakers. This SDA wiring is NOT correct for the newer generations.
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I used the neutrik sealed connectors on my 2A,s they work great. They also have a twist lock.
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I used the neutrik sealed connectors on my 2A,s they work great. They also have a twist lock.
That is the best way to go.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
