Re-wiring one SDA Speaker at a time... Experiences?

Polkvibes

Happy Holidays all. I recently had to fix an issue with the crossover on my right SDA-SRS speaker (circa 1985). While I was in there, I decided to re-wire all the RD0-194 tweeters w/ fresh wire. I used decent 18awg OFC speaker wire, nothing too fancy. I also soldered the wire directly to the tweeters, ditching the old oxidized stock Polk wire clips.

I immediately noticed that the treble from the right speaker was crisper/more detailed, especially noticeable with electric guitars. It also made the SDA sound from the right speaker more prominent and "hanging in the air" more. The SDA/treble from the left speaker is more mellow/subdued, causing an imbalance.

Question: Has anyone else re-wired one SDA speaker at a time and experienced this? Do you feel this is a common occurrence?

Hearing experiences from forum members should help me make an educated decision whether to re-wire the left speaker's tweeters.

It would be a shame to tear apart the left speaker, only to find that the issue was caused by something else (room/placement issues?)

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Navy_Goat

Thanks for sharing your observations! I do not have any personal experience to share, I have not replaced the internal wiring of my SDAs, but it is a project that I would like to do at some point. Sounds to me like you are impressed with the results.

I wonder how much of the improvement is a result of the direct solder connection?

Toolfan66

I re-wired my SDA’s on a full blown upgrades so I wouldn’t be able to pinpoint what exactly did what in terms of sound quality, but I wouldn’t be surprised by your findings, I had thought about a direct solder to the tweets but I opted to use new clips…

Polkvibes

Yes I definitely prefer the sound of the right speaker, it really woke it up. Just standard fresh OFC wires in place of the sticky oxidized stock Polk 16awg. Funny you mention about the direct solder connection - that's exactly what I was thinking. I also had the crossovers recapped w/ matched Sonicaps so I doubt the imbalance is due to the crossovers themselves.

Re-wiring the tweeters in the SDA-SRS is a time-consuming job, so I want to eliminate any other possible causes before I jump in again!

(Side note: you have to be really careful about soldering to the RD0-194/198s because of those flimsy glued-in speaker tabs -- and you also have to angle the wire 'just-so' in order for the tweeters to fit back in the enclosure -- if you use too thick wire or bend the wires from the tabs at the wrong angle, the tweeters won't fit into the cabinet, at least with the SDA-SRS. (Ask me how I know.....)

Polkvibes

Toolfan, thanks... I'm leaning towards re-wiring the left one, pending more responses. Yeah, I kinda had to solder the tweeters directly out of necessity -- the clips I ordered didn't fit on the speaker tabs and I didn't want to wait!

VR3

The original sda SRS with the clear jacket on the tweeters is completely shot at this point. Ive seen some that look like green slime

Mike Reeter

I replaced all the internal wiring on my 2.3TL's and the 3.1TL's with Supra tinned copper. I did use new spade connectors instead of direct solder to the driver tabs.

Made a significant increase in clarity and a richer overall tone. A worthwhile upgrade for sure, especially if you already have the SDA's dismantled.

Gardenstater

Are you saying the left speaker's tweeters sounds worse than it did before the rewire or it just didn't seem to get any benefit like the right did?

Did you use a minimum of solder on both connections? That's preferable.

I used the gold plated fastons crimped and then back filled with just a touch of solder (Signature Wonder).

joebass3

I like the idea but curious why you went with a smaller gauge wire?

Gardenstater

Oops I see that I skimmed your post too quickly and I see that you didn't do the left speaker at all. I guess I thought you were doing one set of speakers at a time. YES I definitely noticed an improvement when I went from the original 22 awg Polk tweeter wires (7B) to 15.5 awg Cardas Litz and I did do my R speaker first like you did. So confirmed.

I believe my first impression was greater shimmer and decay in the cymbals. Of course it was much more than that. Hesitating to use the overused expression of greater clarity.

pitdogg2

I would have used gold plated quick connects and dropped a bit of cardas solder in it after crimped. (not on the tweeter tab)
You can get them reasonable priced at most auto parts stores. Advanced, O'Riley and AutoZone.
It's so much easier to deal with if/when you toast or switch to a different tweeter.

F1nut

pitdogg2 wrote: »

I would have used gold plated quick connects and dropped a bit of cardas solder in it after crimped. (not on the tweeter tab)
You can get them reasonable priced at most auto parts stores. Advanced, O'Riley and AutoZone.
It's so much easier to deal with if/when you toast or switch to a different tweeter.

^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^

Polkvibes

Thanks for all the help!

pitdogg2 wrote: »

I would have used gold plated quick connects and dropped a bit of cardas solder in it after crimped. (not on the tweeter tab)
You can get them reasonable priced at most auto parts stores. Advanced, O'Riley and AutoZone.
It's so much easier to deal with if/when you toast or switch to a different tweeter.

Great idea. Does anyone know what size I'd be looking for? I ordered a few different small sizes from Amazon and I was surprised that none of them fit, and even bent a tab while trying to slide one on.

Gardenstater wrote: »

Oops I see that I skimmed your post too quickly and I see that you didn't do the left speaker at all. I guess I thought you were doing one set of speakers at a time. YES I definitely noticed an improvement when I went from the original 22 awg Polk tweeter wires (7B) to 15.5 awg Cardas Litz and I did do my R speaker first like you did. So confirmed.

I believe my first impression was greater shimmer and decay in the cymbals. Of course it was much more than that. Hesitating to use the overused expression of greater clarity.

Interesting, that's what I figured, thank you for the input.

joebass3 wrote: »

I like the idea but curious why you went with a smaller gauge wire?

Went with the smaller gauge wire out of necessity... anything thicker wouldn't bend right and fit into the cabinet. Even with the small wire, I had to angle it a specific way or else a small bend would block the tweeters from fitting flush with the cabinet. It was a real pain in you know what... I toasted a tweeter after trying to remove the solder. Lesson learned.

Mike Reeter wrote: »

I replaced all the internal wiring on my 2.3TL's and the 3.1TL's with Supra tinned copper. I did use new spade connectors instead of direct solder to the driver tabs.

Made a significant increase in clarity and a richer overall tone. A worthwhile upgrade for sure, especially if you already have the SDA's dismantled.

Yeah, I guess I've decided to do the left speaker re-wire. Just too much difference in overall tone and even the new 18AWG sounds better than the 35+ year old stock 16 AWG wires.

VR3 wrote: »

The original sda SRS with the clear jacket on the tweeters is completely shot at this point. Ive seen some that look like green slime

Haha, yeah. The wires were totally sticky and partially green.

Can someone post a link or a size for the Gold plated quick connects that everyone's talking about? Or should I just go to Autozone and pick the smallest size? Having these will make the job so much easier, but the ones I ordered from Amazon just won't fit.

Thanks y'all.

pitdogg2

Size is .110 and I believe the next size up is .125
Depending on which tweeter you'll need either .110 or both sizes.
They carried all sizes that fit tweeters and drivers.

I did my whole cabinet with 14ga. OCC silver plated cooper. No cabinet modifications needed.

Edit:
RD-0194 uses both .110 for tweeters.

Gardenstater

If your auto parts stores are out of stock on the gold plated audio ones, another option although ridiculously expensive are these WBT ones. I think I'd see if they can order and deliver to the store first though:

https://www.partsconnexion.com/WBT-82855.html

Here ya go this is the one you want. I believe they are 10 to a package IIRC:

https://www.autozone.com/stereo-speakers-and-audio/audio-terminal-and-connector/p/dorman-conduct-tite-female-quick-slide-terminal-audio-and-connector/421804_0

https://www.dormanproducts.com/p-5982-84547.aspx

I don't know what justifies the extra expense for the WBT ones, if anything. I suppose they *could* be thicker gold plating over the brass??

Polkvibes

Thanks guys. .110 it is. I looked and the RD0-194 tabs are all the same size. I will check out the Autozone link and also the WBT ones. I like the idea of adding a blob of Cardas solder to the clips...

If I find out anything worth posting after doing the job, I'll update here!! Happy listening

pitdogg2

Just for clarification you're not soldering the quick connects to the tweeter.
I add solder after the crimp then heat shrink the end and wire about 2 inches up the wire.