I have definitely lost it

Iblameheathkit

Well my old faithful AR 312ho's midranges foam finally crossed the point of no return. Searching for tears in the surround with a flashlight and a finger full of silicone is no way for a respectable "audiophile" to live. I could have refoamed, but here was my perfect excuse to upgrade. Been scouring c.l. on and off for some suitable replacements. About 2 months ago I saw a listing with pics of these massive Polk speakers and the heading was, 64" tall polkaudio speakers for sale. You guessed it. They were the sda srs 1.2. They were local. Asking price- $500. At the time my Ar's weren't completely hosed, and I'm currently in a rather small living environment, so I didn't bite. They'll be way too big. I don't need all that. Overkill I said. But inside I was kicking myself. Last week my buddy got some new Polk Xt20's. For their size they are quite a decent sounding speaker. Actually surprised the heck out of me. He kept telling me to buy a pair. Now I like bookshelf speakers just as much as the next guy, but I drive a supercharged Mercedes, not a turbo 4 cylinder, and I respect the laws of physics. So I resisted the urge. Saw many nice speakers on c.l. but they were too spendy for my budget. I started wondering, "whatever happened to those monster Polks?" I have looked at so many speakers, I couldn't begin to remember what city I had seen them in or anything, and I figured for sure they were long sold. Someone had a pair of the monster sda srs's for sale at $1800 locally. Kicked myself twice for not buying the others when I had the chance. Then, as if Matthew Polk himself was guiding fate, there it was again last night, 64" polkaudio speakers for sale, see pics. But there were no pictures. Nothing to tip off other buyers. Listed as Polkaudio, all one word. Not going to alert the savvy c.l. searchers who would be looking for the key word Polk. Listed 4 hours prior. Space be damned, I emailed. Sure enough, the seller responded. And as of today I am now in possession of a one owner, nearly pristine set of what I think are actually the tl version of the sda srs 1.2's. For $500. Do I care that I can't move them more than 6" at a time by myself? Do I care that I will be removing the front seats from the 34' Holiday Rambler rv I currently call home so the speakers fit? Do I care that it definitely isn't enough space to fully enjoy what these speakers can do? Hell no! Like the post says. I think this time, I may have totally lost it!

Iblameheathkit

Clipdat

I drive a turbo 4 cylinder.

Iblameheathkit

No offense. They have made massive progress and those buggers are fast and will definitely pass me while I'm at the gas pump lol. It's just the feeling provided by thing called torque. And my car will never need the timing belt replaced.

Toolfan66

I ride a unicycle, and wear a dress on Sundays..

pitdogg2

Toolfan66 wrote: »

I ride a unicycle, and wear a dress on Sundays..

With no seat I heard......

To the OP that was a heck of a deal if all speakers are working correctly. Hell of a deal for 5 bills!
Now all you need is a big he'man amp to provide the current those need...

mhardy6647

For the OP's benefit.
One word.
Paragraphs.

Viking64

mhardy6647 wrote: »

For the OP's benefit.
One word.
Paragraphs.

How about a pair of graphs?

Iblameheathkit

mhardy6674-
Yeah. For some reason those pesky paragraph thingys seemed applicable only when writing in the physical form. Like typing on a typewriter or with a pen. For folks that remember those, lol.
Duly noted kind sir.

Iblameheathkit

And for now the ol' Polks will have to be content with 140w of Pioneer elite sc25 power backing them up. Not too bad, all things considered. I have a vintage Sx5590, the black-faced euro version of the sx1250, that needs a recap and such. Torn between selling it as is for some upgrade cash or sinking money into it for the rebuild....
I do have a Crest 4801 pro amp which has some good juice. It's in use as my sub amp at the moment. I could use the sc25 as preamp. From the opinions I have heard though, those amps may not have the sonic nuances of a "real" amp. Btw, anyone happen to know if the Crest is a common ground amp?

Toolfan66

pitdogg2 wrote: »

Toolfan66 wrote: »

I ride a unicycle, and wear a dress on Sundays..

With no seat I heard.....

pitdogg2

LMAO
You read my mind !!

Iblameheathkit

Hmm. For the South Park fans out there that last pic is mighty interesting. Looks they found photos of one of Mr. Garrison's early attempts at the IT bicycle. Much improved with the flexi-grips.

TroyD

Doc: PLASTICS.

(edit: I posted this BEFORE I looked at the picture you posted....great minds and all that)

Great score on the 1.2's....but, geezuz, the run-on sentence has me reaching for the Tylenol already.

Ditch the receiver and get yourself a competent....need not be ridiculously expensive pre/power amp. Adcom and NAD comes to mind. Feed them correctly and you'll have a pair of speakers that will give you great service for a lifetime.

Iblameheathkit

Troy D-
Yes. It was late. mhardy6647 busted my chops earlier. Not so good at paragraphs if I'm not seeing them on paper as write them. Remember that stuff? Paper? My god, where did the time go?
I figured/feared my $130 sc25 would fire up the bpc (black plastic crap) haters out there. As you can see from a previous post, my wheels are turning on that one already. Like Regan, aka the devil, says in the Exorcist "in time"

mhardy6647

By the way, what did Heathkit do to scar you, @Iblameheathkit ?

If I had a dollar for every Heathkit I've built, I'd have... a few dollars.
(but I'd have... no Heathkits)

msg

Replacement seat for the unicycle above with the shipping protectors installed.

Tony M

If the Holiday Rambler is rockin, don't bother knockin.

I won't be able to hear you.



Glad you got that smokin' deal after all. KARMA strikes again.

Iblameheathkit

One day when I was about 7 or 8, my dad who had the diy electronics bug from a few years as a radioman in the navy, brought home some Heathkit boxes.
Before I knew it, he had the saber saw out and was hacking through the lesser speakers that came with the Lloyds "receiver" he got a few months prior. (Hey it had bass/treble controls instead of the lowly "tone" control, and an 8 track! Lol) Out from the boxes came two 8" woofers, 3" tweets, and all the xover components. Once installed, the difference in sound was instantly apparent.
That was it. I was hooked. No am radio, busted tv, clock radio, or anything else that had a speaker was safe. I took them out and mounted them in every shoe box or whatever was handy. I built my first set of speakers in 8th grade shop. Paid for my Pioneer sx3500 with paper route money.
And here we are today as I get ready to pull the front seats out of the 34' Holiday Rambler rv that is my temporary homestead, to make room for the massive Polks. Silly. Maybe. But I blame Heathkit.

SIHAB

not in.

Iblameheathkit

I actually saw the same Heathkit setup, in the proper Heathkit boxes, on c.l. while on the hunt for my AR replacements. Also saw the ones I lusted over from the Heathkit catalog in those days for sale. AS 1348s. Looking back, maybe it was the term "slot loaded woofer" that made my little 12 year old heart (or some other part of my anatomy) curious about it.

Iblameheathkit

And you guys have me a little worried with the track the unicycle pics have taken. The term "banana seat" is starting to have some bad connotations....

Iblameheathkit

The only seats I am removing are in the Holiday Rambler

Viking64

mhardy6647 wrote: »

By the way, what did Heathkit do to scar you, Iblameheathkit ?

If I had a dollar for every Heathkit I've built, I'd have... a few dollars.
(but I'd have... no Heathkits)

I believe "Heathkit" is Mike Tyson's favorite character from "Wuthering Heights".

Iblameheathkit

Oh yeah. He was ecstatic about him.
I can still hear Kennan Ivory Wayans doing that impression on "In Living Color". Wouldn't want piss Mike off though. He's got that "I could go into a crazy blind rage and flip the switch in a nanosecond" look, still today. Sometimes I think movie fiction has some roots in fact. I'd bet that scene in "The Hangover" may be a little closer to reality than some believe.

Toolfan66

SIHAB wrote: »

not in.

That's not what you said in your PM..

mhardy6647

Iblameheathkit wrote: »

One day when I was about 7 or 8, my dad who had the diy electronics bug from a few years as a radioman in the navy, brought home some Heathkit boxes.
Before I knew it, he had the saber saw out and was hacking through the lesser speakers that came with the Lloyds "receiver" he got a few months prior. (Hey it had bass/treble controls instead of the lowly "tone" control, and an 8 track! Lol) Out from the boxes came two 8" woofers, 3" tweets, and all the xover components. Once installed, the difference in sound was instantly apparent.
That was it. I was hooked. No am radio, busted tv, clock radio, or anything else that had a speaker was safe. I took them out and mounted them in every shoe box or whatever was handy. I built my first set of speakers in 8th grade shop. Paid for my Pioneer sx3500 with paper route money.
And here we are today as I get ready to pull the front seats out of the 34' Holiday Rambler rv that is my temporary homestead, to make room for the massive Polks. Silly. Maybe. But I blame Heathkit.

On the off chance you're not aware of these resources... and enabler that I am...

https://heathkitcatalogs.com/
https://worldradiohistory.com/Electronics_Catalogs.htm (scroll down for Heathkit catalogs)

The latter site is an amazing treasure trove of radio, electronics, and hifi information, periodicals, and other literature.

Iblameheathkit

Thanks to all for the insight and laughs so far. Going to head over to the vintage speaker section and post a few pics.

Iblameheathkit

And oddly enough Dad's next piece of gear, which was a big upgrade, was the Heathkit Ar-29. Nice pic!

mhardy6647

That's actually an AR-19.
I still have an AR-29, as it happens -- but the treble slider's "knob" (more accurately, the slider's stem to which the knob would attach) is broken off. The control works, but one would need to use a tool (e.g., a small screwdriver) to slide it.

I'd have to change the control to 'fix' it, and I am very lazy.

Iblameheathkit

Treble control. We don't need no stinking treble controls.