Intro to the world of Polk SDA 1.2TL
SCHIFT
Posts: 6
Intro to the world of Polk SDA
Hello All,
I am new to this forum and this is my first post. I have been gifted a pair of SDA SRS 1.2TL speakers that are currently disassembled. In my assessment, all original parts with additional upgrades are here. Upgrades are RD0198-1 Tweeters, Gimptronics X-O boards with Sonicaps and Super-Q Eres inductors. Also, appears to be additional bracing in cabinets, but not sure.
Personally I do not have much experience or technical skills in building X-Overs, but it does look like they are complete and ready to be installed. I think with the Polk forums help I can assemble the SDAs and make them shine once again. I want to use the parts that are here and there is a reason for that.
Back story: Several years ago a friend of mine purchased these SDAs in their original state from, I think, San Fransisco, CA. He stated he was lusting after a pair since he was 19 yrs old and finally found a pair.
After receiving the speakers, he performed some listening tests and then started to make his upgrades. Unfortunately, and to great sadness, Evan past away while in the middle of his build. After a year or so of his passing, his widow stated she had no idea what to do with the SDAs because of the state they were in, she asked me if I wanted to assemble the speakers back to their former glory.
After a some years, I finally had the opportunity to make the journey to Wisconsin. When I arrived and inspected the speakers, I found to my surprise, every part, nut and bolt were EXACTLY where Evan had left them - cocktail glasses included. I shot a video, before I touched anything. For me, it was like going back in time to the last day he worked on them.
Evan’s wife will be coming to Ohio in the Spring for a visit with our family and I wish to get the SDAs completely assembled so she can, once again, listen to these very special speakers.
Today, the completely gutted SDA’s are now safely with me in OH. I finished installing the last of the hurricane nuts. That’s as far as I got….
Questions before I move forward:
Foam postioning - should the fold in the OEM foam face the back or front of the mids and tweeters and should any additional poly-fill be added?
Erse Super-Q inductor - Where should I mount it and in what orientation? Is there a pos + and neg - connection to the Gimptronics board?
Dreadnought and nuetrik cables- What in the world do I do with this interconnect? Is it used with mono amplifiers (which I have) only?
Gimptronics XO boards - Are the boards specific to left and right speakers?
That’s it for now. I hope to have them up and running soon.
Hello All,
I am new to this forum and this is my first post. I have been gifted a pair of SDA SRS 1.2TL speakers that are currently disassembled. In my assessment, all original parts with additional upgrades are here. Upgrades are RD0198-1 Tweeters, Gimptronics X-O boards with Sonicaps and Super-Q Eres inductors. Also, appears to be additional bracing in cabinets, but not sure.
Personally I do not have much experience or technical skills in building X-Overs, but it does look like they are complete and ready to be installed. I think with the Polk forums help I can assemble the SDAs and make them shine once again. I want to use the parts that are here and there is a reason for that.
Back story: Several years ago a friend of mine purchased these SDAs in their original state from, I think, San Fransisco, CA. He stated he was lusting after a pair since he was 19 yrs old and finally found a pair.
After receiving the speakers, he performed some listening tests and then started to make his upgrades. Unfortunately, and to great sadness, Evan past away while in the middle of his build. After a year or so of his passing, his widow stated she had no idea what to do with the SDAs because of the state they were in, she asked me if I wanted to assemble the speakers back to their former glory.
After a some years, I finally had the opportunity to make the journey to Wisconsin. When I arrived and inspected the speakers, I found to my surprise, every part, nut and bolt were EXACTLY where Evan had left them - cocktail glasses included. I shot a video, before I touched anything. For me, it was like going back in time to the last day he worked on them.
Evan’s wife will be coming to Ohio in the Spring for a visit with our family and I wish to get the SDAs completely assembled so she can, once again, listen to these very special speakers.
Today, the completely gutted SDA’s are now safely with me in OH. I finished installing the last of the hurricane nuts. That’s as far as I got….
Questions before I move forward:
Foam postioning - should the fold in the OEM foam face the back or front of the mids and tweeters and should any additional poly-fill be added?
Erse Super-Q inductor - Where should I mount it and in what orientation? Is there a pos + and neg - connection to the Gimptronics board?
Dreadnought and nuetrik cables- What in the world do I do with this interconnect? Is it used with mono amplifiers (which I have) only?
Gimptronics XO boards - Are the boards specific to left and right speakers?
That’s it for now. I hope to have them up and running soon.
Comments
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My condolences
Here is a thread he posted in
https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/178946/sda-srs-1-2tl-proper-sound-dampening-placement-larrys-rings- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit. -
He seemed like a good guy and he just vanished… sorry for your loss. When did he pass, and why at such a young age?The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
Welcome to the forum!Mojo Audio Illuminati v3>>Quantum Byte w/LMS>>Rpi/PiCoreplayer>> Starlight 7 USB >> Mojo Audio Mystique v2 SE>>ModWright SWL 9.0 SE Signature>>Hafler DH-500 Amp+ (Musical Concepts Fully Modded)>>
SRS 2.3TL (Fully Modded)...Velodyne Optimum 8 subwoofer
1KVA Dreadnought
Marantz SA 8005
Pioneer PLX-1000 Turntable - Shure SC35C/N35X - V15III/VN35HE
Yamaha TX-540 Tuner...Sony BDP-S570
Sony PS4
Separate subpanel with four dedicated 20 amp circuits.
1. Amplification 2. Analog 3. Digital 4. Video
"All THAT IS LOST FROM THE SOURCE IS LOST FOREVER" -
Thank you for your condolences and the link to Evan's thread.
Evan pasted in September, 2020 due to an enlarged heart. He was a great guy with a big personality, very intelligent and funny as hell. He will be greatly missed.
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My Condolences. If it's The Evan I'm thinking of, I built the Dreadnaught, Crossovers, Reworked Binding Post Cups, and supplied the Tuned Erse Inductors back in 2016/2017.
To answer some of your questions:
The Erse inductors can be mouted on the lower crossomember below the aluminum front panel. The two black leads coming off the crossover attach to the two leads on the Erse. They are not polarized.
The Dreadnaught and Cables replace the Stock Interconnect Cable. It Can be used with Common Ground Amplifiers for improved performance, and Must be used with non-common ground or Mono Blocks.
The Crossovers are not left or right, they're identical. The position of the internal Stereo and Dimensional harnesses determines which is left or right. The cabinets themselves may be marked left or right as well.
Post edited by westmassguy onHome Theater/2 Channel:
Front: SDA-2ATL forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/143984/my-2as-finally-finished-almost/p1
Center: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/150760/my-center-channel-project/p1
Surrounds & Rears: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/151647/my-surround-project/p1
Sonicaps, Mills, RDO-194s-198s, Dynamat, Hurricane Nuts, Blackhole5
Pioneer Elite VSX-72TXV, Carver PM-600, SVS PB2-Plus Subwoofer
dhsspeakerservice.com/ -
Sometimes "History" has a strange and wonderful way of repeating.
@SCHIFT:
Incredible friend!
Incredible story!
For all of us:
Incredible Forum!"Sometimes you have to look to the past to understand where you are going in the future"Anger is just anger. It isn’t good. It isn’t bad. It just is. What you do with it is what matters.
You can use it to build or to destroy. You just have to make the choice. Jim Butcher
Harry / Marietta GA -
Please allow me to offer you a very warm welcome to Club Polk! My condolences for the loss of your friend and my hat is off to you for picking up where he left off. Very special speakers, indeed.
RIP, Evan.
Tom~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
Thank you everyone for your kind words and welcoming me into the community. I'll do my best to build the SDAs just as Evan would have wanted them. He was an IT guy - very methodical in his processes, so all of the hard work is out of the way.
@westmassguy: Thank you very much for the info. This helps me tremendously!
Im going to assemble the right speaker first, then move the left. My son wants to help, so this will be great way to introduce him to the audio addiction!
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What a story. Sad to read, but an incredibly heart-warming plan to pay tribute to your friend to his widow. And you get parenting time on the assembly.
[much respect]The Thrifty Setups in Mah House Big thrifty stereo in the basement w/ my custom SDA-1C (built with help from kind forum members) * Beautiful 1966 MCM GE console upgraded w/ Bluetooth, Dual turntable, and Paradigm speakers in family room * Swanky 1980 Realistic system and great TEAC eq with dancing colored lights in the living room * custom 5B on a system for my Dad * Ye Olde college stereo in the garage -
Hello All, Well I'm happy to announce the SDAs are fully assembled and sound fantastic. The build was pretty straight forward thanks to Evan's planning and research. Thanks again to westmasguy for pointing me in the right direction.
Stereo listening setup is a MacBook Pro providing the tunes to a Peachtree Nova 300 as a DAC/preamp. SDAs are powered by two Parasound JC1 Halo amplifiers. Working on HT setup.
Evan's wife will be here sometime in the spring to hear the amazing sounds they produce. Im hoping with the completion of the SDAs I can bring some type of closure to her.
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Been busy as h 3 LL….
But this thread put a tear and a smile on my face…glad I clicked
Kudos to you young man. Great gear, sad but inspiring memories, and a chance to share and enjoy a legacy
Keep us posted as your journey continues, especially when she comes to visit
Happy Holidays to you, the family, and your friends
2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC
erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a -
Congratulations! You've got some great gear pushing those and that is a great asset.
Enjoy the music. -
Hello all, I've recently acquired a set of these also. Great to hear what you have done here with yours, well done!
I do have one similar question on set-up. I am wondering if the drivers or bass radiator are affecting more by the 3' distance from the side walls. Have a bit of a room placement issue and this answer would help a lot.
Also, with the 6" from back wall I assume this relates to bass as well. I can't think of how this would help the imaging of the other drivers.
Thanks all!! -
Glad I Could help.Home Theater/2 Channel:
Front: SDA-2ATL forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/143984/my-2as-finally-finished-almost/p1
Center: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/150760/my-center-channel-project/p1
Surrounds & Rears: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/151647/my-surround-project/p1
Sonicaps, Mills, RDO-194s-198s, Dynamat, Hurricane Nuts, Blackhole5
Pioneer Elite VSX-72TXV, Carver PM-600, SVS PB2-Plus Subwoofer
dhsspeakerservice.com/ -
I am wondering if the drivers or bass radiator are affecting more by the 3' distance from the side walls.
The SDA performance (width of the soundstage) is affected by the side walls. The low frequencies produced by passive radiator, not so much.
5 to 6 inches from the wall are suggested with half an inch making or breaking the results.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 -
Thank you F1nut for the helpful info. Speaker cabinet is 17" from the side wall. Sorry, the image I posted is misleading.
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Thank you F1nut for the helpful info. Speaker cabinet is 17" from the side wall. Sorry, the image I posted is misleading.
I believe you misunderstood the suggested distance. That is 5 to 6 inches from the back wall, not the side wall. The distance to the side should be no less than 3 feet.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 -
Thank you F1nut for the helpful info. Speaker cabinet is 17" from the side wall. Sorry, the image I posted is misleading.
I believe you misunderstood the suggested distance. That is 5 to 6 inches from the back wall, not the side wall. The distance to the side should be no less than 3 feet.
@F1nut- Thanks for the clarification. I'll have to think about repositioning speakers within the room.
