Local to me pair of SRS 1.2s, worth it?

Striker2237

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/988963936109321/?ref=product_details&referral_code=marketplace_top_picks&referral_story_type=top_picks

I'm thinking of buying these with intent to fully mod them, I have a pair of 1Cs that I've used basically forever and work perfectly in the space I have so I figured I might as well go for the big ones.

Any input on what I should offer? I'm concerned I'll end up having to replace near every driver/they have been abused badly.

Striker2237

I realized should also probably add more context on my room/system and audio background etc....

To my surprise it looks like I already had an account here, turns out it was from when I was in highschool and I was running my poor SDA1Cs off a partially dead amp in mono lol!

Fast forward to about 4 years ago and I had gotten to a point where I have a house/wife/bunch of cars etc but I had not bothered to setup any sort of audio system. My usual reference setup was also not available because it's owned by my dad and when he moved and I bought his old house he never bothered to set his system back up. End result was both of us were having withdrawals but didn't realize it.....I went from a family who had a full loudspeaker setup per person ranging from SDAs, Paradigm reference S100s, and VSA VR5-A down to just earbuds and cars.

Funny enough one of my main hobbies is actually what made me haul all my speakers back down to the listening room very recently. Last year I bought a personal grail car in the form of an Audi A8 W12 that among many things I specced the top audio system as that's always been a must. For reference it uses a B&O system with the nice acoustic lense moving tweeters and their famed ICEpower class D amps. When the car was delivered and after I made sure the driving aspects were everything I hoped for and got my fill of 0-150 runs I loaded all my old CDs to test the speakers. The system was good enough it sparked memories of my old SDAs

Well that lead to me helping get my dads system set back up (damn amps are 100lb each etc) and ultimately my own system. Being nostalgic and because I already owned them I setup the SDAs as the L/R speakers in a 5.0 HT setup. I had no working amp in my house (partially why I never got around to it, that and remodeling) so on a total whim I had my friend pickup a Marantz SR5005 AVR on Facebook I saw pop up mid conversation with him. $200 for the amp and $15 as a delivery fee later I was primed for extreme disappointment!

I went into my impulse amp purchase with full expectation it would be horrible as an amp, with the saving grace of it would still serve adequately as my AVR and HT amp to run the surrounds etc. I even joked with my wife that I will have about 24 seconds of chills until the point in my first test song where an actual current demand is made by the SDAs. That's exactly what occurred lol!

Man it sucked! I then spent the next 4 hours setting the AVR to factory and having it actually send all frequencies to the L/R mains and not attempt to crossover beforehand. Layer on some EQ and removing all the room correction also helped but the real work was totally moving all furniture around (well my wife did) and adjusting the speakers to dial it in.

After about 3 days I had everything setup so that the speakers were gone, bass can be felt through the furniture and on the celling, the soundstage was about 6 ft past each speaker and rolling up to the celling. Singers seem to materialize directly in front of you with insane separation of all elements. At this point my thoughts were "good enough for 37 year old speakers" and I started to invite people over to audition.

The system at this point already managed to make me cry for a soild 40 min and is constant chills and had a similar effect on my wife with music she had been listening to for her whole life. The real test would be my dad and to see how the setup contended against the reference setup, bearing in mind my ENTIRE 2 channel setup is cheaper than ONE of his power cables.

I guess I did something right since he was in straight up disbelief. Literally could not stop playing his reference tracks and saying it's unfair how broad the soundstage was and the separation with image clarity. I honestly thought he was messing with me but he made it very clear that my setup was somehow punching absurdly above its weight.

This is likely due to how massive the "sound shell" without any gaps is and just how broad the frequency range and depth is. If you are sitting on axis with SDA effect it's insane, if I pull the cable they aren't too impressive a pair of speakers at all.

Striker2237

So now I'm at a stage where I'm unsure of what I want, I tried a pair of B&W 801 D4s and while absurdly accurate I just never got engaged by them in the same way. They were amazing but very constrained and narrow, you can't hear the speakers but sound isn't coming at you from the 90* angle and from the celling and sometimes behind you. The sensation of being encased in the sound vastly outweighs shear accuracy for me it seems.

I already plan on RD0-194 tweeters but I do not plan on replacing or altering anything else on the SDA-1Cs as they hold sentimental value to me and are perfect in all functional and cosmetic aspects. Tweets are because pain after 3 hours at my full listening SPL of 80-85db. At 70 I can fall asleep to it as is lol!

That's where the SRSs come in.....

I want to have the absolute ultimate version of the original SDA speaker line, utterly maxed out as I firmly think the sonic signature is just the right one for me....or I've been listening to them so long everything else sounds "wrong" plus most everything I've heard that gives me chills and emotion like these cost upwards of $50k for just the speakers. Unfortunately im not THAT much of an audiophile yet lol!

So with all that context what say you all? Oh and some pics because no thread is complete without at least a few...

Striker2237

The car/audio system that made me feel something for the first time in years

My current setup



The reference system, I'm still amazed by it but also smug as hell my SDAs do well enough to make its owner have legit envy.

Toolfan66

$1200?? No way are they worth that… Not to me anyway..

Striker2237

Toolfan66 wrote: »

$1200?? No way are they worth that… Not to me anyway..

I agree with that....I'm just wondering how much I should offer. I'm going to end up spending at least 4x that in the end but I want try and optimize lol!

F1nut

They are not the last version, that would be the 1.2TL.

If you want to have the absolute ultimate version of the original SDA speaker line get the 2.3TL.

Jammed into corners at a 45 degree angle...no wonder they are selling them.

Keep looking.

nooshinjohn

For what you are describing, you would be better served by getting a pair of the Legend L800's...

Striker2237

F1nut wrote: »

They are not the last version, that would be the 1.2TL.

If you want to have the absolute ultimate version of the original SDA speaker line get the 2.3TL.

Jammed into corners at a 45 degree angle...no wonder they are selling them.

Keep looking.

Reasoning for the 2.3 over the 1.2? I've read many of your posts so I'm sure there is an actual reason you say that.....

If I'm intending to fully upgrade is there any functional difference between TL and prior versions? My room size is 15x30x8.5 with the area to the right 15x20 but I can walk it off. I sit 13 ft back currently

F1nut

The SDA SRS, SDA 1.2 and SDA 1.2TL present the sound above your head, like you are sitting below the stage. The SDA 2.3TL present as you are level with the performance, say row 5 to 10.

There are many differences between the non-TL and TL versions. The better tweeter used in the TL are but one.

pitdogg2

The TL versions were the last and the final epitome of the series.
The 2.3tl was the sweet spot of the big SRS speakers. Personally for me, the 1.2's exaggerated everything on the stage.

Striker2237

F1nut wrote: »

The SDA SRS, SDA 1.2 and SDA 1.2TL present the sound above your head, like you are sitting below the stage. The SDA 2.3TL present as you are level with the performance, say row 5 to 10.

There are many differences between the non-TL and TL versions. The better tweeter used in the TL are but one.

Thanks

Makes sense based on driver axis, is this a get a taller seat to still have the larger speakers sort of solution? Or not really worth it since other differences aren't enough to justify?

VR3

Pretty confident those are the first gen sda srs

Striker2237

VR3 wrote: »

Pretty confident those are the first gen sda srs

I know they aren't TLs because the tweeters are wrong, I'll ask for more pictures and see what they actually are.

I would love to have a set of plug and play 2.3/1.2TLs but I just can't find many at all for sale. That's why I'm considering a set that needs help

Striker2237

When I mention modding btw I mean that I'm just going to do directly down the list provided here....

https://www.vr3mods.net/polk-sda-updates-information

Depending on what speakers I end up with in getting the hybrid or commander crossovers too.

VR3

Typically the front plate with 5 bolts in the center are the first gen but as others have mentioned looking to see if it is a pin blade connection will show if it is a 1.2

pitdogg2

First gen SRS will be blade/Blade interconnect socket and ALL drivers mw6503, Pin/blade on the 1.2 half mw6503 and half 6511 iirc

Striker2237

You guys were correct, they were first gen and beat up badly. Moving on from those......

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/336374519492828/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp:6ebe98bc-a570-479c-827e-a152a07e6d9f

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/998962868337985/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp:6ebe98bc-a570-479c-827e-a152a07e6d9f

Is the 3.1TL worth considering? Or would it make more sense to move from what I have to the 2.3s? It seems comparisons have been made on here between the two and I'm not seeing as firm an answer as I would like.

VR3

Honestly most of the sda line sounds pretty good but the big three and crs all are performers

F1nut

Is the 3.1TL worth considering? Or would it make more sense to move from what I have to the 2.3s? It seems comparisons have been made on here between the two and I'm not seeing as firm an answer as I would like.

The 3.1TL is one SDA model I have not heard.

Those 2.3TL are minty!!!

You are not going to get a firm answer as folks have different opinions and experiences, but the observations I mentioned you can take to the bank.

xschop

I'd vote 3.1's. Less parts to update/modify and should accommodate your space similar to the 1C's.

nooshinjohn

Or wait for a pair of Legend L800 to come up. Great speaker and no mods needed.

Striker2237

nooshinjohn wrote: »

Or wait for a pair of Legend L800 to come up. Great speaker and no mods needed.

I'm honestly not too sure they are for me, I will go listen to a pair again but they don't throw the same type of soundstage last time I heard them. Very accurate but they lose vs something like the VR5s so I would probably not get them, the older SDAs sound totally different in a way that goes beyond "normal"

I'm not really aiming for max detail speakers

nooshinjohn

Striker2237 wrote: »

nooshinjohn wrote: »

Or wait for a pair of Legend L800 to come up. Great speaker and no mods needed.

I'm honestly not too sure they are for me, I will go listen to a pair again but they don't throw the same type of soundstage last time I heard them. Very accurate but they lose vs something like the VR5s so I would not really get them, the older SDAs sound totally different in a way that goes beyond "normal"

The Legends suffer from the same problem the originals did. People do not take the time to set them up properly. When I first got mine, I called Polk for return labels. After a couple hundred hours, the settled down to the point of replacing my modded 1.2TL’s. Where are you located?

F1nut

Striker2237 wrote: »

nooshinjohn wrote: »

Or wait for a pair of Legend L800 to come up. Great speaker and no mods needed.

I'm honestly not too sure they are for me, I will go listen to a pair again but they don't throw the same type of soundstage last time I heard them. Very accurate but they lose vs something like the VR5s so I would probably not get them, the older SDAs sound totally different in a way that goes beyond "normal"

I'm not really aiming for max detail speakers

You are correct, the soundstage is very different compared to the originals. I did not like them either.

Striker2237

nooshinjohn wrote: »

Striker2237 wrote: »

nooshinjohn wrote: »

Or wait for a pair of Legend L800 to come up. Great speaker and no mods needed.

I'm honestly not too sure they are for me, I will go listen to a pair again but they don't throw the same type of soundstage last time I heard them. Very accurate but they lose vs something like the VR5s so I would not really get them, the older SDAs sound totally different in a way that goes beyond "normal"

The Legends suffer from the same problem the originals did. People do not take the time to set them up properly. When I first got mine, I called Polk for return labels. After a couple hundred hours, the settled down to the point of replacing my modded 1.2TL’s. Where are you located?

Lewis Center, Ohio. Just north of Columbus so I have been looking as far as Florida for speakers since I go down there at least once a year

These 1st gens came up very close to me, I'm temped to buy them if I can convince the seller that he doesn't have 1.2s and thus should reduce the price.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/773258534719115/?ref=product_details&referral_code=marketplace_top_picks&referral_story_type=top_picks

VR3

Should be easy to convince him since they are definitely the first gen hahaha

Striker2237

VR3 wrote: »

Should be easy to convince him since they are definitely the first gen hahaha

I'm going to try......that said in theory if I do end up with these for a low price could I buy a crossover from you and replace all drivers in the cabinet and end up with a modded 1.2TL?

My main concern in good condition of the cabinet and these look promising so I figured I would ask. If I can get him to sell for $1000ish it would cover replacing all the drivers with new ones and I would then only need the crossover correct?

VR3

The cabinet to the sda srs if I recall correctly is smaller then the 1.2tl and built incredibly differently.

The 1.2 uses the monoque design with less bracing

Striker2237

Ah. Thanks for the research rabbit hole lol!

Now I'm even more hesitant since particle board doesn't fill me with the same confidence as MDF. I had no idea that they changed the cabinets so big thanks for that!

Gardenstater

According to SDA Handbook, the 4th Gen SDA towers received new cabinets with stronger internal bracing, along with other changes like raising impedance to 6 ohms.