q's about id sda-1's and best amp for them
OldSycamoreTree
Posts: 70
was wondering how the sda-1s sound with lower watt tube amps (30 or so) such as the newer integrated models from various mfrs - versus solid state 125 wpc amps ?
I would be interested in hearing what amps other folks have liked or not liked with their sda-1s. Russ has given me some ss brands on another thread but I may go tubes in the lower price spectrum.
I have recently bought some sda-1 and thought they were 1c , since they are black and have the tweeters vertical.
But i have since read on other thread that the 1c has spade/pin interconnect.
The interconnect with mine is wide spade/ narrow spade.
Are these then the 1B model ?
The right speaker has the sda1 label on front face. the other speaker doesn't have sda label anywhere.
thanks
I would be interested in hearing what amps other folks have liked or not liked with their sda-1s. Russ has given me some ss brands on another thread but I may go tubes in the lower price spectrum.
I have recently bought some sda-1 and thought they were 1c , since they are black and have the tweeters vertical.
But i have since read on other thread that the 1c has spade/pin interconnect.
The interconnect with mine is wide spade/ narrow spade.
Are these then the 1B model ?
The right speaker has the sda1 label on front face. the other speaker doesn't have sda label anywhere.
thanks
Post edited by OldSycamoreTree on
Comments
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I see you haven't gotten a response as yet so I'll offer my two cents worth -there are many here much more qualified than I
was wondering how the sda-1s sound with lower watt tube amps (30 or so) such as the newer integrated models from various mfrs - versus solid state 125 wpc amps ?
>I would be interested in hearing what amps other folks have >liked or not liked with their sda-1s. Russ has given me some ss >brands on another thread but I may go tubes in the lower price >spectrum.
I've used a variety of SS with my Polks, my best so far is the mid to late 70 Sansui amps. The "1's" have IMHO a well balanced midrange so I like just a touch of the "gold" harmonic sound of the amps mentioned (I'd think a lot of the mid-70's amps would be similar) along with the extremely good headroom they have. If you're set on a tube setup I'd mention that it'd be nice if you could "test run" before buying. The only tube setup's I personally liked were rather pricey.... Macs and the like. The Carver amps as well do well
>I have recently bought some sda-1 and thought they were 1c , >since they are black and have the tweeters vertical.
>But i have since read on other thread that the 1c has spade/pin >interconnect.
There is a thread online here that discusses the exact question. I did a search the oother night for the same thing. If you question what the speakers are might be a good idea to pull a few of the drivers just enought to get an idea of the numbers and dates. You can look them up on the parts by models listing here and double check everything matches up right!
Ron -
yes I thought readers more would offer an opinion but Russ gave me some good ss picks in mid price range.
Was tempted to bid on nad 2400 pe yesterday on ebay but decided to wait and see what else comes along.
There was a nice B&K there also.
maybe someone here in cp will put an amp in the flea market section that fits my needs.
I would be hesitant buying a mid 70's amp unless it came from a shop that just checked and repaired any tired components.
The old sansui is pretty good from what i remember but not sure if it is in the same league as newer amp technology.
Others would know more than me.
there is only one repair shop in my town and he is very busy so if i needed work done on a 70s amp I'd be googleing to find someone.
I think my speakers are the sda-1c. They look like the ones on the following link. But the dimensions differ, with mine being an inch narrower and 3/4 shallower. I don't know if the 1B's are smaller than the 1c , or if the 1B was made in black.
Bernie
http://www.polksda.com/sda1c-studio.shtml -
They can't be 1C's since yours have the blade/blade cable, so that means they are 1B's. Using low powered tube amps will work, but you wouldn't get much volume.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 -
I know how this is going to sound, 30 years ago I probably would have blown it off...........
Don't worry about "specs" in a lot of ways it's counter intuitive... big word but the bottom line is I can personally guarantee the amp you like the sound of in a blind test more than likely is NOT going to be the one you thought. Once the specs on distortion and the like get to a point, our ears aren't good enough to detect the difference (IMHO) what we really hear is the cumulation of the source and our amp and our speakers. There are harmonics and interactions between all these components that still make me shake my head sometimes and I'm pretty long in the tooth so to speak... been listening to this stuff for over 30 yrs. Hope this doesn't sound condesending in ANY way, it certainly is not intended to be... I guess to cut to the chase I still think it'll do you better to test/trial amps in your system or listen to others systems or duplicate the system of someone you respect the opinion of.
You're right about the older amps needing work to be reliable figure an additional $100 -200 or so for a recapping and tuneup. You'll not be sorry though if you look for a "good" amp with an emphesis on headroom.
Sorry to ramble..... sometimes I don't know when to stop :rolleyes: -
I've been running my SDA-1c's with the Jolida integrated 70wpc integrated and it seems to do nearly as well power wise as my 200wpc soundcraftsmen mosfet amp and tube preamp. Goes as loud as you'd need for rock with the nice midrange and smooth highs tubes deliver. I will say though the sda-1c's are not the most transparent or detailed of the speakers I've owned, so if you're into lots of detail, tubes and sda-1's may be too smooth or warm in my opinion. I've also run the sda's with my 15wpc eico hf-81 tube amp and it sounded very nice also, but again almost too smooth.
Another thing I've noticed with the sda's, they seem to like a fast amplifier, in other words, they seem to soundstage larger/better with a solid state amplifier. In my opinion, the only way to go with these is at least 150wpc, and mosfet if possible. For 80% of the music I listen to on the sda's, mostly classic rock and blues, the combo of the tube pre and 200wpc soundcraftsmen just can't be beat. I think it's more of a synergy between the amp and speakers. Just for the record, I also ran my tube pre into my Mcintosh MC-2100 solid state amp, and lost detail and soundstage as apposed to the soundcraftsmen. Keep in mind with the old mac we are talking about 30+ year old caps etc. I think it's time for a rebuild, lol. Good luck on your decision and keep us posted on your findings.:)Main System
Pre - Homebrew 12au7 tube preamp
Amp - Eico HF-87 with EHEL34's
Source - Modded Toshiba 3950
Interconnects - DIY Belden
Speakers - Polk SDA-1C
Basement System
Pre - McIntosh C-28
Amp - McIntosh MC2100
Source - Modded Toshiba 3960
Tape - Pioneer RT-707
Turntable - Thorens TD150MKII with Denon DL-160
Speakers - Pioneer HPM-100 -
the more difficult the decision becomes.
At first I was hoping to spend under 500 but the more I read it seems that coming up with 1500 will get you into much truer fidelity.
I am going to buy the amp first and use my Luxman r-115 as a pre.
last week i was seriously considering a conrad johnson 2250, only 125 wpc but supposedly has great sound. "tubelike"
then I considered a nice B&K. then heard Brystons are great.
Then I figured if everyone compares the sound to tubes, why not just get the real deal.
Now I am contemplating a C-J citation 11 tube amp, 70 wpc, but it is highly regarded.
Another c.p. reader has informed me my speakers are the 1b's not the 1-cs.
I want to hear these speakers with a real amp! -
Yours have the b\b connectors? Then they still could be early model 1Cs. That's how the early 1Cs came.
To see a picture of the custom AI-1 Ken S. made for them.
http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=27621&perpage=30&pagenumber=2
Notice it's b\b. -
And here are the 1Cs.
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Hmmmm.......that's one I don't have a schematic for.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 -
Jes, It can drive you nuts trying to keep track of all the variables that came out of Polk years ago. I know every time I've thought I had it pretty well pegged, along comes some new twist in the lineup.
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I am now using a pair of Odyssey Audio Extreme Monoblocks to run my Polk SDA 1-Cs and the SDAs have never sounded better (each mono @ 300W into 8 ohms (probably at least 450wpc into 6 ohms) w/360,000 µF capacitance). With the Extreme Monos, the SDAs effortlessly evince great detail, power, finesse, imaging, soundstaging, etc.
With the above in mind, I note I tried my SDAs with my vintage Fisher 800-B receiver (circa 1962; 32wpc; 22 tubes!) and noted that the sound was quite inferior, esp. at louder listening levels. From my experience with the SDA 1-Cs and amps (Fisher 800-B, Odyssey Audio Stratos (150 wpc @8 ohms), NAD 220PE (a vastly underrated 100 wpc into 8 ohms), and the Odyssey Extreme Monos), I feel the SDAs thrive on powerful SS amps with honking power reserves. Just my $0.02. -
The 1C BB issue was mentioned in another thread as well. Do you really need a schematic for a BB? C'mon now
CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
