Help with SDA1 - soon to be new owner

molsonfuzz

I think this is my first post here so I am looking for help/advice.

I just purchased a nice pair of Polk SDA1C that are currently on a truck which should arrive here this Thursday 7-21-05. I just found out today that the interconnect cable was lost and will need to be replaced. Are these still available from Polk? If not, where can a replacement be found?

I am slowly upgrading my home theater system so the SDA will be replacing some Polk RTi4's (big jump). The rest of my system is as follows:

Receiver: Onkyo TX-SR500
Center: Polk CSi3
Fronts: soon to be SDA-1C
Rear: Polk R15
Subwoofer: Velodyne ULD-18

What should I do next? Am I missing anything? I'm no expert and don't want to make any mistakes that I can avoid by pretending to know what I'm doing. Thank you for your help.

HBombToo

Originally posted by molsonfuzz


I am slowly upgrading my home theater system so the SDA will be replacing some Polk RTi4's (big jump). The rest of my system is as follows:

Thank you for your help.

you are learning faster than me.;)

the SDA line IMHO will make the difference.

a big jump is nuthen... you took the leap:p

now this is hardcore but im just trashed...

twin

and welcome.

hoosier21

Sorry, Polk no longer offers the cable.

You can use bare speaker wire poked in the round female connection, don't worry about the slot it is useless. Or you can cut the collar off an RCA cable (a long one) and use the remaining pin and stick it in female connection point.

Polk65

Welcome to Club Polk!

Without a cable in place, you won't hear what these speakers are capable of. If they are SDA 1C's then you will need to make a "pin blade" interconnect cable. Here is a link with pictures for you to get an idea of what you need to make. DarqueKnight has used some thicker wire than the original cable but that was his intent.

middle of this page: "Tweaker's Delight"
http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=29029#post301405

We watch out for others here so if Har Navalta tries to sell you a cable, do not buy from him. He has cheated some members here and is not welcome.

As for what to do next, go easy with the volume. I'm not familiar with that Onkyo's rated 115w/c perhaps someone can comment on this. That receiver does not appear to have pre-amp outputs so adding an amplifier for more power is not an option. Start looking for another receiver that has pre-amp outputs and a seperate strong amp. You don't have to buy new, there are lots of good used or refurbished units out there. 12gauge or thicker good quality speaker wire will also make your SDA's really sing.

Enjoy your new Polk's !

molsonfuzz

Thank you for your help. From your replies, it seems the interconnect cable can be replaced with a high quality RCA cable with the collar removed - correct? If this is the case, I can live with that.

As for my receiver, here is a link to the specs:
Onkyo TX-SR500

How much power do I need? What kind of receiver would you recommend? Could you explain the reason for a separate amp?

I'm sorry if these questions sound dumb to you, but it's all new to me at this point. Thank you all for your help. My SDA speakers are arriving Wednesday of this week!

F1nut

If you can afford it, go with separates (pre amp & amp) instead of a receiver. You'll get much better performance from the speakers. Generally, 200 wpc of high current power will get you rolling.

ternst

i just picked up a set of srs 2.3tls didnt have cables,ran without a couple of days. went out got some 16 ga xp speakerwire. pulled rear connect panels out, drilled small holes in plastic above orig. plugs,ran new connectors,sealed holes with flexable silacone adh hooked up,what a diff in sound:D

Larry Chanin

Originally posted by Polk65
they are SDA 1C's then you will need to make a "pin blade" interconnect cable.

Hi,

In all likelihood your SDA-1C's will have pin/blade sockets. However, there were some early 1C's that had blade/blade sockets. Be sure to inspect your speakers before constructing your home-made interconnects.

If I'm not mistaken the conductors on the pin/blade interconnects are shorted together at the connector, but the conductors on the blade/blade are not. So take note when fabricating new SDA interconnects.

Raife (DarqueKnight) has an other of his great postings describing how to construct high-end versions of both types of SDA interconnects.

Improved SDA Interconnect Cables

Enjoy your 1C's!!

Larry

molsonfuzz

I found out today how cruel UPS can be. I went home for lunch today and 5 minutes after I arrive a UPS truck pulls up with only one of the SDA 1 speakers I have been waiting for. The other will be on a separate truck arriving some time today.

I did see that the interconnect is the pin/blade style. With any luck I'll get them hooked up tonight and testing them out.

danger boy

Nice. bet you can't wait to hook them up and listen to first pair of SDA's.

are they bigger or heavier than you thought they would be? hee hee hee.

molsonfuzz

I got them hooked up last night just for a quick tryout. I used a standard RCA cable for the interconnect, didn't cut the collars off yet.

My first impression is that I need more power. They sounded a little dull like they weren't getting enough juice. They sounded good when I had my volume up to 50 or 55, but I wasn't blown away.

One thing I did notice was how well they blended in with my subwoofer. Also when listening to music, they really filled the room with sound. It felt like music was all around you which was nice.

What do you think the problem could be? receiver? cheap interconnect cable? I need some help to get the "wife approval" factor up. Right now she is at "eh,they're ok" and I need to improve on that soon. Thanks for your help.

F1nut

See my post above.

danger boy

yeah what F1 said is a great place to start. also. interconnects do make a difference.

It took me a good week or so to get used to the sound of my SRS's. they would good for the most part when i first hooked them up. but after a few weeks.. i came to accept and welcome the sound they were putting out.

My first thoughts on mine were that they had to much mid bass if you will. SO i adjusted the bass and treble to flat.. and while the SDA's sounded a little light in the bass dept.. i now know that it sounds much better when both the treble and bass are set to flat, straight up.

Now that i've had them a few months.. the mids seem just fine to me now.

Give them a few weeks for your ears to adjust to the sound.. and get some good quality interconnects. Try some Signal Cable 2's they would really nice.