Merry Christmas, Polk lovers!

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djf
djf Posts: 120
edited December 2005 in Vintage Speakers
All I want for Christmas is my tweeters - well, that's not all I want, I got more imagination than that.

Funny, life can give us more than we can handle, then turn around and give us way more than we deserve!
But I think the greatest joy is in having friends and folks around who share the same interests and support one another.


Currently: Unforgettable Fire
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  • djf
    djf Posts: 120
    edited December 2005
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    I'm breathin hard! Santa was a bit late, but my tweeterz is here!
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  • djf
    djf Posts: 120
    edited December 2005
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    Report #1:

    Called customer service because I wasn't sure about the polarity... gotta get that right! Also asked which of the four I should replace per speaker, and they suggested the bottom two (which is what I was planning to do).
    So I replaced two in the left unit.

    Currently: Best of Steve Miller

    From what I can hear now, VASTLY better definition. The brushes on the cymbals are extraordinarily better. I have yet to put any real volume yet, but will report back!
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  • djf
    djf Posts: 120
    edited December 2005
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    Report #2:

    OK, two per unit in. Had a bit of trouble on the bottom one on the right side, the magnets seem to be a tad bigger. I put it in as best I could, it's almost flush, but at some time in the future, I will have to take it out and enlarge the hole. I probably only need a millimeter!

    Tremendously better definition. Mariachis sound like there's a mexican dude in my living room!!

    And it don't figure, but separation is better. Hearing things all the way across the spectrum I never heard before.

    All in all, well worth the money. I may leave them the way they are. As it seems the original SL2000's have EXCELLENT transient response, which I always loved.
    Course my 50 year old ears need all the help they can get!

    Currently: Loggins and Messina, Sittin in Again, Angry Eyes. Lots of good woodwinds, etc!
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  • hoosier21
    hoosier21 Posts: 4,408
    edited December 2005
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    another happy camper with the replacement tweerers I am guessing.
    Dodd - Battery Preamp
    Monarchy Audio SE100 Delux - mono power amps
    Sony DVP-NS999ES - SACD player
    ADS 1230 - Polk SDA 2B
    DIY Stereo Subwoofer towers w/(4) 12 drivers each
    Crown K1 - Subwoofer amp
    Outlaw ICBM - crossover
    Beringher BFD - sub eq

    Where is the remote? Where is the $%#$% remote!

    "I've always been mad, I know I've been mad, like the most of us have...very hard to explain why you're mad, even if you're not mad..."
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  • djf
    djf Posts: 120
    edited December 2005
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    Very happy!

    But I may be in the market for some true power, my Kenwood KM894 just heat protected at about 60%

    I cannot believe the definitional difference. I can't even call the differences subtle. You just hear way more!
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  • hoosier21
    hoosier21 Posts: 4,408
    edited December 2005
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    djf wrote:
    Very happy!

    But I may be in the market for some true power, my Kenwood KM894 just heat protected at about 60%

    I cannot believe the definitional difference. I can't even call the differences subtle. You just hear way more!

    I don't even know what speaker we are talking about, but I agree
    Dodd - Battery Preamp
    Monarchy Audio SE100 Delux - mono power amps
    Sony DVP-NS999ES - SACD player
    ADS 1230 - Polk SDA 2B
    DIY Stereo Subwoofer towers w/(4) 12 drivers each
    Crown K1 - Subwoofer amp
    Outlaw ICBM - crossover
    Beringher BFD - sub eq

    Where is the remote? Where is the $%#$% remote!

    "I've always been mad, I know I've been mad, like the most of us have...very hard to explain why you're mad, even if you're not mad..."
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  • djf
    djf Posts: 120
    edited December 2005
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    Original SDA-SRS's, purchased summer, 1986.


    Currently: Elvis Costello is watching the detectives!

    My Aim is True was Par Excellance!!!

    Used to date a dame named Allison, but that's another story...
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  • Tour2ma
    Tour2ma Posts: 10,177
    edited December 2005
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    So you replaced only the primary and secondary tweeters in your SRS's? Interesting...

    And yes, you might need more amp... 60% is not a great idea.
    More later,
    Tour...
    Vox Copuli
    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Old English Proverb

    "Death doesn't come with a Uhaul." - Dennis Gardner
    "It's easy to get lost in price vs performance vs ego vs illusion." - doro
    "There is a certain entertainment value in ripping the occaisonal (sic) buttmunch..." - TroyD
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  • djf
    djf Posts: 120
    edited December 2005
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    I was pushin it at the 60%, my normal listening level is about 40-45. Wish I had a bigger room, there's a sweet spot about 4 feet behind my couch.

    Always figured I'd try two each and see if the difference is dramatic enough. But the one thing I noticed is the SPL from the bottom two is quite a bit higher then the upper two, so I may leave them as is.

    I pulled the bottom one out of the right and used a grinding wheel on a drill to enlarge the hole - just a tad - and now the bottom one is snug as a bug in a rug.

    My neighbors are gonna hate me...

    ;-)
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  • Tour2ma
    Tour2ma Posts: 10,177
    edited December 2005
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    djf wrote:
    Always figured I'd try two each and see if the difference is dramatic enough. But the one thing I noticed is the SPL from the bottom two is quite a bit higher then the upper two, so I may leave them as is.
    That's because there's a batting order with the SRS's tweeters with successive ones rolling in as spl demand increases. I think I remember that the 2nd from the bottom is the primary...

    If the sweet spot is behind your listening position, position the speakers closer together that's an option.
    More later,
    Tour...
    Vox Copuli
    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Old English Proverb

    "Death doesn't come with a Uhaul." - Dennis Gardner
    "It's easy to get lost in price vs performance vs ego vs illusion." - doro
    "There is a certain entertainment value in ripping the occaisonal (sic) buttmunch..." - TroyD
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  • djf
    djf Posts: 120
    edited December 2005
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    Correct. But depending on the source, it seems as though the next loudest goes back and forth between the second one down and the bottom one.

    Moving them together is not much of an option, they're wrapped around an entertainment center. But I still have a couple feet back I can move the couch. But that means I gotta get one of them 42" plasma tv's.... mission creep!

    Currently: The single greatest American Diva,

    "When I say love please explain,
    What pictures pop in your brain"
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,839
    edited December 2005
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    I'll suggest, once again, that you put all the new tweeters in one speaker and A/B the left and right to give you a better idea of how they really sound. As you have them now, you're not getting it......AT ALL!!!

    Do you mean at 60% on the volume control? If so, you're past the clipping range of just about every amp made. Turn it down.
    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

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  • Tour2ma
    Tour2ma Posts: 10,177
    edited December 2005
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    I don't know, Jesse, for any normal listening level, the primary and secondary may be the only ones in play. Not that we're talking "normal" levels above...
    djf wrote:
    Correct. But depending on the source, it seems as though the next loudest goes back and forth between the second one down and the bottom one.
    Operative word there is "seems".

    Just out of curiousity, are the fronts of the SRS's at least even with the front of the entertainment center?
    More later,
    Tour...
    Vox Copuli
    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Old English Proverb

    "Death doesn't come with a Uhaul." - Dennis Gardner
    "It's easy to get lost in price vs performance vs ego vs illusion." - doro
    "There is a certain entertainment value in ripping the occaisonal (sic) buttmunch..." - TroyD
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,839
    edited December 2005
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    Three words my friend, progessive point source.
    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

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  • jcaut
    jcaut Posts: 1,849
    edited December 2005
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    I'm certainly not an SDA expert, but I think it's not SPL demand that determines how many tweeters are playing, but rather frequency. Like Jesse said, progressive point source. Lower frequencies, they all play, and as frequency goes up, they roll off progressively, one by one, until at the highest frequencies only one is playing. That effectively changes the length of the tweeter array with frequency. Without getting in too far over my head, this limits the vertical dispersion at the lower end of the tweeters range, to reduce floor and ceiling reflections, but still allows a "single tweeter" dispersion pattern at the higher frequencies. Very neat idea. But then again,the whole SDA thing is a pretty neat idea.

    Jason
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  • djf
    djf Posts: 120
    edited December 2005
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    Tour2ma wrote:
    Just out of curiousity, are the fronts of the SRS's at least even with the front of the entertainment center?

    Yup. Almost exactly.

    I may give it a try tomorrow with the pink noise generator and see what I find out.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,839
    edited December 2005
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    Jason, spot on!



    Currently: Talking to the wall
    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

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  • djf
    djf Posts: 120
    edited December 2005
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    F1nut wrote:
    Currently: Talking to the wall

    Talking to the wall ain't very profitable, is it?

    So my suggestion would be to simply not do it.

    And BTW, before you run for dog catcher next year, you might want to go to the Learning Annex and take one of those "How to Win Friends and Influence People" courses.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,839
    edited December 2005
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    djf wrote:
    Talking to the wall ain't very profitable, is it?

    So my suggestion would be to simply not do it.

    And BTW, before you run for dog catcher next year, you might want to go to the Learning Annex and take one of those "How to Win Friends and Influence People" courses.

    Are you kidding??? WTF is your problem, smoke to much weed in your youth or were you just born stupid!?! I'm betting on the latter.

    Currently: Asshat starring djf
    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

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  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    edited December 2005
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    Pulling up a lawn chair and grabbing the Christmas popcorn tin....... :p
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  • djf
    djf Posts: 120
    edited December 2005
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    F1nut wrote:
    Are you kidding??? WTF is your problem, smoke to much weed in your youth or were you just born stupid!?! I'm betting on the latter.

    I come here asking technical questions and to find out about others experiences. Rarely have I ever seen you respond to a user without some snide remark, just like the "not getting it AT ALL" stuff above.

    If you have technical answers or suggestions and can deliver them to me and others in a respectful manner, in the spirit of comradarie and searching for audio excellence, then do so.

    I believe you can probably do the first part.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,839
    edited December 2005
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    Your thin skin isn't going to get you far, here or elsewhere.

    I'm done here......got better fish to fry.
    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

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  • djf
    djf Posts: 120
    edited December 2005
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    OK, now that I'm done teleconning with Computer Associates, I have finalized the settings.

    I am using the RDO's for the middle two.

    Now I am not sure about the claimed characteristics of clipping, it may well be that tube stuff operates best in the 40-50% range, but have always thought that if you got good caps, Solid state stuff wouldn't start to suffer till you got into the 75-80% range.

    I'm sure if I'm wrong, someone will correct me!

    ;-)

    Currently: One Step up and Two Steps Back, the Boss man
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,092
    edited December 2005
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    djf wrote:
    Now I am not sure about the claimed characteristics of clipping, it may well be that tube stuff operates best in the 40-50% range, but have always thought that if you got good caps, Solid state stuff wouldn't start to suffer till you got into the 75-80% range.

    I'm sure if I'm wrong, someone will correct me!

    ;-)

    Currently: One Step up and Two Steps Back, the Boss man

    Go ahead NOW and be sure. A good rule of thumb for most receivers is about the 40-50% range. Of course each manufacturer may differ slightly. In the 70-85% range you are definetly overdriving the output section of the rec (most likely). And from another point of view my seperates can only be turned about 25-30% as my pre amp has a very high output voltage (~16 volts max) and it doesn't take much movement on the vol pot to get my Adcom amp singing. What it comes down to in ALL cases is how the output of the preamp section is built. Most receivers are similiar.

    Of course as always the load/demand each particuliar source material presents can vary widely as well. I'm running my Nak receiver on the 2nd system in my computer/office room (right at the moment) playing the mighty Zep and just goosed the vol and it started to distort about 45% on the vol pot.

    FWIW

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • djf
    djf Posts: 120
    edited December 2005
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    Normally, I'm running mine in the 30-50% range, so I think I'm safe. I was just pushin em yesterday to test drive the new tweeters and get the eq flat.

    I have literally had a picture fall off the wall when I had these guys turned up so I don't do that much. Plus, my amps are fused real good, so I think I'm safe on the electronic side.
    Thanks!
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  • amulford
    amulford Posts: 5,020
    edited December 2005
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    djf wrote:
    Normally, I'm running mine in the 30-50% range, so I think I'm safe. I was just pushin em yesterday to test drive the new tweeters and get the eq flat.

    I have literally had a picture fall off the wall when I had these guys turned up so I don't do that much. Plus, my amps are fused real good, so I think I'm safe on the electronic side.Thanks!

    That's not the problem, hoss. When you run hard, your receiver is distorting. That will kill the tweeters, not the power. back it down until they are broke in. They're like a car, you can't drive 'em like you wanna for a little while.

    Your gonna fry that Kenwood, and blow the RDO's.
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  • dbnh
    dbnh Posts: 194
    edited December 2005
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    Regarding receivers, I'm not so sure they're designed to feed the Polks the current they seem to crave, regardless of volume level. YMMV.
    My system

    A-Gon Feedback; Head-Fi Feedback; ebay Feedback
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  • djf
    djf Posts: 120
    edited December 2005
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    I'm curious about the SST contact enhancer you described. It that available at any large retail outfits that you know of?
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  • dbnh
    dbnh Posts: 194
    edited December 2005
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    djf - you got PM.
    My system

    A-Gon Feedback; Head-Fi Feedback; ebay Feedback
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