Finally...Joined the SDA club

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Texas42
Texas42 Posts: 404
edited July 2007 in Vintage Speakers
I lusted after the SDA series back in the 80's but always seemed to go off in another direction. I've owned Theils, KEFs, Maggies, Legacy Focus, Carvers, Klipsch, Eminent Technology, Energy, etc...but still never a Polk SDA. Mainly due to them being discontinued and not being able to find a pair locally...til now. I just purchased a pair of vintage SDA-1B's in decent condition WITH the SDA interconnect. I have them set about 5 feet apart and approximately 6' to me in a relatively small room (my 'mancave' with a very comfortable listening chair). They are about 2' from the side walls and about 2.5' from the rear wall.

First impressions: nice, solid bass, with smooth high and articulate mids. The SDA effect definitely stands out with some music and not so much with others. I'm still at a loss to figure out why Polk discontinued this series as I think it would still be their best seller if they brought it back. I've had discussions with others in the past and the only conclusion we could come to was this was discontinued about the time home theater starting evolving with smaller satellites and 'cube type' (you know who I'm referring to) speakers which were touted as being more 'room friendly' and/or visually appealing. I'm also guessing that dolby digital and dts which provide their own means of recreating a spacious soundstage didn't help either. As to the size of the speaker; personally I think a bigger speaker 'sounds' bigger and fuller; which I prefer. Hopefully this isn't the kind of sound one grows tired of (as I've heard others say in the past). For now, I'll just enjoy it...
Post edited by Texas42 on
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  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited July 2007
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    SDA's are the best speakers polk ever made!
    madmax
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
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  • xsmi
    xsmi Posts: 1,798
    edited July 2007
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    Period!
    2-channelBelles 22A Pre, Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 2, Marantz SA8005, Pro-Ject RPM-10 Turntable, Pro-Ject Phono Box DS3B, Polk Audio Legend L800's, AudioQuest Cable throughout.
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  • MillerLiteScott
    MillerLiteScott Posts: 2,561
    edited July 2007
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    Good for you. Enjoy.
    I like speakers that are bigger than a small refrigerator but smaller than a big refrigerator:D
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  • george daniel
    george daniel Posts: 12,096
    edited July 2007
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    Congratulations,,I'm sure that you will enjoy them.
    JC approves....he told me so. (F-1 nut)
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  • chuck13
    chuck13 Posts: 19
    edited July 2007
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    I've had my SDA SRS's for twenty years and still love to listen to their "sound"
    Chuck13
    Denon AVR 5803
    Rotel RB 1090 for the Polks :D
    Fronts - Polk SDA SRS's w/ new tweeters
    Surrounds - Klipsch RF - 7(4ea)
    Center - Klipsch RC - 7
    Denon DVD 1600
    Energy st-12 woof
    OPPO DVD
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  • SDA SRS 1.2
    SDA SRS 1.2 Posts: 255
    edited July 2007
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    chuck13 wrote: »
    I've had my SDA SRS's for twenty years and still love to listen to their "sound"

    Same here! :)

    Robbie
    Main System: Polk SDA SRS 1.2 Speakers, Sunfire Signature 600~two Amp, Carver C-16 Preamp, Carver TX-11b Tuner, Marantz 6350Q TT, Philips CDR-775 Recorder, Teac V-707RX Cassette Deck, Signal Cable Double Run Speaker Cable

    Upstairs Den: Marantz 2325 Receiver, Marantz 5220 Cassette Deck, Marantz HD-880 Speakers, Marantz 6370Q TT

    Exercise (Kabuki speaker) Room: Kenwood KR-9600 Receiver, Pioneer CS-99a Speakers, Sansui SP-X9000 Speakers (not pretty, but LOUD! :) )
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  • Mike Reeter
    Mike Reeter Posts: 4,314
    edited July 2007
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    Hello,welcome to the SDA Club...and Club Polk:D

    BTW,You might get a little better bass response if you could move you new jems a little bit closer to the back wall.

    N'joy
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  • snow
    snow Posts: 4,329
    edited July 2007
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    Texas42 wrote: »
    Hopefully this isn't the kind of sound one grows tired of (as I've heard others say in the past). For now, I'll just enjoy it...
    Congrats on your find. Actually I think it will be the other way around, once you have listened to the SDAs it will be hard to listen to anything less than. And you will remember how they sounded and miss it.

    I know periodically I purchase another set of speakers try them out and decide that they are not as good, Perhaps someday when I find something better, the SDAs will take second place but it hasnt happened yet, they are that good.

    REGARDS SNOW
    Well, I just pulled off the impossible by doing a double-blind comparison all by myself, purely by virtue of the fact that I completely and stupidly forgot what I did last. I guess that getting old does have its advantages after all :D
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  • woofiepaws
    woofiepaws Posts: 215
    edited July 2007
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    Another convert to "Size (of soundstage) Matters"
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,865
    edited July 2007
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    If at all possible they should be 6' apart, 3' from the side walls, about 5 or 6 inches from the back wall and NO toe in.

    Enjoy!
    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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  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited July 2007
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    6 feet apart minimum i think.. but I realize that's not always possible for a lot of people.
    PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
    Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin:
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  • Refefer
    Refefer Posts: 1,280
    edited July 2007
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    danger boy wrote: »
    6 feet apart minimum i think.. but I realize that's not always possible for a lot of people.

    Yeah, I can only have mine about 4' apart, but they still sound phenomenal. Can't wait till I can give them proper breathing space!

    Congrats tex, I have those exact same speakers and I love em!:)
    Lovin that music year after year.

    Main 2 Channel System

    Polk SDA-1B,
    Promitheus Audio TVC SE,
    Rotel RB-980BX,
    OPPO DV-970HD,
    Lite Audio DAC AH,
    IXOS XHA305 Interconnects

    Computer Rig

    Polk SDA CRS+,
    Creek Audio 5350 SE,
    Morrow Audio MA1 Interconnect,
    HRT Music Streamer II
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  • Stew
    Stew Posts: 645
    edited July 2007
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    Congratulations!
    chuck13 wrote: »
    I've had my SDA SRS's for twenty years and still love to listen to their "sound"

    Only 18 years for my SDA 2B's:D
    Texas42 wrote: »
    Hopefully this isn't the kind of sound one grows tired of

    I can't imagine why anyone would ever tire of the SDA soundstage. Spend a little time on this forum and you'll never run out of ways to improve your SDA's and/or your gear. For starters, you'll be amazed at what happens if you can place them per above advice. Lovin' mine more than ever!
    SDA 2B-TL (Sonicap/Solen/Mills, Erse Super Q, Rings, Spikes, No-Rez)
    1000VA Dreadnought
    Dared SL-2000a (Siemens & Halske TM 12AT7WA's, Brimar 5Z4G)
    Jolida JD-100a (Sylvania BP TM Gold Brand 5751's), NAD C275BEE, Blue Jeans

    RTiA3, Onkyo TX-SR605
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  • Texas42
    Texas42 Posts: 404
    edited July 2007
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    Thanks all for the comments and suggestions. Unfortunately, the size of the room limits placement. I could get them a bit further apart but then they would be maybe a foot from the side walls (room is 10' wide, speakers are 16" wide). Right now I have them 14" from the back wall and 17" from the side wall (to be exact). I could put them closer to the back wall but then my stereo rack (which is between them) would be forward of the speakers which has always been a 'no no' for set up considering imaging and diffraction (perhaps the SDA effect would counter that better than other speakers; I don't know). At any rate, the Polk owner's manual says to have them at least 4' apart which I am able to do and they do sound great. Not as articulate as my Energy Veritas 2.3i's (which are $3000 speakers) but they do have that famous soundstage, which I love.
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  • hearingimpared
    hearingimpared Posts: 21,137
    edited July 2007
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    Welcome to the club Texas42 and glad to see you joined the dark side.

    F1Nut's measurements are ideal but if you need some leeway the user manual says that 3' minimum from the side walls is necessary but the speakers can be as close as 4' apart from each other. That SDA effect will collapse if the speakers are too close to the side walls. Write to Lasareath, he has his too close to the side walls out of necessity; he'll explain what he hears with his SDAs.
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  • Refefer
    Refefer Posts: 1,280
    edited July 2007
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    You might also want to shoot a PM to DarqueKnight; he has put together this fantastic compilation of everything Polk SDA and is an excellent read.
    Lovin that music year after year.

    Main 2 Channel System

    Polk SDA-1B,
    Promitheus Audio TVC SE,
    Rotel RB-980BX,
    OPPO DV-970HD,
    Lite Audio DAC AH,
    IXOS XHA305 Interconnects

    Computer Rig

    Polk SDA CRS+,
    Creek Audio 5350 SE,
    Morrow Audio MA1 Interconnect,
    HRT Music Streamer II
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  • Sami
    Sami Posts: 4,634
    edited July 2007
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    Congrats on the SDA's. I have a pair of 1C's myself. What part of Texas are you in?
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  • Texas42
    Texas42 Posts: 404
    edited July 2007
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    Sami wrote: »
    Congrats on the SDA's. I have a pair of 1C's myself. What part of Texas are you in?

    I'm down here in a little town called San Antonio...

    By the way, is there a way to figure out the date of the speaker via Serial number or model? Since these are the SDA-1B's and I'm guessing the 1C's replaced them and I know the 1C's were selling in 1988; I'm 'guessing' these are circa !986-87. Would this be correct?
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  • snow
    snow Posts: 4,329
    edited July 2007
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    Texas42 wrote: »
    I'm down here in a little town called San Antonio...

    By the way, is there a way to figure out the date of the speaker via Serial number or model? Since these are the SDA-1B's and I'm guessing the 1C's replaced them and I know the 1C's were selling in 1988; I'm 'guessing' these are circa !986-87. Would this be correct?
    Yes 1Bs 86-87. 1Cs were made from 87-90

    REGARDS SNOW
    Well, I just pulled off the impossible by doing a double-blind comparison all by myself, purely by virtue of the fact that I completely and stupidly forgot what I did last. I guess that getting old does have its advantages after all :D
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  • BobMcG
    BobMcG Posts: 1,585
    edited July 2007
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    Welcome to the Club, enjoy your SDAs, and don't be afraid to check out some of the other models if you can.
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  • Polkersince85
    Polkersince85 Posts: 2,883
    edited July 2007
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    Welcome to the club, enjoy that classic Polk sound.
    >
    >
    >This message has been scanned by the NSA and found to be free of harmful intent.<
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  • starchaser
    starchaser Posts: 354
    edited July 2007
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    Congrats on the SDA's and welcome to CP.
    "There's a lot of places driving up and down I-95 that smell like ****" F1Nut
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