Suggested Upgrades to SRS 2.3TL's
milesaway
Posts: 14
Any suggestions to upgrade SRS 2.3TL's? I traded a pair of Definitives for these a few years ago. They sound great, but as I read through some of the Forum topics it would seem that there are better components such as Crossovers,Resistors,speakers,etc. out there these days that could possible improve them ( if that's possible,they sound awesome ). I'm really green at any of this type of undertaking but am interested in improving them if it would be worth the time & money.
Post edited by milesaway on
Comments
-
Welcome to the club,
Well you can upgrade the crossover with beter components and change the tweeters to the RDO198 silk instead of the Mylars that are in it.
Do a little searching on the site and you can find others that have done some upgrades to there SDA's.
They sound really good in there stock form so I would enjoy them for a while before doing upgrades.. -
Greetings milesaway from Auburn. I'm in Des Moines, just a few miles up the road from you. I also have a pair of 2.3tl's that are on the upgrade "lineup", along with several other Polk's and Infinities. I just finished an upgrade on a pair of SDA-1C's with the standard fare that most people use, polypropelyne capacitors (I used SONICAPS), higher quality resistors from Mills, and I re-did the internal wiring with much higher quality cable. And also replaced the binding posts with high-quality ones made by Cardas. And, finally, I gave them the tweeter upgrade that pretty much everyone recommends, the newer silk-domes from Polk. (The part number for the 2.3tl's tweeter upgrade will be RD0198). For the capacitors and resistors, it basically comes down to de-soldering the old ones and replacing them with new ones of the same values, but much higher quality.
Some good resources for parts are.
www.soniccraft.com
www.partsconnexion.com
www.partsexpress.com
There are lots other, but that's a good start. Let me know if you'd like to hear the upgraded -1C's up next to the stock 2.3tl's. Personally, I think the -1C's are wiping the floor with them!
Cheers,
Geoff
Des Moines, WAPolk SDA SRS 2
Polk RTA 15tl
Polk Monitor 7C
Polk Lsi9
Infinity RS-II (modded)
Infinity RS-IIIa (modded)
Infinity RS 2.5 x 2
Magnepan 1.6QR (modded)
System: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?vevol&1290711373 -
Oops , forgot one thing.....
upgraded the SDA cable too, with a good quality spade-terminated cable. That makes an audible difference, too. DarqueKnight has a great thread on that somewhere around the forum.Polk SDA SRS 2
Polk RTA 15tl
Polk Monitor 7C
Polk Lsi9
Infinity RS-II (modded)
Infinity RS-IIIa (modded)
Infinity RS 2.5 x 2
Magnepan 1.6QR (modded)
System: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?vevol&1290711373 -
Polk SDA SRS 2
Polk RTA 15tl
Polk Monitor 7C
Polk Lsi9
Infinity RS-II (modded)
Infinity RS-IIIa (modded)
Infinity RS 2.5 x 2
Magnepan 1.6QR (modded)
System: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?vevol&1290711373 -
I found that Thiel 3.6's are a great upgrade to the TL-series SDA speakers.
-
^^^^^^
-
milesaway, another thing to consider (emphasize consider) is removing the tweeter protection polyswitch (labeled "Safetyguard" on the crossover schematic). Unless you're very hard-core with volume levels, it doesn't really need to be in there, and it slightly degrades the signal quality. I removed them from the -1C's and jumpered the connection on the crossover circuit board with good quality wire (many people have done this). I often listen at live volume levels, with good quality amplification, and have had no problems at all. The polyswitch is a little tiny chip with leads about the size of a human hair, which all your high-frequency information travels through!Polk SDA SRS 2
Polk RTA 15tl
Polk Monitor 7C
Polk Lsi9
Infinity RS-II (modded)
Infinity RS-IIIa (modded)
Infinity RS 2.5 x 2
Magnepan 1.6QR (modded)
System: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?vevol&1290711373 -
Welcome milesaway I too am another SDA owner in the Seattle area (Kent). I removed the polyswitches and upgraded to the silk dome tweeter on my 2As. The RDOs made a good difference in mellowing out the sound and my experience with the polys is the same as geoff727. I am running about about 500wpc at "live" volume and have had no problems either. I have been looking at the x-over mod also, but it's a daunting task.
-
I found that Thiel 3.6's are a great upgrade to the TL-series SDA speakers.
Funny, I can't think of a speaker that I've hated more than Thiel.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 -
Funny, I can't think of a speaker that I've hated more than Thiel.
Usually, people who dislike the Thiel sound have an inadequate amplifier powering them -- thus, giving them a very shrill sound. With the right equipment, they sing beautifully. -
It wasn't the mono blocks, it wasn't the tube pre, it wasn't the tube source, it was most definitely the very shrill speakers.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 -
"After 100+ pairs of quality speakers I've owned in 36 years (including many 'stats, ribbons, horns, maggies, etc.) these (Thiel 3.6) are the speakers that do the most for me. Wide range, detailed, dynamic, ultra-natural and smooth, they are a delight everytime I listen. Deep, powerful and superbly articulated bass is perfectly balanced with the mids and smooth highs in a totally coherent and convincing manner. Huge soundstage. Thiel speakers require an amp that can run easily with 2-3 ohm loads and these need a good deal of space; without it they will sound very bad with too much bass and shrill sound. They are a terrific bargain in the used market; if you have the amp and space for them there's no better high end bargain, IMO."
http://www.audioreview.com/cat/speakers/floorstanding-speakers/thiel/PRD_121076_1594crx.aspx -
Yep, a pair of Krell FPB 350's and still sounded like crappola, IMO. As for a bargain......if they require that much power and that big of a room, that's no bargain.
Other than that, the question was what are suggested upgrades to the 2.3TL's, not what other speakers are out there. Your response had absolutely nothing to do with the question, so stiffle.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 -
Any suggestions to upgrade SRS 2.3TL's? I traded a pair of Definitives for these a few years ago. They sound great, but as I read through some of the Forum topics it would seem that there are better components such as Crossovers,Resistors,speakers,etc. out there these days that could possible improve them ( if that's possible,they sound awesome ). I'm really green at any of this type of undertaking but am interested in improving them if it would be worth the time & money.
My comments related to his request regarding "speakers". -
Maybe he should have said "drivers".I like speakers that are bigger than a small refrigerator but smaller than a big refrigerator:D
-
Talk about reading something wrong rskarvan. You would have been better off saying it was a joke over emphasizing the fact you read the question poorly.
Besides Thiels are OK but they are not the be all end all. Plus no SDA effect.
+1 F1nut. -
You know, I always regret it when I jump into discussions that I should just quietly watch but it’s not nearly as much fun. Here’s my quick take on the recent speaker discussions involving Thiel and Infinity.
I like this forum and so far I’ve liked everyone in it (some more than others but that’s life in general). There are far fewer “religious wars” here than there are in the computer and video forums I contribute to. Thank god we don’t have Vista/XP, HD/Blueray, and Apple/MS to discuss).
I like the discussions about which amplifier is better, which cable/wire/binding posts/caps/resistors to use, and I’m especially fond of the tweeter discussions proving once again that I probably need to get a life.
Having said all that, the “wars” about equipment on this forum usually center on how to get the best sound out of Polk speakers. Yes, like most of you I own “other brands” of speakers and appreciate them for a lot of reasons. I might even belong to a few renegade Fanboy forums involving “other brands”. All fine, all good. There are a lot of places to discuss competing speaker brands.
The last time I checked, my address bar said www.POLKaudio.com. If I want information on the relative merits of Infinity or Thiel, I’d be somewhere else.
My two cents.Sony 60'' SXRD 1080p
Amp = Carver AV-705THX 5-Channel
Processor = NAD T747
Panasonic BD35 Blu-Ray
Main = SDA-1C Studio with RD0s, spikes, XO rebuild, rings, I/C upgrade
Center=Polk CS10, Surround = Athena Dipoles, Sub= Boston 12HO
Music/Video Streaming = Netgear NEO550
TT = Audio Technica -
My comments related to his request regarding "speakers".
You seem to have misunderstood what he wrote, which appears to be something you excell at. I knew exactly what he meant, new RD0198-1 tweeters, which I highly recommend as the first place to start when upgrading the 2.3TL's.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 -
You seem to have misunderstood what he wrote, which appears to be something you excell at. I knew exactly what he meant, new RD0198-1 tweeters, which I highly recommend as the first place to start when upgrading the 2.3TL's.
Jesse,
First off, a few people in this forum have traded their TL-series speakers for Thiels and were very happy with the upgrade. Secondly, the SL3000 tweeters are absolutely great. I wouldn't be so quick to upgrade them as they really do sound very good just the way they are. Thirdly, if you are going to criticize someone on this forum, please spell EXCEL correctly (with one L). Lastly, if you don't like the sound of Thiels, please don't criticize the brand because brand-bashing is against the Forum Rules.
Have a nice day!
Ron -
My two cents - I have a (quite wealthy) friend who has a pair of the larger Thiels, although I can't remember the model number, powered by a Mark Levinson amp, sourced with a Wadia cd player with several custom mods. This guy spends more on a power cable than I spend on an amplifier...
Those speakers are absolutely breathtaking, but to me they really are at their best with classical music. I find that with rock they are amazing on the imaging/soundstage side, but lack a bit of the "oomph" that I love about my Polks.
But with classical music, if you close your eyes it sounds like you are sitting in Carnegie Hall, simply incredible.
Agreed they're not for everyone's taste, but I think their quality needs to be determined, at least in part, with proper music selection.
Anyway, now that we've sufficiently crapped this guy's thread with lots of talk of Thiels....
milesaway, do your research on the forums, there's a plethora of information about upgrades you can make. The most common are the replacement of the tweeters with the silk-domed variety, as well as custom modifications to the crossovers, mainly by removing certain parts known to degrade sonic performance (polyswitches in particular) as well as replacing the vast majority of electronic components (primarily resistors and capacitors) with higher quality parts of matching spec. Most people in the forum who have done these upgrades have converged around Solen or Sonicap capacitors, and Mills resistors. Additional performance enhancements can be attained by making yourself a custom sda interconnect cable.
There are lots of threads out there with step by step instructions along with pictures, but the particulars depend on the model you have. I have a pair of SDA 2B's and just recently completed a major upgrade, see my thread here:
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62106
Do your homework, analyze the costs, ask lots of questions on the threads, and good luck!Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance. -
Yep, a pair of Krell FPB 350's and still sounded like crappola, IMO. As for a bargain......if they require that much power and that big of a room, that's no bargain.
Other than that, the question was what are suggested upgrades to the 2.3TL's, not what other speakers are out there. Your response had absolutely nothing to do with the question, so stiffle.
I leave this site for a year and come back to find that individuals still don't take the J-Man with a grain of salt. Just keep throwing fuel on the fire....It's fun to watch!UNIVERA
Historic Charleston SC
2 Channel:
SDA-SRS's RDO tweets
Biamped Anthem 2 SE's w/1970's NOS Siemens CCA's
Anthem Pre 2L w/E.harmonix platinum matched 6H23's
CDP- NAD C 542
HT setup:
AVR: NAD T 773
Rears: Polk LC80i
DVD: Toshiba 3109 dual tray
Subs: Velodyne and M&K
T.V.: Sony KDL-52XBR4 w/Vans Evers Clean Line Jr.
Conditioner: Panamax M5100EX
Master Bedroom Sony 40KDL-XBR3
"I love it when a plan comes together." Hannibal Smith, The A-Team -
Milesaway, please feel free to PM or email me if you need help upgrading the 2.3TL's.
Once again ronnie, you're missing the point, but you already knew that. :rolleyes: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
