? about sda 1.2 tl as my mains

wasko

I have always dreamed of owning a pair of SDA 1.2's since I first and last time I heard them around 1985-1986 or so, I'm just wondering if it is worth finding them used. I am questioning buying something used that is 10-15 yrs old, don't speakers loosen up and lose their sound after this long of use. What should I look for that might be a potential problem area. Is it still the best speaker that Polk made. What is the going rate?

I am looking to build a great musical and home theater system. I was thinking of using the 1.2's as the mains (after reading the posting, you guys got me wond up, do I need to have them) I had once thought of using the RT 2000 for the rears. Now all I can think of is the 1.2's.

I currently have the following
RT 3000P
CS 400
Adcom 555II 200/ch
Adcom 2535 60 x4 or 200 x 1 and 60 x2
Adcom GTP 450 2 channel preamp
Sony DVD, and Sony LD

I need to get a great Dolby Digital Preamp, to make it work.
What do guys think of using the RT 3000 as the rears or should I stick to the recommended FX 500 or FX 1000 rears.
I would assume that the 1.2's would kick ****, if you can find them, would they blow away the RT 3000p. Would the RT 3000 have more bass, I would assume the 1.2 midbass and high end would rock all over it. I listen to classic rock, Pink Floyd Dire Straits. I am on a little budget, would I be fine to drive the RT 3000 with the Adcom 2535 and the 1.2 on the Adcom 555 for the time being, until I can get another 555.

ps, does anyone know if Adcom would be wise for the Home theater preamp, I would like to match up with my amps. I tried the Adcom GTP 750 5.1 preamp and it sucked. I have been a die hard fan of Adcom and I was just disheartened. It did fine on home theater but on 2 channel stereo it was poor. I took it back and kept my GTP 450 2 channel preamp.

Can anyone be kind of enough to give me some thoughts on this.

Thanks
Jim

capitan100

have you thought about getting rid of the rt3000p's? if so....email me at capitan100@aol.com

blake

F1nut

wasko,

Welcome!

Since I'm not into HT, I will not address those questions. The SDA line were the best speakers Polk ever made IMHO. I own the 2.3TL's (the 1.2's are too big for my room) and the 2B's. Yes, the 1.2's are worth finding and if not abused will play perfectly because Polk used quality parts and rubber surrounds that last and last. They have plenty of deep bass, no sub needed. The going rate is generally $1800.00 up to $2900.00 which is a testament to the sound, quality and demand of a classic!

F1nut

madmax

The 1.2's are great! Many of us on the polk site own and love them!!! Some even have multiple pairs!
Welcome to the site.
madmax

SDA SRS 1.2

They're great speakers built to last a LONG time!

wasko

Thanks for the welcome,

Thanks for the reply so fast!!!

At this point I am not willing to give up the RT 3000's I really like them at this time.

What a great site, I finially found people that love Polk as much as me. After the readings of the postings, I now know that I must start saving for the 1.2s, I sure it will be another fight between my wife and me. She hates talking about stereos and speakers. For those of you with several sets or just with a lot of stereo equipment any advise on how to convince the wife?? Just wondering how you guys do it. Have anyone one of you got burned on a set of 1.2's that did not work and paid big cash for it. If one spends this much money is there any guarentees or am I just screwed out of the money. Would any seller try to sell a pair for top dollar and it is abused or shelled out.

If I end up with going HT at some point do you think the RT 3000's would cancel the sound out of the 1.2's. Please tell me no, because to be honest I do love them at this time. Overall if anyone is considering getting a pair I only had one problem and the dealer took care of it. The sub amps were picking up a radio frequency. (this was insane for a speaker of this quality) it turned out that a lot of the amps that were first made did not have the proper sheilding on them. The dealer came over to my house after I told him of it and replaced them with new amps. No problems since. Overall they can rock the house very well and have some serious lows, that I have never heard before. Adjustable bass control on the sub, which I like because I do like it tight not boomy. (Although they are a little on the boomy side at times) Just info for those who have thought of these speakers.

Would an Adcom 555/ 200w/ch at 8ohms, be enough power to drive the 1.2's, would the RT 3000 and the 1.2's cancel each other out on 2 channel stereo or HT. Does anyone else have Adcom amps, and love them as much as me. I have had my Adcoms for over 9 years without any problems.

Last but not least,

I called Polk the other day and asked why do they not want to make the 1.2's anymore. I think it was last built in 1991. I asked if they would consider making a collectors addition or something. If every on this site loves them, why can they not bring it back. Is the cost to produce or is it a classic that should not be disturbed. Or is most of the people buying stereo want everything small including speakers. I am one who loves the towers, I think of it as art and my wife thinks it looks terrible in the living room.

PS,
Both my bother and sister have Polk speakers, a family of Polk fans,

Jim

wasko

ATCVenom,

Thanks for the response,

Jim

hoosier21

Just buy the 1.2tl's, I am sure you will love them.

The Adcom would be a great amp for them, strong high current design.

The 3000's in the back will not "cancle" the effect of 1.2tl's in the front.

Larry Chanin

Originally posted by wasko
...I sure it will be another fight between my wife and me. She hates talking about stereos and speakers. For those of you with several sets or just with a lot of stereo equipment any advise on how to convince the wife?? Just wondering how you guys do it.

I am one who loves the towers, I think of it as art and my wife thinks it looks terrible in the living room.

Hi Jim:

Well, in my case we had a situation where I had my widescreen TV and my SDA-1Cs in our family room. The SDAs are about four feet tall and the wife was not very happy about these big things taking up all that room and clashing with the decor. (With the 1.2s being close to 6 feet I imagine your wife will not be a happy camper.)

For a long time I selfishly resisted my wife's concerns. Then when I started to get serious about multi-channel sound, I realized that the family room wasn't suited for this. That's when the wife and I decided to finish the basement and build a dedicated home theater room. It turned out as a WIN-WIN situation. She got to redecorate the family room to her tastes, and I got to feed my home theater obsession with my wife's blessings and occasional assistance in decorating the room.

I don't know how much extra space you have, but if you do have some extra space I would seriously consider this approach even if you can't do it right away. This way your wife will at least know there's light at the end of the tunnel, and those "ugly" speakers eventually be relocated out of her living room.

Just food for thought.

Larry

Paul Connor

Welcome Wasko.

P.S. Buy the SDA 1.2 or 1.2tl's. Your wife will get over it. Not soon perhaps, but she will.

wasko

I appreciate your guys response both Larry and Paul. At this time I do not have a family room in my house so I only have the living room to work with. But in the future, I will get more room in the next house maybe next year if mine sells. Larry, it sounds like you have gone through a few battles with your wife regarding stereo equipment, it sounds like she is letting you now live out our dream system. My wife thinks that eventually if I buy my next piece preamp (dolby digital) processor than I should be done. Now she is really going to freak when I start talking about the 1.2s. I guess you can say, I am a little afraid? Question is why am I affraid of my wife, I should stand up to her and be a man. And say look, this is what I am getting and be happy?!! Easier said then done?! The other thing is now my job is talking about holding the bonuses out until the end of 4th quarter. So the only money I have in cash is the money we have been saving for our next house. This really sucks, I feel that if I let these speakers go there it will be several months to the next set maybe years. Ok must of you would say just do it, but I have been married for 9 years and I know that she would play that guilt card and I would feel I am spending our money, for me once again. Can I help it that I have an addition for good quality stereo equipment. I tell her some people gamble, some people hunt, some people go out to the bars weekly. I spend my money on stereo equipment and I am lucky to get a componet once every two years, I would say it has been over two years since the RT 3000 purchase, but I did buy the CS 400 but that was not that much and I took back the Adcom Dolby Digital preamp because it sucked. So maybe I can get something, but I know it will be after January. Just venting again. Guys you know I want to just get the 1.2s, you have me convinced it would be worth the battle. I might but I think I will wait for the bonus check. If I buy know WWIII will start. I am not ready for that battle.

Thanks for your reply, I have been looking forward to check this site all day.

PS, I was just wondering if any of you thought of working or maybe you do work for Polk. I would think that would be the job job. I work in the Hotel business, I am the manager but my heart is in stereos. I never pursued it because I did not think I would make a living at it. I always say to myself, if only I could talk about stereos all day. I would be very baised if I worked for an audio store and they had Polks and some other brand there. I would just keep going back to the Polks even if they demanded a different brand.

Just one last note, I remember a time when I first heard of Polk Audio, I went with my bother up to Bismark North Dakota at Pacific Sound. I was in the 8th grade at the time (1985). I did not no anything about stereos other than the big Sony rack or Fisher rack systems. We went down there and expected to come back with a rack system for about $1000. Instead we went back with all seperates, we first thought we better at least get a 12" 3way speaker but instead we heard the Polk speakers for the first time. I could not believe the clarity, we started out with the Monitor 5's then the 7's. At the time I thought my brother with going for the to maybe step up into the 7s because we did not have a lot of cash. But he completely suprised me purchased a set of the monitor 12's. He paid around $900 or so just for the speaker which at the time was just insane. Plus he was talked into monster cable speaker wire (which I did not know of) for another $30 just to run them. We got home around 9 or 10 and stayed up all night to here them. He had also purchased a CD player which was still rare at the time and just listened in ahh for all hours of the night. The next morning we got up and listened until I had to go home. I was one event that I will never forget. I had not heard of anything so accurate before. I was so amazed that 2 6.5" drivers a tweeter and a passive raddiater would create this much musical sound. I was hooked, I would set in class and draw out the 1.2's in my notebook. I had pitures of the speakers in my room, I can relive this childhood dream again, if I just take the next step. Still awake, I am just rambling, thanks for reading.

What are some of your first experiences with Polk, just wondering.

Jim

Larry Chanin

Originally posted by wasko
Larry, it sounds like you have gone through a few battles with your wife regarding stereo equipment, it sounds like she is letting you now live out our dream system. ...

Guys you know I want to just get the 1.2s, you have me convinced it would be worth the battle. I might but I think I will wait for the bonus check. If I buy know WWIII will start. I am not ready for that battle.

Jim:

Yes, I've gone through the same guilt and soul searching that you are going through now. In fact I can still remember vividly 15 years ago buying my SDA-1Cs. For some infantile reason I couldn't bring myself to tell my wife I was making the purchase. So I went out and bought them and when she was asleep I set them up. I remember almost getting a hernia doing this by myself since they weighed about 100 pounds each in their shipping cartons. What was I thinking? Did I really expect her not to notice them in her family room? Duh! :rolleyes:

The compromise with my wife wasn’t just me making big purchases for my obsession and saying, “Look dear I’ve bought us all this lovely equipment for the family room.” I admit that it did start out that way, but later when I came to my senses she got something beyond me moving my equipment out of the family room. She got an opportunity to indulge her obsession, decorating. She got to make HER big purchases too to get the family room where she was happy with it.

From then on it was wonderful. She would consult me on her plans in the family room and I would enlist her aid in helping to decorate the home theater. I really like the family room and she likes having friends over and entertaining in the home theater. The only problem that remains is that my design of the sound proofing was inadequate. So periodically, even though she is three stories away from the theater she’ll come down and read me the riot act for having the sound too loud.

I think you've made the right decision to defer the purchase for now. Like you I've dreamed about buying the 1.2s, but you've got to put things in proper perspective. This is not as important as your relationship with your wife. The way I figure it we're dealing with a partnership. If you've only got the living room to share for now then its not right to totally ignore your wife's feelings. For things to work both of you have to get what you want. It can't be one getting at the expense of the other. What big ticket items does she want? Maybe you should time getting the 1.2s when she can get a similar big ticket item.

Just my two cents worth.

Good luck.

Larry

wasko

Larry,

Great story, I can see myself hulling those speakers up in the middle of night, like a kid peaking at the Christmas gifts before we open them. This makes a lot of sense, I will think hard at contempleting this. I got the price quote back for the 1.2 tl and he is asking $2100, which includes shipping the massive speakers. Occording to the responses on this site, I would assume it would be a good buy at this price. It will be hard to let this set go, but I assume I must keep telling myself, there will be another set in the future when the time is right. What kind of desease do I have? This goes back to the days in college when I spent all my student loan check on a $6000 stereo for my car. After the install 1 month later it was all stolen, a couple of years a go I finially paid back the loan. After that point I have not put more than a CD player in my cars.


Thank you for writing your response,

Jim

F1nut

Jim,

That's a good deal, talk it over with your wife some more. Print this thread out and show it to her. You may not find a better deal again.

Good Luck,
Jesse

jdavy

I have used my SRS's in my front channel before. Some notes to remember. First the drivers create a huge magnetic field so you need distance to protect your TV. If you use Sony tv's you need even more distance. You will want to upgrade your center channel. The match for monsters like that is the 1000cp. Sounds like you are planing a bit of overkill for a living room. I like it.

wasko

Jdavy,

How much distance do you recommend, I have a Sony 32" trinitron TV. How many feet on each side of the TV do you recommand. I have it in a amour TV cabinet. Does the wood around the TV help reduce the Magnetic feild of the the 1.2's. If not how many feet would you say I would need.

Does everyone agree with F1nut that at 2100 shipped for the 1.2's that it should not be passed up. I will not find a better price? If so I will attempt to enter in WWIII with my wife.

I may have to sell my CS400, I have only used it for 1 day when I had the Adcom preamp with Dolby Digital. It has since just sat unplugged. I may have to sell it and get another Adcom 555 or so I would have 2 amps with 200/ch to run both the 1.2's and the rt 3000. Then I will have to hold off on the 5.1 or 7.1 for a couple of years. Does this never end. After the dissappointment in the Adcom DD preamp, I am thinking of staying 2 channel for a couple of years.

I had a little arguement about buying the next piece, (I did not mention what it was just that it will cost about 2000.) I mentioned that I should be able to spend 1/2 of my bonus on what I want. She said we have a ton of debt and she would spend the other 1/2 on bills. By the end of the conversation she said you can spend 1/2 on what you want but she was pissed. The worst thing is that I do not have enough cash unless I tap into our money we are saving for a down payment on a house and I do not want to do that. (I would not live that down) My bonus check will not be in my hands untill the first of February or so. By that time the speakers will be gone. I don't think they will stay around that long. (A part of me just says hey, she will get over it, and the other side is my concious saying this is very selfish)

Thanks your response,


Jim

F1nut

Jim,

You can use bucking magnets (Polk should have them) to shield the TV from the monsters, a wood cabinet will not help. I see your issue with the money. When it comes down to it, that is a tough one.

Jesse

jdavy

SRS distance? Get as much as you can. I would like at least 5 feet. Bucking magnets? If that is the donut shaped magnets I got from polk that you glue to the back of each midrange driver to apose the magnetic field, I got those and it did help. In fact I recomend them to anyone who wants to use those monsters up front. Also, do not forget that Sony TV's are some of the most affected by speakers.

Sounds like fun. Let everyone know how it works out. BTW I have a 35" Sony XBR TV set.

F1nut

jdavy,

Yep, those are the ones. Did you do the tweets too?

jdavy

No I did not do the tweeters. Not a bad idea though. What about that 15" passive radiator? Is there a donut for that thing?

F1nut

Yeah, you've got to do the tweeters too. They have some good size magnets on them, times four. The pr doesn't have a magnet, so no worries there.

mhw58

Wasko,
Welcome. I'm new to SDA's myself. F1nut and Nascarmann(RIP)
have given me some great advice about SDA's and this
site is great. I bought a pair of SDA 2's a few months back
at a garage sale. I had never heard of SDA's but I found this
site and got obsessed with them. Nascarrman raved about the
1-C's and I wanted a pair. I knew my wife would never go for
the 1.2's and even I thought they would be too big for my room.
I found a pair of 1-C's on ebay and I LOVE them. I couldn't
be happier and will keep them forever. I can attest to Polk's
quality and the 1-C's I have are perfect. I use my 1-C's
as my main speakers, moved the 2's to the rears and have
a cs400i center. I listen to a lot of stereo too and the 1-C's
are fantastic. Perhaps if the 1.2s are too big, you can look
into the 2.3's or 1-C's. F1nut can give you a good idea as
to the tradeoffs in sound but I think for the size, the 1-C's
are hard to beat and they look good.
BTW, there is a guy selling some 1.2s on this Polk flea market.
He lives in the San Francisco area. They aren't the tls.
Good luck, Mike

Paul Connor

One thing to keep in mind about the 1.2's. Imagine that you go out to buy the kids a hamster and come home from the pet shop with a Saint Bernard. My experience was sort of like that. Unless you really have a lot of space, they can take over a room. So much so, in fact, that anyone who walks into the room is immediately floored by the sheer size. The sound, of course, is no less impressive.

As for my wife. She spent the first three months shaking her head in disbelief every time she walked by the 1.2's, but now accepts them as part of the family. She also knows how much time I spend listening to music and the pleasure it brings, not only to me, but the rest of the familly as well. You shouldn't have to compromise your financial well being to own a pair. I also agree with Larry in one of the posts above. You can always make a deal with you wife on this one. For example, put money aside for new furniture or something she has been wanting for a long time.

As time goes by, this speaker is likely going to be harder and harder to come by and judging by what the market has been demanding lately, more expensive.

Take the leap, Dude. You won't regret it.

wasko

Well polk fans,

I was ready for the battle but it got crazier then I expected and I will not be getting them. Mostly for finiacial reasons, the other is that she thought I was crazy to buy a pair on the internet. I am sure it would of been fine, but who knows she maybe right I would not be able to live that one down. If I am ready in the future I will need to have a certain amount of money set aside for these. I would not say I will never get a set, but it will not be for a long time. As much as I know I would love the speakers and it would be well worth it, at this time it is not worth the huge problem it would cause. Thank you all for the advice, someday I will find a set closer to me and I will drive to pick them up. My wife will be more assured that she will get what she is paying for. She just thought I was insane, I know you guys buy on the net all the time, don't get me wrong, I'm sure there will be little chance of a problem. The reviews of the person I was dealing with had nothing but positive marks and he seems like great person to deal with. I wish him the best of luck.

Thank you all for your support,

Jim

F1nut

Jim,

Just for future reference, there is a service called escrow.com that you and a seller can use to insure a smooth, honest transaction. Basically, you send your money to the escrow account, the seller ships, you get the item and inspect it, if all is good you tell the escrow folks to release the funds to the seller. Check out their site for all the details. I've used them and it works. If you would like to discuss it with me, send me a email.
BTW, someone has a pair of 3.1TL's for sale on the flea market, nice and less expensive SDA.

Jesse

jdavy

Jim,

Do not forget that the SDA speakers are not getting any younger and will be harder to come by in the future. As someone else on this forum said, you can get some smaller SDA's. And yes, they do take up a room. But what is not to love?

James

madmax

If the 1.2's are too big then consider the 1C's. Some of us like them just as well or maybe even more. CRS+ are cool too. They all have the same basic sound, just some have more bass than others and are suited to different sized rooms. I never met an SDA I didn't like.

Afraid of the internet??? I have over 100 purchases of used stuff and have yet to get into an unreasonable transaction. On the news I heard that one transaction out of every 300,000 on ebay goes bad. I still have 299900 to go before I get ripped.
madmax

Paul Connor

Hey Max,

Can you post a photo of a pair of 1C's?

Larry Chanin

Originally posted by Paul Connor

Can you post a photo of a pair of 1C's?

Hi Paul:

Here's a picture of one of my SDA-1Cs.

I've also attached a picture of all the SDA's manufactured in 1987 so you can see the relative sizes. The picture is from the McGowan Brother's Polk/SDA page.

Larry

Paul Connor

Thanks Larry,

Just went over and joined the SDA group on Yahoo. I'll keep an eye on that site now and then.

Paul

mcowan

I have a nice set of 1.2's for sale. 1900 delivered in the lower 48. They are located in the SFO bay area. Thought I would throw it in.

-Mark-