SDA 1B realwood?
Hobbyguy
Posts: 317
Just joined this club and am amazed at the cumulative knowledge of its members! In college I always wanted a pair of polk speakers but could never afford them. I recently purchased a pair of SDA 1B speakers and was told that there are very few of these that are made of real wood. Does anybody know if this is true?
Post edited by Hobbyguy on
Comments
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YEP... you won't find solid wood 1B's unless they're one of the VERY rare one offs. Remove one of the drivers and check for Fibre board or solid wood front panels around the cutouts.
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Just joined this club and am amazed at the cumulative knowledge of its members! In college I always wanted a pair of polk speakers but could never afford them. I recently purchased a pair of SDA 1B speakers and was told that there are very few of these that are made of real wood. Does anybody know if this is true?
Just a guess but I'd say real wood veneer laminated to particle board, not solid wood.
Drew -
You can find them both ways out there as the SDA-1Bs were offered with "Grade"-walnut or rosewood-vinyl cabinets or with real wood finished cabinets of oiled walnut or oak at a higher cost.
(Whereas the 1Cs were offered with real wood finished cabinets of oiled walnut or oak and black studio versions of ash available at a lower cost.) -
Thanks all! they should arrive in 1 - 2 weeks. Updated info is that they are oak veneer. It will be interesting to see if it is really oak veneer or if they are oak plywood. I personally prefer the plywood but don't know which material is better for speakers.
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All SDA's with a wood exterior are wood veneer over MDF. The vinyl cabinets are over MDF as well. Polk did not use veneered plywood or solid wood for the cabinets. The front panel (bezel) is black laminated MDF, never solid wood.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 -
All SDA's with a wood exterior are wood veneer over MDF. The vinyl cabinets are over MDF as well. Polk did not use veneered plywood or solid wood for the cabinets. The front panel (bezel) is black laminated MDF, never solid wood.
How do you know? -
I own a three pair of SDA's and have seen most of the others. They all use the same materials. The only possible exception would be the end caps on the SDA SRS, which are glued up solid wood boards, which turned out to be not such a good idea. However, they are not really part of the actual cabinet, they just attach to the MDF case.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 -
I agree.CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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I own a three pair of SDA's and have seen most of the others. They all use the same materials. The only possible exception would be the end caps on the SDA SRS, which are glued up solid wood boards, which turned out to be not such a good idea. However, they are not really part of the actual cabinet, they just attach to the MDF case.
Jesse
Thanks for the answer. The reason I was wondering is because the caps on my SRSII's look like real solid wood.
Drew -
I own a three pair of SDA's and have seen most of the others. They all use the same materials. The only possible exception would be the end caps on the SDA SRS, which are glued up solid wood boards, which turned out to be not such a good idea. However, they are not really part of the actual cabinet, they just attach to the MDF case.
The caps on my SDA 2B "Standard Version" seem to be real wood. -
You are both correct in that the caps are solid wood, but the cabinets were not.
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You are both correct in that the caps are solid wood, but the cabinets were not.
Thanks zingo!:) -
Both the 2B and SRS 2 end caps are veneer over MDF.
If you don't see end grain on the edges of your caps and joint lines, they are veneer over MDF.
Again, the only end caps that are solid wood (glued up boards) are the earlier versions of the SDA SRS.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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I have SDA-1's with Oak veneer. SO much nicer than the vinyl crap. I also put brown grill cloth on them. I always hated black cloth on a brown wood toned speaker.
ET
System: MF Trivista SACD > Placette passive> CJ passive horizontal bi-amp> MF 2500A(LF) MF2100(HF) > 1.2TL's
Other: Speltz silver Eichmann IC's & speaker wire, Econotweaks Detail Magnifiers, PS Audio P-300(source), R. Gray 600, Al Sekala's AC R/C filters, R. Gray HT PC's, Oyaide R-1's,WPC-Z , M-1, Herbie's & DIY Isolation
Room: Qty 7 - 4' tall 18" diam. bass traps, Qty 4 - 4' X 2' X 4" panels. All DIY - man my wife is tolerant! -
My 1987 SDA 2B's are walnut veneer on the tops and edges, but the front piece on each base is a piece of real 3/4" walnut. My 1986 SDA SRS 2's are glued up solid oak.VTL ST50 w/mods / RCA6L6GC / TlfnknECC801S
Conrad Johnson PV-5 w/mods
TT Conrad Johnson Sonographe SG3 Oak / Sumiko LMT / Grado Woodbody Platinum / Sumiko PIB2 / The Clamp
Musical Fidelity A1 CDPro/ Bada DD-22 Tube CDP / Conrad Johnson SD-22 CDP
Tuners w/mods Kenwood KT5020 / Fisher KM60
MF x-DAC V8, HAInfo NG27
Herbies Ti-9 / Vibrapods / MIT Shotgun AC1 IEC's / MIT Shotgun 2 IC's / MIT Shotgun 2 Speaker Cables
PS Audio Cryo / PowerPort Premium Outlets / Exact Power EP15A Conditioner
Walnut SDA 2B TL /Oak SDA SRS II TL (Sonicaps/Mills/Cardas/Custom SDA ICs / Dynamat Extreme / Larry's Rings/ FSB-2 Spikes
NAD SS rigs w/mods
GIK panels -
Interesting.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 -
inspiredsports wrote: »My 1987 SDA 2B's are walnut veneer on the tops and edges, but the front piece on each base is a piece of real 3/4" walnut. My 1986 SDA SRS 2's are glued up solid oak.
Yeah, pretty certain my 2B's have the same 3/4" pieces of walnut on the base.Wristwatch--->Crisco -
I own a three pair of SDA's and have seen most of the others. They all use the same materials. The only possible exception would be the end caps on the SDA SRS, which are glued up solid wood boards, which turned out to be not such a good idea. However, they are not really part of the actual cabinet, they just attach to the MDF case.
To add to this............my 1C end caps are particle board with veneer. I know because one of the bottoms got damp and the particle board swelled like a fat chick eating Cheetos and the bottom veneer is no longer flush with the front edge. It's slight but noticable if you look closely.
IIRC, there are some exceptions but I believe any real wood end caps are on early runs of SDA's and are somewhat rare outside of the original SRS's.
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! -
I know because one of the bottoms got damp and the particle board swelled like a fat chick eating Cheetos and the bottom veneer is no longer flush with the front edge. It's slight but noticable if you look closely.
Heiney
Excellent description but, no pun intended, not a pretty sight. -
OK you sure know your SDAs....Mine arrived and sure enough they are a GEORGEOUS honey oak veneer over MDF. The bezel is black MDF.
