Ribbon tweeters in SDA speakers??!!
Lightstar1
Posts: 56
Hey Guys...as I am preparing to send my crossovers to Ben to make them better than ever, a question came to mind....have any of you thought about putting ribbon tweeters (the smaller rectangular ones) in place of the tweeters in the SDA speakers? I was wondering if ribbons would sound better and smoother than the 2000 or 3000 tweeters or if it is possible and what would have to be done to make it work correctly.
Lightstar1
Lightstar1
Post edited by Lightstar1 on
Comments
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Way to many variables to get it right. Stick with RDO's.Please. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
Thanks
Ben -
TNRabbit
NO Polk Audio Equipment :eek:
Sunfire TG-IV
Ashly 1001 Active Crossover
Rane PEQ-15 Parametric Equalizers x 2
Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature Seven
Carver AL-III Speakers
Klipsch RT-12d Subwoofer -
[QUOTE I was wondering if ribbons would sound better and smoother than the 2000 or 3000 tweeters or if it is possible and what would have to be done to make it work correctly.
The RDO's are better and smoother than the 2000 and 3000 tweeters. -
Nope. Stick with the RD0's. If you want ribbon tweets...........then buy a speaker with ribbon tweets. The SDA's are designed to work as they are and the RD0 replacement tweeters, which were developed and engineered by POLK, are the ones to stick with.
You will be amazed at how much your SDA's are transformed by a simple cap upgrade and new RD0194-1 (for sl2000) or RD0198-1 (for sl3000).
Give that a try and if you are still unhappy in 6 mos to a year then move onto to something else completely.
Good luck and keep us posted
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! -
Hey Thanks guys for the advise. The only reason why I asked is that I had always liked the sound of my Carver Amazings and they "seem" to be more detailed than the big SRS SDAs I have. Ben will be doing a rebuild on the crossovers because I am a dummy when it comes to that kind of thing so I am assuming this will help a bunch. Now for the next dumb question...what are the RD0 speakers?? Is there a picture I can look at and finally, do they improve the sound of the high end so that it is comparable to ribbons?? How much do they cost??
Thanks for you help!
Lightstar1 -
I apologize as I assume (incorrectly) most people know what the RD0's are. They are updated silk dome replacement tweeters for all vintage Polk speakers using the original sl2000 or sl3000 tweeter.
They are much smoother sounding getting rid of the +6dB spike and much of the harshness the sl's can exhibit. They are the preferred upgrade for many here on CP. They are $48 each shipped mention you are Club Polk member.
No probably won't sound like ribbons..............but they are IMO, a huge improvement and they are plug-n-play."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! -
rdos are the new replacement tweeter,they are $48 each for club members. I nave never heard them next to carvers so can't help there.
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I like the thought of at least trying this. I'm caught between the apples and oranges of SDAs vs Electro Stat. If ribbons could add some dexterity to the high end of the SDAs I'd be all for it. Has anybody tried in the 8 years since this thread was started?
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I like the thought of at least trying this. I'm caught between the apples and oranges of SDAs vs Electro Stat. If ribbons could add some dexterity to the high end of the SDAs I'd be all for it. Has anybody tried in the 8 years since this thread was started?
Nope, you'd basically have to redesign the whole speaker to accommodate ribbons. Just buy a ribbon speaker and save the coin.
HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
What would it take crossover-wise to implement in the late CRS?Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists.
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Nope, you'd basically have to redesign the whole speaker to accommodate ribbons. Just buy a ribbon speaker and save the coin.
I believe you on this but at a high level would love to understand what the challenges are. Crossover points? Phase alignment? -
The largest obstacle is going to be getting acceptance from the rabid protectors of all things SDA in this arena.......they tend to lash out from their cage as soon as you get within arms reach.....
There is no doubting that SDA was very heavily researched prior to its release and look at all the changes to the line that was made along its lifespan. They are one of the most involved crossover designs ever in the mass market.Post edited by Dennis Gardner onHT Optoma HD25 LV on 80" DIY Screen, Anthem MRX 300 Receiver, Pioneer Elite BDP 51FD Polk CS350LS, Polk SDA1C, Polk FX300, Polk RT55, Dual EBS Adire Shiva 320watt tuned to 17hz, ICs-DIY Twisted Prs, Speaker-Raymond Cable
2 Channel Thorens TD 318 Grado ZF1, SACD/CD Marantz 8260, Soundstream/Krell DAC1, Audio Mirror PP1, Odyssey Stratos, ADS L-1290, ICs-DIY Twisted , Speaker-Raymond Cable -
You should be pleased with the improvement in detail with the upgraded crossovers too.Stan
Main 2ch:
Polk LSi15 (DB840 upgrade), Parasound: P/LD-1100, HCA-1000A; Denon: DVD-2910, DRM-800A; Benchmark DAC1, Monster HTS3600-MKII, Grado SR-225i; Technics SL-J2, Parasound PPH-100.
HT:
Marantz SR7010, Polk: RTA11TL (RDO198-1, XO and Damping Upgrades), S4, CS250, PSW110 , Marantz UD5005, Pioneer PL-530, Panasonic TC-P42S60
Other stuff:
Denon: DRA-835R, AVR-888, DCD-660, DRM-700A, DRR-780; Polk: S8, Monitor 5A, 5B, TSi100, RM7, PSW10 (DXi104 upgrade); Pioneer: CT-6R; Onkyo CP-1046F; Ortofon OM5E, Marantz: PM5004, CD5004, CDR-615; Parasound C/PT-600, HCA-800ii, Sony CDP-650ESD, Technics SA 5070, B&W DM601
