Lucky Me - Mint 2Bs (now I have questions...)

sharr2112

After about 20 years of wishing I had a pair of SDAs, I finally found a local pair of SDA 2Bs, won the auction, and have enjoyed re-listening to just about every CD in my collection over the last month.

These speakers look like someone time-machined them to me from the late '80's - they are absolutely perfect, from the tops to the mesh to the shiny 6.5's. After nearly pulling the trigger on some beat up CRSs, I feel really fortunate to have found such a clean pair with manuals, IC cable, perfect boxes, etc.

So here are my questions: I've looked & looked for the simple answer on this forum, but assuming I'm not going to do any crossover work, any soldering, or anything like that - what should I do with the tweeters? To my ear, the stock models sound a little "bright" for my tastes. Possibly they've been in their boxes for 20 years (?) - will it take time to break them back in? I'd be willing to swap tweeters, but don't want to get into anything that requires a voltmeter, ohmmeter, or anything else that's not in my kiddie toolbox. If the tweeter swap is recommended, which driver would I be substituting - the RDO-194's or -198's?

I realize this question has probably been asked & answered before, but I cannot seem to find a straightforward response, and I would SINCERELY appreciate your thoughts, or a link to a previous thread addressing this.

Thanks in advance - back to my Rush CDs...

F1nut

You want the RD0194-1. Simply swap the tweeters, burn in for 48 hours and enjoy.

danger boy

congrats on your SDA 2b's. there are tons, i mean tons of threads talking about replacing the SL2000 tweeter with the RD0-194 tweeter. it's a no brainer. do it and don't look back. don't even second guess doing it. JUST DO IT!

tell Polk customer service you are a club Polk member for a discount on the RD0-194 tweeters.

if you can use a screw driver and unplug two wires, replug those wires and re-insert the 4 screws per tweeter.. you are done. that fast and that simple. no special gadgets or tools or magic wizardry needed. Although it does help if you chant in your underwear. throw some sea salt over your shoulder while standing on your head first though.

nooshinjohn

congrats on the speakers! As far as the tweeters go, I upgraded my 1c's with the rdo-194 and after about 100 hrs of listening, they are still breaking in and getting better all the time.

zarrdoss

Welcome! Those were my first pair of polks too, be careful, the sda's can be a powerful addiction, lol

inspiredsports

Great speakers! They were my first Polk's when I purchased a decent system in 1987. After a decade or so off, I rebuilt them and I listen to them nearly every day now.

Installing the RDO194-1 is the single simplest improvement you can perform and will yield a nice improvement. If you want to contribute considerably more time and money, the crossover upgrade required to accomodate the RDO198-1 is quite rewarding.

As Las said, a crossover rebuild after 20+ years restores what the electronics in the circuit has lost no matter which path you choose. There are many good threads here that will help when you decide how you want to proceed.

Welcome aboard!

thsmith

Welcome to the club Sharr. I have 2 pairs of SDA-1Cs and the advise regarding RDO-194s are what you want. I also suggest a low cost tweak which is to replace the foam gaskets for all your drivers to mortitie. I have plenty if you would like some since we are in the same area or close.

Send me a PM and maybe we can get together.

What kind of AMP are you feeding power to your SDAs? I was not a cable believer uintil I got my SDAs. Cable upgrades can make a nice improvement too. Watch the flea market here as many users upgrade cables and sell they previous cables for a good price.

Know what you want and the length because to go fast.

If you ever get into vinyl or still are I have been working a DIY record cleaning machine and solution that will make these old record sound better than CDs.

sharr2112

Thanks to everyone for your responses. I will order RDO-194-1's tonight.

My system is as follows:
> Denon 2807
> Denon 1930CI SACD
> Pioneer PL-512 turntable
> Sony 300-disc CD Changer that's dying
> Big fat Monster Cables
> Klipsch bookshelf (currently gathering dust - replaced by my 2Bs)
1991 Polk 5jr's as surround (currently gathering dust as I relive my life in 2 channels)
> Bose center channel and a crappy Yamaha subwoofer (also not being used).

I will eventually move the 2Bs to a different room, so my search begins for a nice dedicated 2-channel amp. For now, though, they are center-stage.

Once again - I sincerely appreciate the welcome and the advice. As I mentioned before, I've wanted these speakers since I first heard them at Bjorn's in San Antonio over 20 years ago, and I've really never been satisfied with any system I've had in all that time (and I've built some whoppers over the years!).