Sda srs 1.2 (tl?) in central NJ

xoaphexox

He does not have the interconnect cable - how hard/expensive is it to buy/make another?

beemer

xoaphexox wrote: »

He does not have the interconnect cable - how hard/expensive is it to buy/make another?

Very easy if you are using a single stereo common ground amp. Take a long RCA single interconnect. Trim off the outside connecting ring on both ends. Plug the remaining pin ends into the PIN connection of the SDA socket and enjoy.

As best I know, the blade connection is merely for support, however it may have a purpose with the other isolated connector Polk made for use with monoblocks or Non common ground amps. If I am incorrect, there are many, many here that will let both of us know. That's the best part of this forum, there is a wealth of Polk specific knowledge here.

I rented a Dodge Grand caravan with the "disappearing" fold-down seats when I went for My 1.2tl's. I packed them well in blankets with the speakers facing up and had no problem. Other folks recommend putting the drivers face down or removing the 16 active cone drivers during transport.

Mine made it home without a problem transporting them as I describe. Do a search here and read more before you decide. Regardless, use care and you will be in for a great treat when you get these home.

Best,

Paul

xoaphexox

What is the easiest way to tell if my amps are common ground? Looking at the schematic? I have some "dual monoblock" power and integrated amps - maybe them?

xoaphexox

Lasareath wrote: »

I wouldn’t use a refrigerator dolly, I've heard of people marring theirs.

Bring a Friend and carry them by hand, one at a time.

Also, every time I moved mine I used a futon mattress in the U-Haul truck.

I like the concept of transporting them on their fronts, and then the magnets can't come loose.

The last time I moved mine I removed the top two drivers and the Passive Radiator. We used those holes as Hand Holes and it was a lot easier.

Thanks for the tips! Time to find a friend that wants to go on a 4 hour road trip (assuming the speakers are even still available - I do not have an agreement with the seller)

Rob

mmadden28

hearingimpared wrote: »

I put mine on theirs sides in the back of an SUV.

I thought putting them on their sides is one of the worst ways to transport them??? Or at least puts them at the biggest risk of Magnet slippage.

hearingimpared

mmadden28 wrote: »

I thought putting them on their sides is one of the worst ways to transport them??? Or at least puts them at the biggest risk of Magnet slippage.

Could be but we drove from Boston to Philly with it like that and had no problems.

xoaphexox

It's official, I am driving out to pick them up this coming Saturday. I will post back with my impressions. Thanks guys!

beemer

xoaphexox wrote: »

It's official, I am driving out to pick them up this coming Saturday. I will post back with my impressions. Thanks guys!

Congratulations!

You are going to have the time of your life with these. I'll be looking forward to reading about your adventure. Road trips are always fun.

Best,

Paul

xoaphexox

Picked them up tonight. I hesitate to use the term mint but I would say they are a solid 9.9/10 condition. I wrapped them in 6 furniture blankets and tied them with nylon rope to the uHaul and they made the 4 hour journey without a hiccup.

They look like the monolith from 2001 in my living room!

Tomorrow will be a busy day making a DIY spade/pin cable and then I will post some pics/impressions!

Very excited. Thanks for the heads up guys. The seller even had the original literature.

beemer

xoaphexox wrote: »

Picked them up tonight. I hesitate to use the term mint but I would say they are a solid 9.9/10 condition. I wrapped them in 6 furniture blankets and tied them with nylon rope to the uHaul and they made the 4 hour journey without a hiccup.

They look like the monolith from 2001 in my living room!

Tomorrow will be a busy day making a DIY spade/pin cable and then I will post some pics/impressions!

Very excited. Thanks for the heads up guys. The seller even had the original literature.

Excellent! I'll be looking forward to reading your listening impressions.

Best,

Paul

xoaphexox

Well I am trying to verify functionality of them right now. I made a pin/blade cable that fits and has continuity but I am doing some research right now to try to figure how I can verify that none of the drivers or tweeters were damaged in shipping.

xoaphexox

Okay, all the drivers appear to be working correctly, however, the surround effect is much stronger in the right channel than in the left.

Here is what I did.

1. Put on stereo music
2. Put the amp in mono L+R mode
3. Put the balance the whole way left. When I do this, the left channel plays full range while the right channel plays midrange only and quieter, just as the manual suggests it will.
4. Put the balance the whole way right. When I do this, the right channel plays full range while the left channel plays midrange but MUCH quieter than the the opposite channel does in #3 above.

I verified the polarity of both the speaker cables as well as the interconnect cable I made.

Does this sound like a crossover issue?

hearingimpared

xoaphexox wrote: »

Okay, all the drivers appear to be working correctly, however, the surround effect is much stronger in the right channel than in the left.

Here is what I did.

1. Put on stereo music
2. Put the amp in mono L+R mode
3. Put the balance the whole way left. When I do this, the left channel plays full range while the right channel plays midrange only and quieter, just as the manual suggests it will.
4. Put the balance the whole way right. When I do this, the right channel plays full range while the left channel plays midrange but MUCH quieter than the the opposite channel does in #3 above.

I verified the polarity of both the speaker cables as well as the interconnect cable I made.

Does this sound like a crossover issue?

Do you have them equally from the side walls and atleast 3' away from the side walls?

xoaphexox

The room I have them in currently has 3'1" space from the left wall to the left speaker and 1'7" from the right wall to the right speaker.

I know this is not ideal but it's the best I can do right now.

For what it's worth, I was not sitting in my couch to observe the weak left channel surround effect, for both tests #3 and #4 I was standing in front of the speakers with my ears relatively close to the drivers because my wife is actually asleep on the aforementioned couch right now.

Thanks for your help, hearingimpared!

xoaphexox

Well after listening to them for about two days I have my initial impressions. I will preface this by saying that I expected these speakers to sound the best of any speaker I had heard. I will compare them to the speakers they replaced: Vandersteen 2C. They sound very forward in the midrange and muddy, as if someone is holding a thick cloth in front of the speakers. The treble is not very airy and delicate. It is kind of "hissy". I quadrouple checked all polarity on both ends of the speaker wires and interconnect cable. There is plenty of bass, and they get plenty loud - they just don't sound very detailed! I hate to say it but I am leaning towards disappointed with them. Using Genesis "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" to compare, with the Vandersteens I felt as if Peter Gabriel was standing right in front of me singing. With the Polks the soundstage is dispersed and I cannot pinpoint the location of a clear voice as well.

My room is carpeted and relatively small (see previous post) and I am driving them with a restored 85 WPC 1974 Sansui AU-9500 (damping factor of 50).

I am wondering one of two things, since I can't really change the room they are in unless I buy a new home. If changing out my amplifier or changing out the crossovers would help most (using the soniccap/mills upgrade thread)...

Thanks for all the help, I will not give up until I hear the magic everyone speaks about these speakers!!!

Rob

p.s. If I pull the tweeters can I check to see if they work individually by ohming them out? Same with the 6.5" drivers? The reason I ask is that the treble seems to be predominantly coming from one or two of the four tweeters in each speaker. I do not know if this is normal or if they should all be producing the same SPL at any given volume.

nikolas812

Sounds like somethings wrong with them????

One tweeter does most of the work...

Is the Left on the left. And the Right on the right?

Are you sure your Pin blade cable is working correctly? I noticed mine completely fell apart without it...




Hope you get it figured out..



Nik

xoaphexox

Knowing that one tweeter does most of the work is reassuring. I think there is nothing wrong with the tweeters now. I made my pin/blade cable myself with 12 gauge wire and a gold plated center pin from a male RCA jack as well as a little spade connector I bought from Radio Shack. I connected the ends with 4% silver solder, so I have no reason to believe it's the speaker cables or interconnect right now.

I am going to pop open the crossovers and have a peek at them when I can to see if anything may have happened to the crossover on the trip home, or if perhaps any of the parts look physically worn like burnt resistors.

The more I think about it the more I believe recapping the xovers is inevitable and as such I should go ahead and get that out of the way before forming any more of a critical impression of these beasts.

Thanks!
Rob

nikolas812

xoaphexox wrote: »

Knowing that one tweeter does most of the work is reassuring. I think there is nothing wrong with the tweeters now. I made my pin/blade cable myself with 12 gauge wire and a gold plated center pin from a male RCA jack as well as a little spade connector I bought from Radio Shack. I connected the ends with 4% silver solder, so I have no reason to believe it's the speaker cables or interconnect right now.

I am going to pop open the crossovers and have a peek at them when I can to see if anything may have happened to the crossover on the trip home, or if perhaps any of the parts look physically worn like burnt resistors.

The more I think about it the more I believe recapping the xovers is inevitable and as such I should go ahead and get that out of the way before forming any more of a critical impression of these beasts.

Thanks!
Rob

I don't know.. I think you should get them working first. Mine are completely stock. And even when they were in a undesirable position. The imaging was amazing. Even when nooshinjohn was over here for a visit. He seemed to be impressed with how well they imaged given the positioning..

So they should work regardless of room. Just maybe not to there potential..

Don't get me wrong. I think the cap and tweeter upgrade is inevitable too.. I least I plan to do it..

But I don't know if thats going to fix your problem.. Make sense?


Hopefully somebody can chime in get you some help. They really are stellar speakers. Even in stock form....



Nik

xoaphexox

I understand what you are saying. I just listened again to them since my last post and I am convinced there is an issue with the left speaker.

When I move the balance the whole way right, as mentioned in my previous post, I hear only slightly the surround effect in the left channel. With the same volume level on the amplifier and the balance now moved to the left, I hear the surround effect in the right speaker MUCH louder.

I think the imbalance of the surround effect is what is **** up the sound for me!

Now I wonder if the degradation of volume in the left speaker is because of the drivers or the xover. The xover would seem more logical to me as it would be bizarre for all 4 6.5" drivers to have the same thing wrong with them but I have heard of crazier things happening!

xoaphexox

BTW I tried a 3/32" and a 3mm hex key and they are both too small to remove the drivers. I went one step up on my key set and they are too big. So now I need to find out how big the key must be to remove the drivers. If it isn't one thing it's another!

michaeljhsda2

Try a 9/64" if you have one.

nooshinjohn

nikolas812 wrote: »

I don't know.. I think you should get them working first. Mine are completely stock. And even when they were in a undesirable position. The imaging was amazing. Even when nooshinjohn was over here for a visit. He seemed to be impressed with how well they imaged given the positioning..

So they should work regardless of room. Just maybe not to there potential..

Don't get me wrong. I think the cap and tweeter upgrade is inevitable too.. I least I plan to do it..

But I don't know if thats going to fix your problem.. Make sense?


Hopefully somebody can chime in get you some help. They really are stellar speakers. Even in stock form....



Nik

yes i was Nik, and keep an eye on them as I plan om coming back with a u-haul:p I was so impressed I had to get a set of my own and decided against the srs that I could have gotten for half the price...
get them up and running and you will be more than pleased

SCompRacer

xoaphexox wrote: »

I made my pin/blade cable myself with 12 gauge wire and a gold plated center pin from a male RCA jack as well as a little spade connector I bought from Radio Shack. I connected the ends with 4% silver solder...

Rob, just to clarify, did you connect the spade connectors to anything? Only the pins should be connected between the speakers, as beemer indicated. The only time the spade is used in the circuit is when the Polk or custom made non common ground amp interface is used.

xoaphexox

SCompRacer wrote: »

Rob, just to clarify, did you connect the spade connectors to anything? Only the pins should be connected between the speakers, as beemer indicated. The only time the spade is used in the circuit is when the Polk or custom made non common ground amp interface is used.

I'll be damned, yes, I do have the spade connected in both ends! Thanks! *runs upstairs*

nikolas812

xoaphexox wrote: »

I'll be damned, yes, I do have the spade connected in both ends! Thanks! *runs upstairs*

I had a feeling about the cable per my first response..


Let us know how it turns out..




Nik

xoaphexox

I unplugged the spade from both speakers and tested the surround effect again by putting the stereo source in mono and panning from left to right on the balance. The left speaker still outputs only a fraction the volume as the right channel does.

Thanks for the tip though, I thought the stock interconnect cord had both a pin and a blade at both ends.

I will have to remove the drivers one at a time and test them for continuity/resistance next. Just need to get an appropriate sized hex key.

Thanks,
Rob

PS for what it's worth the regular old stereo signal sounded pretty good. I don't think there is an issue with the line array drivers, only the surround array drivers in the left channel.

concealer404

So just to clarify.... if you just run them as bigass regular old speakers, you don't have the level issues?

xoaphexox

concealer404 wrote: »

So just to clarify.... if you just run them as bigass regular old speakers, you don't have the level issues?

Correct, running them w/o the interconnect results in equal SPL from both channels. It is only when performing the surround array test described in the instruction manual that I noticed the effect is very diminished from the left channel. I have to stand pretty close to the drivers to hear it, whereas in the right channel it can be heard from several feet away.

At first I thought the left channel surround array wasn't even working, but if I stand with my ear close to the drivers I can hear the music. Weird thing is, it doesn't sound distorted or awful, just very quiet.

Thanks

SCompRacer

xoaphexox wrote: »

I thought the stock interconnect cord had both a pin and a blade at both ends.

The original pin/blade connectors do have a blade, but it is only there to stabilize the pin connection. There would be no continuity between the blades on each end. Only the early blade/blade SDA’s used both spades to pass the signal between the speakers.

When using the Polk (or custom made) non common ground amp interface, the signal goes from the pin of each speaker, through a 1:1 transformer and back to the respective speaker through the blade terminal. No current flows from speaker to speaker with the non common ground interface, it is done through inductance in the windings of the transformer. That interface allows one to use non common ground amps without damage to the amp/speakers.

xoaphexox

SCompRacer wrote: »

The original pin/blade connectors do have a blade, but it is only there to stabilize the pin connection. There would be no continuity between the blades on each end. Only the early blade/blade SDA’s used both spades to pass the signal between the speakers.

When using the Polk (or custom made) non common ground amp interface, the signal goes from the pin of each speaker, through a 1:1 transformer and back to the respective speaker through the blade terminal. No current flows from speaker to speaker with the non common ground interface, it is done through inductance in the windings of the transformer. That interface allows one to use non common ground amps without damage to the amp/speakers.

Great info, thank you very much. I have corrected this issue and I am glad I don't have to worry about interconnect polarity anymore