Are my SDA's Franken-SDA's?

jimreeves
jimreeves Posts: 57
edited December 2009 in Vintage Speakers
My SDA-1A's came to me with Peerless cloth dome tweeters in them. The guy I bought them from got them that way.

Does anyone know if this was a standard modification for SDA-1A's? I've heard about it with CRS's before but not these.

Jim
Infinity QLS1, Polk SDA-1A, OLAdvent Econowave, Yamaha RXV-1300, CDC-685, P2200, AB International 9220A, Rane ME15B, Cambridge Audio 640P, Grant Fidelity B-283, Luxman PD277-AT7V, Pioneer PL707-Denon DL-207, DL-160....And projects on the bench!
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,216
    edited December 2009
    Probably need pics. How do you know they are peerless tweets other than the guy telling you?

    There is no 'peerless' mod for any SDA that I am aware of. Where did you hear about it for the CRS'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!
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  • jimreeves
    jimreeves Posts: 57
    edited December 2009
    Somewhere in this forum. I'll have to look for those threads again. Here's a link to pics of the tweets.
    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1027160&postcount=147
    I have pics of the speakers at home I can post later.

    Jim
    Infinity QLS1, Polk SDA-1A, OLAdvent Econowave, Yamaha RXV-1300, CDC-685, P2200, AB International 9220A, Rane ME15B, Cambridge Audio 640P, Grant Fidelity B-283, Luxman PD277-AT7V, Pioneer PL707-Denon DL-207, DL-160....And projects on the bench!
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,216
    edited December 2009
    Yep, those are Peerless and they were never used in SDA's so they were added by someone along the line. The electrical characteristics are different than the original tweets and different than the RD0's.

    Do you have any idea what the original tweets were? You can use the RD0194-1 as orgonal equivalents. I recommend you do this before you do any kind of X-over mods or other mods.
    "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!
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  • jimreeves
    jimreeves Posts: 57
    edited December 2009
    I'm guessing the originals were SL-1000's or 2000's, I've heard plenty of comments that those were harsh or at least overly bright. These actually sound wonderful as is. I mostly asked because I was curious if anyone had heard of this as a mod from years back.
    a-3.jpg

    Jim
    Infinity QLS1, Polk SDA-1A, OLAdvent Econowave, Yamaha RXV-1300, CDC-685, P2200, AB International 9220A, Rane ME15B, Cambridge Audio 640P, Grant Fidelity B-283, Luxman PD277-AT7V, Pioneer PL707-Denon DL-207, DL-160....And projects on the bench!
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,753
    edited December 2009
    Someone added those, as H9 stated, SDA's never came with peerless tweeters. Those Polk speakers that came with Peerless tweeters always had them mounted with the coiled wires pointed down, not up as in your picture.

    The original tweeters for your model would have been SL1000's.
    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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  • jimreeves
    jimreeves Posts: 57
    edited December 2009
    My mistake, it appears that all of the threads I've seen re: peerless have been for Monitor Series speakers. Is there a big difference?

    Can you gurus tell me what the impedance of the SL-1000's is?

    In any case, thanks so much for the advice!

    Jim
    Infinity QLS1, Polk SDA-1A, OLAdvent Econowave, Yamaha RXV-1300, CDC-685, P2200, AB International 9220A, Rane ME15B, Cambridge Audio 640P, Grant Fidelity B-283, Luxman PD277-AT7V, Pioneer PL707-Denon DL-207, DL-160....And projects on the bench!
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  • kcoc321
    kcoc321 Posts: 1,788
    edited December 2009
    I am not a 'guru' but I can tell you I checked one of mine and it reads 6.8o (DCR)
    they are from a Mon7
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  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited December 2009
    Even though it's not right, they may even sound better that way. :D
    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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  • jimreeves
    jimreeves Posts: 57
    edited December 2009
    Face wrote: »
    Even though it's not right, they may even sound better that way. :D

    Thanks Face, who knows, my ears may be the weak link in my system.:rolleyes:

    Any guesses about the impedance of the original tweets?
    Infinity QLS1, Polk SDA-1A, OLAdvent Econowave, Yamaha RXV-1300, CDC-685, P2200, AB International 9220A, Rane ME15B, Cambridge Audio 640P, Grant Fidelity B-283, Luxman PD277-AT7V, Pioneer PL707-Denon DL-207, DL-160....And projects on the bench!
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  • jimreeves
    jimreeves Posts: 57
    edited December 2009
    OOPs, missed that Kcoc321, thanks. SL-1000 right?
    Infinity QLS1, Polk SDA-1A, OLAdvent Econowave, Yamaha RXV-1300, CDC-685, P2200, AB International 9220A, Rane ME15B, Cambridge Audio 640P, Grant Fidelity B-283, Luxman PD277-AT7V, Pioneer PL707-Denon DL-207, DL-160....And projects on the bench!
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  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited December 2009
    It was a stab at the SL1000, not your ears.
    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,216
    edited December 2009
    Don't know the impedance, but in all Monitor series where the Peerless was used they had an extra resistor in the circuit compared to Monitor series using other tweeters.

    Not saying it sounds bad, it's just not the right tweeter for the circuit in the SDA's. Not sure how you make it "correct" in the x-over.

    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!
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  • comfortablycurt
    comfortablycurt Posts: 6,745
    edited December 2009
    If you decide to replace them with the correct tweeters, I'll take the Peerless tweets off your hand. At least two of them...if not all four.
    The nirvana inducer-
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  • Tony M
    Tony M Posts: 11,189
    edited December 2009
    :D....I'd like to hear those for sure....:D


    I see a road trip for some people ..
    Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them.
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  • jimreeves
    jimreeves Posts: 57
    edited December 2009
    Face wrote: »
    It was a stab at the SL1000, not your ears.

    I figured that from what has been posted before regarding the older polk tweeters. My point was that I don't have any precise way to tell if they sound wrong. My only frame of reference is comparison with some other speakers I have and recordings I'm very familiar with. They sound right to my old ears!

    I did go through the crossovers some months ago to repair some mods done by a previous owner but I haven't changed any components or values.

    From what I've read it seems that some folks think the Peerless tweets are more laid back than the originals, so I'm curious why added resistance would be needed. Maybe too efficient in those particular Monitor Series models?
    I don't think I'll be looking to replace these tweeters for the time being.

    Jim
    Infinity QLS1, Polk SDA-1A, OLAdvent Econowave, Yamaha RXV-1300, CDC-685, P2200, AB International 9220A, Rane ME15B, Cambridge Audio 640P, Grant Fidelity B-283, Luxman PD277-AT7V, Pioneer PL707-Denon DL-207, DL-160....And projects on the bench!
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  • cnh
    cnh Posts: 13,284
    edited December 2009
    jimreeves wrote: »
    I'm guessing the originals were SL-1000's or 2000's, I've heard plenty of comments that those were harsh or at least overly bright. These actually sound wonderful as is. I mostly asked because I was curious if anyone had heard of this as a mod from years back.
    a-3.jpg

    Jim

    Speaker mods are NOT my expertise but I will say that those peerless tweeters make those SDAs look 'sweet'!

    cnh
    Currently orbiting Bowie's Blackstar.!

    Polk Lsi-7s, Def Tech 8" sub, HK 3490, HK HD 990 (CDP/DAC), AKG Q701s
    [sig. changed on a monthly basis as I rotate in and out of my stash]
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  • jimreeves
    jimreeves Posts: 57
    edited December 2009
    Thanks cnh, more pics
    a-2.jpg
    a9-1.jpg
    a2-1.jpg
    Infinity QLS1, Polk SDA-1A, OLAdvent Econowave, Yamaha RXV-1300, CDC-685, P2200, AB International 9220A, Rane ME15B, Cambridge Audio 640P, Grant Fidelity B-283, Luxman PD277-AT7V, Pioneer PL707-Denon DL-207, DL-160....And projects on the bench!
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,216
    edited December 2009
    You can also see where the Peerless bezel is slightly smaller than the other Polk tweets (sl1000, sl2000, RD0194-1, RD0198-1) so it looks like "filler" was used to make it fit the opening. Have you checked to make 100% sure there are no air leaks around the tweets? Just a thought.

    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!
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  • jimreeves
    jimreeves Posts: 57
    edited December 2009
    The filler you see there is rope caulk, seals them well but looks like a$$. I'll have to do something about that.
    Infinity QLS1, Polk SDA-1A, OLAdvent Econowave, Yamaha RXV-1300, CDC-685, P2200, AB International 9220A, Rane ME15B, Cambridge Audio 640P, Grant Fidelity B-283, Luxman PD277-AT7V, Pioneer PL707-Denon DL-207, DL-160....And projects on the bench!
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  • gdb
    gdb Posts: 6,012
    edited December 2009
    You might consider selling the "incorrect" Peerless tweeters and using the proceeds to purchase some new RDO units from Polk CS. There is a large group of vintage Polk owners that covet the old Peerless, some have paid nearly the price of an RDO for them. Just sayin....;)
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  • jimreeves
    jimreeves Posts: 57
    edited December 2009
    I get that these Peerless tweeters are "incorrect". Here's my dilemma, I like the way these sound now. Everyone seems to say that the stock tweeters sound harsh. Polk introduced the RDO194 as a replacement for SDA?? speakers as a upgrade, which I've never heard and can't be sure I'd like. These speakers, being that they are 1A's, aren't highly sought after anyway. Why was it that I wanted to change them?:confused:

    Jim
    Infinity QLS1, Polk SDA-1A, OLAdvent Econowave, Yamaha RXV-1300, CDC-685, P2200, AB International 9220A, Rane ME15B, Cambridge Audio 640P, Grant Fidelity B-283, Luxman PD277-AT7V, Pioneer PL707-Denon DL-207, DL-160....And projects on the bench!
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  • gdb
    gdb Posts: 6,012
    edited December 2009
    I don't know the technical aspects of using the Peerless in those SDAs but, if someone who knows, can assure you that nothing is being "harmed" by their use, well.......Rock ON !!! They certainly beat the Bejeezus out of the original SL2000s IMO !!:D
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