I finally got my SDA 2's xover mods completed
PonMan
Posts: 12
Last summer I purchased a pair of SDA2B's. I listened to them and found them hard sounding on the top end with the SL2000 tweets. I purchased a pair of new tweets and it sounded better but not great. I placed them in the garage with a receiver to burn the tweeters in and the same sound emitted.
A fellow Polkie George Daniels told me to do the crossover upgrades and that it would transform the 2B's. I kept putting the ordeal off until the New Year.
I could really kick myself for not doing this earlier. The 2B's are fast, transparent and present a pretty good sound stage which I hear will get better with time as all capacitors burn in. I use a Clarity Cap 12uf for the tweeter section. All other caps were Solens and I used Mundorf MOS resistors and removed the polyswitch and put a mundorf resistor in it's place.
I'm in the 2nd week of it burning in. I can tell you I like what I hear. I have a friend that is trying to buy them from me as we speak. I have a pair of ET LFT16's and 2 pair of Spica's. The sound stage on the 2B's is nearly as good as the Spicas and getting better everyday. They blow the ET's out the water. I remind you the ET's are a bookshelf speaker. They will be for sale within the next week. For now my search for a large floor standing speaker that does not bloat my room with bass may be over.
My system: VanAlstine Super PAS3si modded by Tom Tutay of Transition Audio Design, Dynaco ST70 modified by Tom Tutay, Arcam DV78 DVD player w Scott Nixon Tube DAC and a wideband transformer on the digital out, Systemdek IV ( not the IIX mind you) electronic turntable with a Rega RB600 arm and Audio Technica AT OC9MRII cartridge with a Hagerman Piccolo head amp, all plugged in to a Furman Line conditioner. I have recently added a Teac 3340s Reel to Reel. I have 1 pr Spica TC50's and my previous main speakers are Spica TC60's. and last a Pair of Dali Suite 12" acoustic suspension powered subs. All wire is by Transition Audio Design with a piece of Straightwire interconnect on the phono.
"That's All Folks!"
A fellow Polkie George Daniels told me to do the crossover upgrades and that it would transform the 2B's. I kept putting the ordeal off until the New Year.
I could really kick myself for not doing this earlier. The 2B's are fast, transparent and present a pretty good sound stage which I hear will get better with time as all capacitors burn in. I use a Clarity Cap 12uf for the tweeter section. All other caps were Solens and I used Mundorf MOS resistors and removed the polyswitch and put a mundorf resistor in it's place.
I'm in the 2nd week of it burning in. I can tell you I like what I hear. I have a friend that is trying to buy them from me as we speak. I have a pair of ET LFT16's and 2 pair of Spica's. The sound stage on the 2B's is nearly as good as the Spicas and getting better everyday. They blow the ET's out the water. I remind you the ET's are a bookshelf speaker. They will be for sale within the next week. For now my search for a large floor standing speaker that does not bloat my room with bass may be over.
My system: VanAlstine Super PAS3si modded by Tom Tutay of Transition Audio Design, Dynaco ST70 modified by Tom Tutay, Arcam DV78 DVD player w Scott Nixon Tube DAC and a wideband transformer on the digital out, Systemdek IV ( not the IIX mind you) electronic turntable with a Rega RB600 arm and Audio Technica AT OC9MRII cartridge with a Hagerman Piccolo head amp, all plugged in to a Furman Line conditioner. I have recently added a Teac 3340s Reel to Reel. I have 1 pr Spica TC50's and my previous main speakers are Spica TC60's. and last a Pair of Dali Suite 12" acoustic suspension powered subs. All wire is by Transition Audio Design with a piece of Straightwire interconnect on the phono.
"That's All Folks!"
Post edited by PonMan on
Comments
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Great to see you Posting Pon Man,,, guys and girls,, This man is a walking Encyclopedia when it comes to audio,, glad to hear that you are pleased with the upgrades.Hopefully we will see you posting more,,, blues,, did I mention that,,, this man knows his blues and jazz. Welcome to the club,,and congrats on the upgrade.JC approves....he told me so. (F-1 nut)
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Ponman -
Congratulations on your newly discovered sound! I will be redoing the crossovers in my speakers in the next month or so. While you are at, try resealing the drivers with Mortite, you can get it at Home Depot. They will greatly enhance your bass defintion. Read DarqueKnights recommendations on applying Mortite and do not overuse! Use only one strand where the ring meets the basket on the midrange and PR.
My next project is redoing the SDA cable perhaps this weekend or next to improve soundstage even further.
Let us know your thoughts after you applied the Mortite!Statistics show that 98% of us will die at some point in our lifetime.
The other 2% will work for WalMart. -
Great Job!
The modified 2B is an exceptional speaker. I had both my SDA-2B's and SDA SRS 2's rebuilt in November of 2009 and have been in audio heaven since. Mine were modded with Sonicaps which took a good 300 hours to season.
Did you replace the tweeters with original SL2000's, replacement RDO-194's, or add the 5.8uf bypass cap and "TL" them with the RDO-198?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 -
Hey PonMan great to hear you got the mods to the SDA's up and and running. I'm coming over for a listen.
If you still have the SL-2000's I may be interested...
I've been meaning to give you a call. I actually have an ST-70 in the house but have it hooked up to the Axioms and not my SDA 2's. Your ears won't bleed with the Dynaco/Axiom combo but after doing some pretty thorough listening tests, they won't bleed with the McIntosh/Axiom combo either. The ST-70 is from someone in town who mods them. He'll want to see/hear your system.
Maybe we can set something up for this Saturday. -
Pics or it didn't happen!
Welcome to club Polk.
BenPlease. 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 -
PM,
Glad to hear that you liked the transformation of your 2B's. I have a set in storage down in the states that I hope to do the XO upgrade on, (TL) soon.
I recently updated the XO's on my 1C Studios and so far so good.
See you around,
NathanHome Rig
SDA 2.3TL's front and center
Polk 1000p Center
Pioneer Elite SC35 Receiver (Pre/Surround
Sunfire Cinema Grand 5X200-Back in the mix.
OPPO BDP-93
Squeezebox
Stepped up to name brand Speaker Cables and interconnects!
Monitor 4, 5, 7, 10's, SDA 1B's, 2B's, 2.3TL's, RTA 15TL's all in storage waiting for me.
Sales Rating #1!!
