SDA1c Cross over rebuild

gdphoto

Hello everyone! I'm new to the club and already learned the need to rebuild the crossovers in the SDA1c's. I received instant good info from the old timers and was introduced to Ben62620 in GA. Today I sent them to him for the rebuild. Can't wait to get them back and see the difference. I would love to hear from anyone who has had this done and what you thought of the results.

Conradicles

Here is a link with a total refurbishment of my SDA1C speakers:
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85612

The crossover mod and new tweeter really makes them shine! You will like them and I'm sure Ben will do a great job.

I love them and going to listen to them now...

F1nut

They are going to sound wrong at first, after 200-300 hours they will sound right.

george daniel

A very kind way of putting it.;)

WastelandWand'r

Good luck with it. They are in good hands with Ben, he has done others and received thumbs up for his work.
I enjoyed re-doing mine, and at this point of the break in period, have noticed no negatives or drawbacks that i can think of. Which in my book is a resounding success. 100+ hours at this point.
I force feed them Josh Groban each day while I go to work. It really is the only way I can listen to him and I hope he stresses them sufficiently to speed the settling of the components for a proper listening session.

Next on the agenda is dynamatting the drivers after the break in.

Enjoy them for another 20 years.
Nathan

gdphoto

My system is powered by a Hafler HD110 preamp and HD220 power amp. Does anyone have experience with the results of rebuilding these? Also, I've read about modifications to the 220, is it worth it? I've had this system for dam near 25 yrs. now and have always enjoyed its good quality sound, never considered myself an audiophile, but only 2 months in this club and you guys are changing that. All tips for improving what I have would help.

gdphoto

Just want to thank you all for your input, it all helps.

thsmith

Sounds like your 1Cs are getting a make over. The finishing touch is the spike them. Myesound.com has some nice ones that improve the lower end responsiveness.

Might try Rolland at hi-tech (look under repair at carveraudio.com), I suspect he knows more than just Carvers or he might make a recommendation. AT 20 years I suspect the caps are tired and a good service will bring it back as new.

heiney9

gdphoto wrote: »

I would love to hear from anyone who has had this done and what you thought of the results.

My thoughts as well as many, many others have been posted all over the forum in the past few years. A little digging will unearth all you want to know.

H9

gdphoto

I guess the smart thing to do is wait till I get the XO's back from Ben, break them in a bit and see how they sound. Which tweeters do you recommend? I'm also going to get a few sets of Ben's IC cables, including the cross connects. I'll think about the spikes.

heiney9

gdphoto wrote: »

I guess the smart thing to do is wait till I get the XO's back from Ben, break them in a bit and see how they sound. Which tweeters do you recommend? I'm also going to get a few sets of Ben's IC cables, including the cross connects. I'll think about the spikes.

Yes the smart thing to do is wait for Ben to finish them. RD0194-1 are the correct upgraded tweeter. I would recommend you get those right away too as many times the new x-over and the sl2000 tweets don;t play well together (YMMV). Spikes are another excellent tweak.

H9

greyranch

I just rebuilt my Hafler DH101 with a kit from ebay seller ray17760 ,including his phono section mod kit.I can say it dramatically improved the sound in every way.It was very bright and harsh,especially when using the phono.His directions were easy to understand,even for a beginner.Nice guy to deal with.I think I will rebuild the Monitor 10's next!

gdphoto

Great info! I listen to, and consider everything you guys tell me...H9, I think we live near each other, I'm in a van down by the lake.

(YMMV) ?

Gary

dpowell

Anxious to hear your thoughts after getting the X-overs done. I'm looking at the x-over and tweeter upgrade myself....

Fongolio

My 1C's have had almost all the mods: full crossover ugrade with sonicaps and mills etc, tweeter upgrades, tweeters isolated in a custom built chamber, all drivers replaced except passive radiators, re-wiring inside, polyfil insulation, lined walls, dynamat on baskets of drivers, custom IC cable with Cardas spades, upgraded IC terminal, grills re-clothed, side panels made removable with and new cloth, all driver mounts including tweeters upgraded and allen T screws used, mortite on all drivers, new drilled holes and inserts for feet with spikes, anti-diffraction pads around tweeters, top and bottom end caps replaced with African Padouk.

I can take no credit for all this work. I bought them off geoff727 in Seattle fully modded. He did all the work and was meticulous about it. They had a little more than a year's use on them when I bought them last July and they sound nothing short of spectacular. They look like brand new. The best $625 I ever spent. An absolute bargain when you look at all the work that has gone into them.

Here's a link detailing the work Geoff did:

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63110&highlight=geoff727

gdphoto

Thanks a lot Fongolio! Here I am thinking I'll have Ben redo my XO's, I'll throw in a little Mortite and some padded tape and I'll be good to go. Now I see there's plenty more to do. How long before my wife tells me I can't play with you guys anymore?
No really, thanks for your post, very informative and I will do most of it over time. Can you tell me more about which binding posts you have and what was used for your cross connect?

I've enjoyed these speaker in their stock form for many years and can't wait to hear them upgraded.

Hypnotoad

Excuse my ignorance but what are the poly switches and how do I remove them from my 1C's?

Also I noticed that when I pulled one of my mid/woofers out it had really thick tape stuck all over the basket, is that normal?

george daniel

poly's are like re-settable fuses for your tweeters,,if you remove them,I would suggest replacing them with a .5 ohm mills resistor,, or a reasonable facsimile thereof. As far as the tape on the mw--i dunno--attempt at dynamatting?

Fongolio

gdphoto wrote: »

Thanks a lot Fongolio! Here I am thinking I'll have Ben redo my XO's, I'll throw in a little Mortite and some padded tape and I'll be good to go. Now I see there's plenty more to do. How long before my wife tells me I can't play with you guys anymore?
No really, thanks for your post, very informative and I will do most of it over time. Can you tell me more about which binding posts you have and what was used for your cross connect?

I've enjoyed these speaker in their stock form for many years and can't wait to hear them upgraded.

No problem. I enjoy showing them off. The binding posts are cardas as are the ends of the cross connect. I believe the cross connect is.....sssshhhhh don't tell anyone....monster cable with a fancy wrap. The internal wiring is monster as well. Now, any of you monster cable witch hunters come around trying to "fix" my 1C's it'll be over my cold and rotting corpse.

To the poster above, the sticky stuff on the baskets may well be dynamat. That's a good thing. Leave it on. It helps stop the baskets from ringing.

gdphoto

Here's something interesting, if you go back to my first post about my 1c's, I stated that they lost a little something. That started this whole ball rolling with crossover rebuilds. Well tonight I started foam taping the PR's while I'm waiting for the XO's to come back. I did the right one first and it went smooth. I took pictures to post later. I put it back in and took out the left one and right away I noticed that the center weight was nor attached to the light brown mesh?? I Didn't remember seeing that on the right one, so I took it out and found that it was in fact attached...was this the culprit along?? We'll see. Anyway I Elmer glued it together, will it hold? We'll find out.
The right PR was firmly attached, but I put a bead of Elmer's around it anyway. When they dry I'll finish taping the left one and reinstall them. Has anyone come across this before? Did I do the right thing, or do I need a new PR, or 2 so their the same age?

gdphoto

I got the rebuilt XO's back from Ben on Tuesday and so far I am very happy with them. There is defiantly an improvement, although they are a bit bright. I'm hoping this will get better as they break in. Maybe this is why I've been advised to upgrade the tweeters, but that will have to wait. I'd like to hear your thought on this. I also followed Darknight's advise and applied foam insulating tape to all of the baskets and sealed in all of the drivers. I've got to say, Ben did a great job and he is easy and honest to work with. I would certainly deal with him again. Thanks Ben!

ben62670

You are very welcome. Thanks for shooting them my way. If you can leave the speakers running while you are out of the house. Put a blanket over them, lock them in a closet. Get some hours on them.
Ben

billbillw

The brightness is from the original SL2000 tweeters. I would highly recommend changing those out for the RDO-194 replacement tweeter. Should run about $50 each if ordered directly from Polk (tell them you are a Club Polk member for discount and upgraded shipping). Its expensive, but well worth it if you plan on keeping the 1Cs for the long haul.

gdphoto

Should I leave the FM tuner on while I'm at work? What actually does the break in do to the sound...take the edge off?

ben62670

Thats a good idea. I use a CD on repeat running to burn in caps. It will smooth out and instrument placement will be more accurate. It will most likely sound bad after sounding good and then go back to good.

Elinvader

Hi there Ben........I see you're the person to talk to in upgrading my x-overs on my sda's 2b.....Would like to know the process in having this done by you and the cost....Sorry to bud in like this....Thanks

Paden501

gdphoto wrote: »

My system is powered by a Hafler HD110 preamp and HD220 power amp. Does anyone have experience with the results of rebuilding these? Also, I've read about modifications to the 220, is it worth it? I've had this system for dam near 25 yrs. now and have always enjoyed its good quality sound, never considered myself an audiophile, but only 2 months in this club and you guys are changing that. All tips for improving what I have would help.

I had the DH110 and DH220 on my SDA 1Cs and it was a nice sound. It definitely improved when I rebuilt my crossovers. FWIW though, I think that my Carver TFM-24 and C-1 sounds better than the Hafler combo.

Hamatym

I will second Ben's work! I just received my XO's back from my SDA-1C's, and they sound great. I also have them spiked and with the RDO's and I love the sound better right away. I am looking forward to the many hours of break-in to get them truely up to speed. Nice work Ben....you da man!

gdphoto

Well, my XO's from Ben have been back in place now for a week. They have 20 hours on them so far and sound terrific! I ordered the RDO's yesterday and should get them by Mon. or Tues. Can't wait. Note: Polk said they go by a different number than RDO-194? Does that make sense? Started with an "M".

gdphoto

Installed the new tweeters on Wed. and they sound better, not as bright as the SL2000's.
I'm very happy with everything I've done and had done. My SDA's have never sounded better! Now it's break in time.

ben62670

Good to see you are enjoying them:)