Help!!! I can't stop....SDA 1C

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dhart86
dhart86 Posts: 1,594
edited September 2011 in Vintage Speakers
I can't believe I don't have more control. Long story short....owned several different polk speaks.... 1st purchase was pair of monitor 70 (very nice speakers for a 1st pair newbee purchase) I liked them....then I joined the polk forum! Looking back.....I should have saw this coming. I heard the talk about the rabbit hole, $$$$$ hobby etc, but I thought......not me!

Started hearing (reading) about the SDA effect (folklore) and became curious.
Bought a pair of 2B's from a real cool guy (George Grand) who gave me an education during the visit.

Then bought a pair of LSi 9's. That's when it started getting crazy. Sold the 9's, sold the monitor 70's and bought Lsi 7's (better than 9's for me room)

Got the 7's modded (FACE) and I fell in love. The mod made me swear I would never part with these, but I started to miss the sound of the SDA.

Been on a quest since and just bought a pair of SDA 1C (stock) from a fellow polkie Vlam (nice guy) They look great and sound better. My problem is I've only had 'em for a week and I'm already thinking mods/upgrade.

I know i need help.......... but just for future knowledge...how can I improve upon the sound of the 1C's

If I change the tweeters, do I need to address the crossovers at the same time?

Mods suggestions starting from least expensive to more expensive would be appreciated.

PS: I'm still kinda new in the hobby, but my wallet has been around the block a couple of times.

Thanks for input dudes!
Main Rig:
Antipodes DX > Roon > PS Audio Directstream Jr.>deHavilland Ultraverve 3 >Belles Reference 150a >Harbeth C7 ES3


Second Rig:
Roon> PS Audio Directstream Jr Bridge II > EE Minimax pre (Tutay mods) >Belles 150A Ref >Monitor 5 (Westmassguy-modded)


Post edited by dhart86 on
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Comments

  • adcomcyclone
    adcomcyclone Posts: 49
    edited September 2011
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    A couple easy ones, dynamat the MB drivers and PRs to dampen them, Larry's rings (if available), and spikes if they are going on the floor. All reasonably inexpensive.

    I have not started the crossover upgrades or tweeter swap in my SRS set yet (believe the RDO-194 works), but will sooner or later. I just got a set of SDA 2's I may tackle the crossover on to get my feet wet before messing with the SRS.
    2 Channel
    Polk SDA SRS, Nakamichi Pa-5 Preamp, PA-7 Amp, Shenda (Jolida) SD100S CD Player (Sylvania Gold Brand 5751 & Amperex Holland, Orange Globe 12au7 tubes).

    Home Theatre
    Onkyo SR707, Samsung Blu Ray,Sony 400 Disc DVD Changer, Sony 46" LCD (Model?)
    Speakers: Front L/R: JBL L7, Center: JBL LC1, Surround: TBD (likely JBL L1)

    Car: Clarion 9255-DRX, Adcom GFA 4702, GFA 4404, Pioneer TS-A1702c (Front and Rear), 2 Boston Acoustics 12.5LF subs
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  • bluecomet
    bluecomet Posts: 1,118
    edited September 2011
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    I would get some RDO 194's in them. You will hear a great improvement over the SL2000's. For a Polk club memeber it will set you back $200 but well worth it.
    Polk HT system 1: LSIC, LSI25 mains, LSI F/X rears, Lsi F/X rear centers,
    Yamaha RX-V2500 System, Carver A753 3 channel amp.

    Polk HT system 2: , SRT system with f/x 1,000's rear speakers on 7.1 system currently using Onkyo TX-RZ820 receiver, powered by Sunfire Grand Theater amp

    Polk Speaker collection: SDA SRS 1.2tl x 2, SRT system, SDA SRS 2 P/B, SDA 2A, SDA 1C Studio, SDA CRS+, Monitor 7B & 4, SRS 3.1tl, RTA 15tl, LS90, LSI 9
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  • dcmartinpc
    dcmartinpc Posts: 844
    edited September 2011
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    bluecomet wrote: »
    I would get some RDO 194's in them. You will hear a great improvement over the SL2000's. For a Polk club memeber it will set you back $200 but well worth it.

    Agreed! RDO-194s and Crossover Upgrades (Sonicap and Mills) are by far the biggest bang for buck upgrades to these speakers and give the largest return IMHO. If you can pick up a set of Larry's Rings, I would do that too. Dynamat and spikes do make a difference too. Spikes I would say are more noticeable than dynamat. Those are 2 fairly inexpensive things to do, along with Larry's Rings to get started.

    But.... to really take them to the next level crossover uprgades and RDO-194s are the next steps.

    Don
    Living Room: Adcom GFP-750 (Upgraded), Squeezebox Touch, Oppo BDP-83, Pioneer DV-79AVi, Parasound HCA-3500 (Upgraded), SDA SRS 2 P/B (Gimpod, Sonicaps, & Mills)

    Theater: Denon 4311ci, Oppo BDP-93, Parasound HCA-2205+HCA-2200II, Polk LSi9, LSiC, LSiFX, LSi7, Custom 18" TC Sounds sub with 2 18" PR, Sharp XV-Z12000, Pioneer Kuro KRP-500M (isf Enabled)

    Bedroom: HK AVR354, Pioneer DV-47a, Parasound HCA-1500a, Polk LSi9
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  • nspindel
    nspindel Posts: 5,343
    edited September 2011
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    Congratulations, welcome to 1C owner's club, I'm a proud member myself. Here are the mods I've done to mine:

    1) Replaced tweeters to RDO-194's from SL2000's - $200 ($48 each).
    2) Rebuilt crossovers using Sonicaps, Mills resistor, removed polyswitch and bypass caps.
    3) Replaced binding posts and SDA connectors with Cardas binding posts.
    4) Replaced SDA cable with Signal Cable speaker wire.
    5) Spikes.
    6) Dynamat extreme on driver and passive radiator baskets.
    7) Replaced driver, passive radiator, tweeter, and crossover mount cup seals with Armacell.
    8) Replaced the big inductor with an Erse (I will be using Solen inductors for my CRS+ rebuild).
    9) Larry's rings.

    Each mod has it's own benefits, and the decision on which mods should be done in conjunction with others is purely up to you.

    My advice would be to group mods together that require substantial break-in time. Particularly, the crossover rebuild and the inductor would both require a few hundred hours breaking in, so best to do those together. If you have any plans to replace your speaker wire, best to do that at the same time as well, since that also requires break in.

    The other mods can be done in isolation, but are inexpensive enough and simple enough that they can be simpler if done at the same time. For example, if you're pulling everything out of the cabinets to install Larry's rings, it just makes sense to do the Armacell and Dynamat at the same time.

    The major expense in doing the above mods will be the tweeters and the crossover. The Cardas binding posts are expensive but cheaper posts can be found if you want. If you were doing a TL mod (to enable you to use the RDO-198) then you would need to do tweeters and crossovers at the same time. But the TL mod doesn't apply to the 1C's, so you can easily do tweeters and crossovers separately, but realize that the tweeters do also benefit from break in, so you may want to do them together.

    Let us know your plans and questions. We've had a good run of newcomers lately, who are now quite pleased with the sound of their upgraded SDA's after following advice from the forum closely, I'm sure you'll be joining them shortly.
    Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
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  • dhart86
    dhart86 Posts: 1,594
    edited September 2011
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    Thanks everyone........this is really good info. But, excuse my dumbness.......what are Larry's rings and where do you get them?
    Main Rig:
    Antipodes DX > Roon > PS Audio Directstream Jr.>deHavilland Ultraverve 3 >Belles Reference 150a >Harbeth C7 ES3


    Second Rig:
    Roon> PS Audio Directstream Jr Bridge II > EE Minimax pre (Tutay mods) >Belles 150A Ref >Monitor 5 (Westmassguy-modded)


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  • txcoastal1
    txcoastal1 Posts: 13,134
    edited September 2011
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    dhart86 wrote: »
    Thanks everyone........this is really good info. But, excuse my dumbness.......what are Larry's rings and where do you get them?

    From Larry:

    Toolforlifefan...makes the custom rings
    2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
    Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
    Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
    Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC

    erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a
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  • nspindel
    nspindel Posts: 5,343
    edited September 2011
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    They're rings. You get them from Larry. Duh :biggrin:
    Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
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  • nspindel
    nspindel Posts: 5,343
    edited September 2011
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    Larry is TOOLFORLIFEFAN. His dad has a really hot set of tools, he can fix anything. Seriously, he's a genius for thinking of the idea for these rings, and is ridiculously cool for making them available to all of us. Have a look at this thread of his where he's modding up a pair of CRS+'s, including the rings:

    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122119

    Reach out to him and get yourself a set. They make a tremendous difference.
    Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
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  • Schurkey
    Schurkey Posts: 2,100
    edited September 2011
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    dhart86 wrote: »
    I'm still kinda new in the hobby, but my wallet has been around the block a couple of times.
    If I were you, I'd use that as a signature line. It's wonderful!
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  • dhart86
    dhart86 Posts: 1,594
    edited September 2011
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    Schurkey wrote: »
    If I were you, I'd use that as a signature line. It's wonderful!

    Thanks Schurk.......I think I will
    Main Rig:
    Antipodes DX > Roon > PS Audio Directstream Jr.>deHavilland Ultraverve 3 >Belles Reference 150a >Harbeth C7 ES3


    Second Rig:
    Roon> PS Audio Directstream Jr Bridge II > EE Minimax pre (Tutay mods) >Belles 150A Ref >Monitor 5 (Westmassguy-modded)


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  • jjkogel01
    jjkogel01 Posts: 2
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    at the risk of known as way behind the train... How would I acquire a set of these rings? The only thing I found was a " we must have our wires crossed " message the last url I tried
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,832
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    The rings are NLA. Use hurricane nuts instead. Search here for more info on those.
    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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  • gyosa
    gyosa Posts: 704
    edited December 2023
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    I have a pair of 1C’s I bought new in the late 80’s - doing duty in my bedroom now.
    I replaced the tweeters with 194’s a few years ago ….. they’re stock other than that .
    Thought about doing the crossover's but never got around to it…
    Feeding them with a Parasound A21 amp .
    I’m happy as they are - they sound great - it’s the bedroom system😃.

    If they were in my main system I’d probably go all in on upgrading them - but even then , I don’t think they’d come anywhere close to the sound of my Salks …

    Bk
    Dayens Ampino , Yamaha wxc-50 , Polk SDA 1c’s ( my first love .. ) , Kimber Kable 4TC, Sony 42” - BEDROOM

    B&K EX-442 ( it will go in my casket when I die ... ) , PS Audio 4.6 preamp ( old school , but it still jams on ... ) , Eversolo DMP-A6 , Boston Acoustic voyager 7’s - POOL

    Parasound A21, Eversolo DMP-A8 , Yamaha wxc-50 , Kimber Kable 4vs , Salk Supercharged Song towers ( difficult choice between these and my family if I had to choose ... 😩 ) , Sony XBR-A8F 65” OLED - DEN , MAIN RIG

    PS Audio S300 - sitting in the closet for now …

    Onkyo TX-nr609 , Polk atrium 7 , Boston acoustic sound ware (4) , Boston acoustic sub , B&W center , Sharp 65” TV - PATIO
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