2.3tl's in PA

Not that far away from me...if anybody needs help, lemme know. I like road trips

It is copyrighted, so that wouldn't be a good idea.

I already have one, and in color. I really like it, and use it often as a reference.

Hey copy away if you wish, but Raife is a Polkie....not just some loser. Is he not due the consideration that would be expected in any other case? Go ahead, insult another member, it won't be the last that gets the shaft in today's Polkie world.

I bought mine, and it was worth every penny.

Originally posted by Tour2ma
Nonetheless, if I should want one, I'd opt to get one from the originator.

Is there a URL where the original and/or author are to be found ?

I was suggesting it would be nice if someone PDF'd at least the FREE information that was gathered (for free) from POLK.

**** it, I'm not making copies, never said I would. I'm not trying to dick Raife out of his 'rights' to the extra material, but I think the POLK stuff should be free game.

I guess there is a difference is someone selling, say a free tweeter that they got from another member, and selling info they got for free from Polk.

Cheers,
Russ

It was a collaborative effort, the Polk crew knew about the pending publication. They helped him source documents that are not readily available or "Free".

If people want the documents free, then they can certainly ask for them, if they know what they need.

I preferred to get a complete SDA guide as provided by Raife. A Polk member that took the time to create it, which I am sure wasn't a freaking day! All in one, no fuss, no muss. Not everyone has had the glorious opportunity to read and relish SDA information for 5-10 years. I guess I could have added another 100 emails to Ken's normal 1500-2000 emails in a given week, but I chose not to do so.

Pull the tack outta your ****, Mr Angry Pants.

It wasn't that much damn money....and it's ALOT different in my eyes.

Russman...any chance I can get a copy of that guide? thanks for your time.

bdaley1@columbus.rr.com

Sale of “Free” Information

The SDA Compendium, like any reference literature, contains information that is available, FOR FREE, from other sources. Some examples of publications that sell FREE information are:

1. Newspapers/Magazines: A lot of people are willing to PAY MONEY for newspapers and magazines that contain information that is easily available FOR FREE from various sources on the Internet and the local library. Why do they spend the money? One reason is convenience. A lot of people appreciate having a one stop source of basic news and merchandise information. Someone in the market for new furniture could call all of the furniture stores in town and inquire about any sales they are currently running. A more time-efficient method would be to pay 50 cents for a newspaper and see what sales are running.

2. Scholarship Guides: When I was a high school senior, I paid $20 for a guide to funding sources for college scholarships. I was aware that I was not receiving any “secret” or “inside” information. All of the information in the guide was available FOR FREE from other, public sources….if I wanted to take the time to do the research.

3. Public Records Databases: Some attorneys and private investigators PAY a monthly FEE to companies that provide databases of public records information. Such information is available FOR FREE to anyone who wants to take the time to do the research. Most attorneys appreciate the convenience and cost savings of being able to sit in their office and pull up information on their computer, rather than making a trip to the courthouse. However, one should take notice of the fact that, although the information in the public records is FREE, the courthouse may ask you to pay a small FEE if you want a COPY of their FREE information. Of course, you can avoid paying the copying fee by writing down the information yourself…..but how long would that take? Furthermore, the information in public records repositories is not really FREE because it has already been paid for with taxpayer’s money.

On one hand, one could “reason” that it is wrong for providers of information that is available FOR FREE to charge a FEE for such information. These providers are not charging for the information, but rather, for the service of collecting and bringing the information to a consumer. I think that most people are able to comprehend and appreciate the fact that providers of published information incur real material and labor costs.

With regard to the SDA Compendium, I spent many hours over the course of three months researching, collecting, reading, sorting, editing, typing, scanning and processing photographic images, and scanning and processing schematic images. In addition to the considerable time spent in assembling the Compendium, I also incurred costs in the printing and binding of the 80 page manuscript. For my time, effort, and work, and to recoup my printing costs, I charge a fee of $25, which is inclusive of shipping. In addition to production costs, it also takes time to service orders (answering questions, packaging, standing in line at the Post Office, etc.). It would be interesting to find out how many people would do this amount of work and then offer it FREE to the public.


The SDA Compendium was offered for sale twice on EBay and once on Audiogon during the summer of 2003. Since last summer, the vast majority of my sales have come from word-of-mouth referrals. I was completely sold out by the middle of December of 2003. I was intending to reprint during the summer of 2004, but I moved that up to March 15, 2004 because of customer interest. The individuals on my “interest list”, some of whom are members of this forum, were notified by email on February 29, 2004 of the reprint date. Anyone wishing to purchase a copy can contact me at:

darqueknight88@hotmail.com.

Alternatively, most of the information contained in the Compendium can be obtained FOR FREE from the following sources:

1. Polk Audio Customer Service Department.
2. Researching the threads at the Polk Audio Forums, where I and others have posted much of the information contained in the Compendium.
3. Ask a Forum member.

If you check my posts on this forum, you will find that I have always been happy to and continue to be happy to share information on the SDA series (specs, schematics, historical information, etc.) at NO COST. That means FREE. Forum members who have contacted me through public threads and through private messages can attest to that. However, there is a big difference between taking a few minutes to email a schematic or answer a specific question and taking weeks to write an 80 page reference guide.

I do not worry about people copying and distributing my work. That happens to every work that is offered to the public. Guess what? I learned that, in addition to people’s willingness to PAY for FREE information, I also learned that people are willing to PAY for information that they already have! Can you believe that? Again, convenience seems to be the motivating factor here. Here are some examples:

1. I have eight friends, all SDA enthusiasts like myself, who purchased a copy of the Compendium. Intuitively, they would seem to be the most unlikely consumers of such information because they already have all this information in their files! I know what they have because we all swap information amongst ourselves. They said they liked the convenience of looking up something in a reference guide rather than digging up information in their files.

2. I don’t know this for a fact, but I suspect that, as in example one above, a fair number of the people who purchased a Compendium already have much, if not most of this information already.

3. Have you ever purchased a “greatest hits” compilation of one of your favorite musical artists? I’ll bet you already had most, if not all, of the compilation’s songs scattered throughout your record/CD collection on various disks. Did you PAY again for music that you already had? Did you feel robbed or were you appreciative of the fact that you could access a lot of what you liked in one convenient location?


Although I do charge a fee for the Compendium, my goal here is to provide an information service for the reading pleasure of SDA enthusiasts rather than score a lot of cash. I assure you, there are far more lucrative things to write about than a speaker series that went on the market 22 years ago and which has been discontinued for the last 13 years. It is a testament to Polk Audio’s outstanding engineering practices that interest in the SDA series loudspeakers remains strong. Unfortunately, anyone wishing to purchase a pair of these speakers needs to undertake a research program in order to determine exactly what the seller is offering.

In conclusion, I would like to express my appreciation to forum members who have appreciated and supported my work on the Compendium, and to the members of Polk Audio’s excellent customer service department for their assistance with research and reference material.

You're welcome.:)

I've been out of touch recently due to a brutal work schedule for the last three months.