Simple sda 2b tl upgrade question

windstriker · November 2018

I am going to be purchasing parts for the tl upgrade soon for a pair of sda 2bs. I just wanted to make sure they will accept the upgrade. I'm 95% sure they are the 2bs because they have 1 tweeter, 2 woofers, 1 passive., wood caps, wrap around grill and a single crossover.

The only thing that makes me wonder if they would accept the upgrade is that they are the transitional version(blade/blade). Does this effect anything? What exactly allows for the TL upgrade? Is it the crossover, drivers or something else?

headrott · November 2018

The 2B's with a blade/blade interconnect cable have to use a single crossover board (which I believe all 2B's did, but am not 100 percent on that). Mine are also blade/blade, but accepted the TL upgrade with no problem. Make sure you buy and install the RD0-198's after doing the TL upgrade on the crossover boards.

windstriker · November 2018

Thanks headrott that gives me some assurance.

I know others have described it with other sda speakers but would you mind describing your experience before and after the upgrade and what caps(ie solen sonicap ect..) did you use?

headrott · November 2018

I used Sonicaps and Mills resistors on my 2B (TL's). I am not sure Mills resistors are still made (or at least if they are made by the same company). I could definitely recommend Clarity Cap ESA's (or whatever modern version of the capacitors that are making) and Duelund Cast resistors. I prefer them over Sonicap and Mills as they are more detailed, but are not harsh at all, IMO. I used Clarity Cap ESA's and Duelund Cast resistors in my 2.3TL's.

Just being able to use the RD0-198 tweeters will give you a warmer high end, and more detail than the RD0-194 tweeter. Either of the RD0 tweeters will be absolutely better than the SL-2000 tweeter, which is harsh and rough on the ears.

Upgrading to the TL will allow you to use the RD0-198 tweeters (which as stated are more detailed and smoother than the RD0-194's (asa stated either of the RD0's are much much better than the SL-2000's).

Do the TL upgrade with Clarity Caps and Duelund Cast resistors if you plan on using the 2B's as your main speakers. You won't regret it (after letting them burn in).

TennMan · November 2018

I can recommend forum member westmassguy if you need someone to do the crossover upgrade for you. He does excellent work at a reasonable price. He will be able to answer all your questions about upgrading your blade/blade 2Bs.

Faustin · November 2018

I second TennMan's advice/suggestion.

windstriker · November 2018

Thanks for the advice though I want to do the work myself. I like feeling of ownership that I get when I've done the work.

headrott · November 2018

Take your own advice @windstriker and do the work yourself (if you have enough electronic experience and proper equipment to get the job done well). You feel fulfilled doing the job yourself using the @gimpod crossover boards (purchased from @westmassguy) along with the caps and resistors. Let us know how it turns out!

agfrost · November 2018

Advice above is good. I also TL'd a pair of blade-blade 2Bs successfully and would strongly recommend getting a pair of gimpod boards for ease of assembly. Click around on his site to see suggested parts ordering and board layout for your 2Bs: http://gimpod.com/

windstriker · November 2018

Not a lot of electronic experience but i done some here and there(monitor, turntable, ect). I've already removed the polyswitch. Never recaped though, I'm going to warm up with a recap of some old advents. I will think hard about getting the new gimpod board. Will keep y'all posted

headrott · November 2018

windstriker wrote: »

Not a lot of electronic experience but i done some here and there(monitor, turntable, ect). I've already removed the polyswitch. Never recaped though, I'm going to warm up with a recap of some old advents. I will think hard about getting the new gimpod board. Will keep y'all posted

The gimpod boards are an absolute no-brainer. Buy them and do the recap with those; You will not regret it. Using sonicaps, clarity caps, etc. is up to you. I recommend Clarity Caps ESA (or whatever the new version of them is) and Duelund Cast resistors, but that is my opinion.

leftwinger57 · November 2018

Before I modded my 2Bs they also had a blade/blade i/c. After all the mods they sound nothing like stock and besides the cost of x-overs> Larry;'s rings? new terminal cups> adding Nuetrik/Speakon connectors. The other stuff was very cheap. They also contained single x-over boards. Oh I went the standard way w/ the RDO- 194s.

windstriker · June 25

Hi again, Sorry to reopen a old thread but I thought I would give a update. So after my last post life got in the way and the upgrades were sadly postponed. I just finished a round of upgrades.

Already had done last year:
- Upgrade tweeter to rdo 194
- removed polyswitch

Included in this upgrade:
-Cosmetic fixes(still a work in progress)
-h nuts installed.
-dynamated baskets.
-used armacell for one of the passive radiators(didnt have a gasket at all for some reason)
-one of the woofers had a pin sized whole in the surround so I put a new surround on it

Reaction to this round of upgrade:
The mids are definitely clearer and while i don't think I'm getting that much more bass but it does sound more refined and detailed. Very Happy so far.

Next round will be(in a month or two):
- Rdo 198 tweeter
- gimpod board
- new caps and resisters(sonicap/mills)
This is the upgrade I'm most looking forward to

Last round a few months later:
Black hole 5

Not sure if I will do any upgrades after this.

if so any suggestions at this point? Other than h-nuts anything i can do to make a tighter seal? I think the push test is around 3 seconds defiantly better than it was. other than that one radiator all of the other original seals are fine.

I will take pics when I do the crossover

pitdogg2 · June 25

Please explain the put a new surround on it. Where did you get it and how'd ya do it?
Thanks

F1nut · June 25

To the best of my knowledge there is no appropriate replacement surround available for Polk MWxxxx drivers. You'd be better off finding a used driver in good condition, IMO.

windstriker · June 25

So far i havnt found a mw6511 on ebay. The surround i found is a exact match for the original and the website specificaly mentions it as a mw6511 surround replacement. It seems to be doing a good job. The only diffrence i can tell is it doesnt have polk stamped on it. O and the replacement dustcap is a little see through.

Here is the link let me know what yall think.

https://www.midwestspeakerrepair.com/shop/speaker-repair-kits/refoam-kits-by-brand/polk-audio-1-specialty-refoam-kits/polk-audio-6-5-inch-rubber-surround-kit-r6-1/

I will take and post a pic of the repaired woofer when i get home.

pitdogg2 · June 25

How did you get the old one off?

F1nut · June 25

Well, I'll be.....

Looks like Midwest sees that there is money to be made on vintage Polk speakers. Good for them.

ddog · June 25

Good find..

Gerres26 · June 26

Thats a pretty big find as there are many of us with spare drivers that have a torn surround just sitting around collecting dust.

VSAT88 · June 27

pitdogg2 wrote: »

How did you get the old one off?

What he said ^^^^^^^ ??

windstriker · June 30

For those interested. Here is a pic of the repaired woofer(left one) and yes i need to replace those silver screws. Any ideas on where i can find some black ones?

Removal of the old one involved a exacto knife and being very carful while cutting it off. Used goof off on the basket to get residue off.

O one question. Any recomendations on speaker spikes. Preferably under 100 dollars for 8 but willing to consider over 100 dollar recomendations. Thanks

F1nut · June 30

Inexpensive and still decent, Dayton spikes. I like to use Loctite on the threads of the small tip piece.

txcoastal1 · June 30

Those came out great. Use black cap screws to replace the silver screws

pitdogg2 · June 30

So is the glue like rubber/contact cement placed on both parts? I've done many foam drivers and would be open to this learning curve.

windstriker · June 30

Ya I think the provided glue is similar to the foam ones if not the same. If i rember correctly you glue the surround to the woofer cone first wait a few hours then glue the surround to the basket. Honestly the process is very similar to the foam ones. Though when i redid my foamed my advents i didnt take off the dust cap or use shims.

verb · June 30

windstriker wrote: »

For those interested. Here is a pic of the repaired woofer(left one) and yes i need to replace those silver screws. Any ideas on where i can find some black ones?

Removal of the old one involved a exacto knife and being very carful while cutting it off. Used goof off on the basket to get residue off.

O one question. Any recomendations on speaker spikes. Preferably under 100 dollars for 8 but willing to consider over 100 dollar recomendations. Thanks

Nice job!

verb · June 30

windstriker wrote: »

Ya I think the provided glue is similar to the foam ones if not the same. If i rember correctly you glue the surround to the woofer cone first wait a few hours then glue the surround to the basket. Honestly the process is very similar to the foam ones. Though when i redid my foamed my advents i didnt take off the dust cap or use shims.

Interesting. I have some spare PR's where the surround has small local areas of delamination.

codycatalist · July 1

Man I have like 3 or 4 MWs with bad surrounds. This is awesome.

windstriker · July 6

So I have another update to my speakers I just downgraded them.

Right after I originally purchased my sda 2bs from the original owner I upgraded the tweeters from the sl2000 to the RDO 194. I never listened to the 2000s long enough to get a feel for them. Well I just had to reinstall the 2000s because I blew one of my RDO 194s. Yikes I didn't realize how much better the RDO 194s are. After listening to a few songs with the sl2000 tweeters my ears are fatigued which I have never experienced with the RDO 194. They definently don't sound as smooth as the RDO 194. Ya i dont think im going to be able to live with the sl2000s for long.

O well, I was already planing to upgrade to the 198s when i redid the crossover. I just may be doing that upgrade sooner than i expected 😃

ADJ · July 6

Do the upgrade. You won't regret it.

Simple sda 2b tl upgrade question

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Simple sda 2b tl upgrade question

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