I have been wondering if anyone has ever tried using the newer midwoofers with the SDA's?

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honestaquarian
honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
edited February 2019 in Vintage Speakers
Has anyone ever tried using any of the newer Dynamic Balance 6.5 inch midwoofers in any of the SDA's?
Particularly the SRS series.
If so, how did it work out?
Good?
Bad?
Did you hear any differences?
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  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
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    @Vr3
    @westmassguy
    @DarqueKnight
    @gimpod
    What are your thoughts on this?
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,020
    edited February 2019
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    Wouldn't try it personally, I know @ben62670 built a franken sda Polk with newer drivers, he is no longer here with us (RIP), but I heard there was mild success.
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
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    @VR3 can you expand on that please?
    Why wouldn't you do it?
    What does "mild success" mean?
    I have been curious about this for quite sometime, but i'm a geek and while good with my hands and good at figuring stuff out (and then quickly forgetting how I figured it out). I'm nowhere near the level that you are at when it comes to this stuff.
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,020
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    You would literally have to redesign everything, from the enclosures to the crossovers... the parameters are most likely no where close
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
    edited February 2019
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    Wow so you couldn't just get some newer midwoofers and drop them in place huh?
    Thanks @VR3 :)
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  • DarqueKnight
    DarqueKnight Posts: 6,764
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    High performance loudspeaker design is not a trivial matter. The size, shape, and materials of the enclosure, quality and electrical parameters of the crossover components, and quality and electrical parameters of the drivers and tweeters must all be taken into consideration.

    Speakers are an extension of the crossover. Accordingly, the electrical parameters of the crossover and speakers must be compatible. This is particularly true with regard to driver impedance (which changes with frequency).

    Simply dropping in the same size driver or tweeter as the original may "work" and it may even "sound good", but it won't provide optimal performance and you may end up with a speaker load that presents a dangerous impedance level at some frequency or, at the very least, sonic imbalances at some frequencies.

    Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country!
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  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
    edited February 2019
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    Thanks @DarqueKnight
    I have wondered for many years what the regular SDA's would have sounded like had they still been making them when the the Dynamic Balance drivers appeared.
    I guess the only ones which have them are the SRT's, but that is a very different animal!
    Now that were talking about it I am beginning to remember what the SRT's sounded like with music when driven with some Proceed electronics (remember THEM?)
    One of THE BEST musical and SDA experiences I have ever had!!
    I think that is why I have wondered for so long what the older SDA's would sound like with the Dynamic Balance drivers.
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  • westmassguy
    westmassguy Posts: 6,850
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    We don't have complete T/S parameters for the vintage drivers, never mind the new Dynamic Balance models. Most of the folks that worked on the SDAs are no longer with us, or no longer with Polk. It would be shear luck finding compatible replacements from the newer Polk woofers. A shot in the dark, that could end up being a very expensive mistake in the end. Why fix what isn't broken?
    There's nothing inherently wrong with coated paper cones.
    Home Theater/2 Channel:
    Front: SDA-2ATL forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/143984/my-2as-finally-finished-almost/p1
    Center: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/150760/my-center-channel-project/p1
    Surrounds & Rears: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/151647/my-surround-project/p1
    Sonicaps, Mills, RDO-194s-198s, Dynamat, Hurricane Nuts, Blackhole5
    Pioneer Elite VSX-72TXV, Carver PM-600, SVS PB2-Plus Subwoofer

    dhsspeakerservice.com/
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,794
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    VR3 wrote: »
    Wouldn't try it personally, I know @ben62670 built a franken sda Polk with newer drivers, he is no longer here with us (RIP), but I heard there was mild success.

    Correction, they were a disaster and eventually dismantled.
    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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