Gonna buy Some SDA-2B

I'm a noob to SDA. I have a neighbor that will sell me his pair...he is "upgrading" to a sound bar lol his wife is sick of seeing Large speakers. So anything I should check to ensure they work?. correctly? They look like the studio model...He has the original interconnect
cable, it's a pin/blade type. It has a SL2000 tweeter. Thanks for reading!
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Comments

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,708
    Check the mid-drivers for shifted magnets by applying equal pressure with your fingertips around the cone and gently pushing in. You should not hear scraping or feel roughness. Check for air leaks by pushing the PR in and while holding it in watch the mid-drivers move out then slowly recede. 3 seconds is pretty good, more is better.
    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

  • verb
    verb Posts: 10,176
    My first set of SDA's were the 2B's! Loved em, upgraded, and karma'd em to a buddy! Welcome to CP and enjoy your journey! We're here to help! Spend your money that is! :)
    Basement: Polk SDA SRS 1.2tl's, Cary SLP-05 Pre with ultimate upgrade,McIntosh MCD301 CD/SACD player, Northstar Designs Excelsio DAC, Cambridge 851N streamer, McIntosh MC300 Amp, Silnote Morpheus Ref2, Series2 Digital Cables, Silnote Morpheus Ref2 Series2 XLR's, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Pangea Power Cables, MIT Shotgun S3 IC's, MIT Shotgun S1 Bi-Wire speaker cables
    Office: PC, EAR Acute CD Player, EAR 834L Pre, Northstar Designs Intenso DAC, Antique Sound Labs AV8 Monoblocks, Denon UDR-F10 Cassette, Acoustic Technologies Classic FR Speakers, SVS SB12 Plus sub, MIT AVt2 speaker cables, IFI Purifier2, AQ Cinnamon USB cable, Groneberg Quatro Reference IC's
    Spare Room: Dayens Ampino Integrated Amp, Tjoeb 99 tube CD player (modified Marantz CD-38), Analysis Plus Oval 9's, Zu Jumpers, AudioEngine B1 Streamer, Klipsch RB-61 v2, SVS PB1000 sub, Blue Jeans RCA IC's, Shunyata Hydra 8 Power Conditioner
    Living Room: Peachtree Nova Integrated, Cambridge CXN v2 Streamer, Rotel RCD-1072 CD player, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Polk RT265 In Wall Speakers, Polk DSW Pro 660wi sub
    Garage #1: Cambridge Audio 640A Integrated Amp, Project Box-E BT Streamer, Polk Tsi200 Bookies, Douglas Speaker Cables, Shunyata Power Conditioner
    Garage #2: Cambridge Audio EVO150 Integrated Amplifier, Polk L200's, Analysis Plus Silver Oval 2 Speaker Cables, IC's TBD.
  • verb wrote: »
    My first set of SDA's were the 2B's! Loved em, upgraded, and karma'd em to a buddy! Welcome to CP and enjoy your journey! We're here to help! Spend your money that is! :)

    Thank you so much! So I just got them and they are huge! Super heavy! It's late...I'll hook them up probably this weekend. So F1Nut said to push in on the PR and the speakers should stay out for 3 secs...the longer the better... So unfortunately when I push in the PR the speakers pop out and start to retract after 1-2 sec... What do I have to do to correct that?
  • hauxon
    hauxon Posts: 161
    They start to retreat right after do have pushed the PR, there is no wait. So you push the PR and if the woofers are back three seconds later the sealing should be good enough.
    SRS 1.2 TL | SDA 2B Studio TL | NAD M51 preamp/dac | DIY SET 300B tube amplifier | Cambridge Audio Azur 851W | Chromecast Audio | RoPieee Roon Raspberry Pi endpoint
  • hauxon wrote: »
    They start to retreat right after do have pushed the PR, there is no wait. So you push the PR and if the woofers are back three seconds later the sealing should be good enough.

    Ahhh that makes sense, ok I'll check it out when I get home from work
  • verb
    verb Posts: 10,176
    Keep us posted! Excited for you and your journey! :)
    Basement: Polk SDA SRS 1.2tl's, Cary SLP-05 Pre with ultimate upgrade,McIntosh MCD301 CD/SACD player, Northstar Designs Excelsio DAC, Cambridge 851N streamer, McIntosh MC300 Amp, Silnote Morpheus Ref2, Series2 Digital Cables, Silnote Morpheus Ref2 Series2 XLR's, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Pangea Power Cables, MIT Shotgun S3 IC's, MIT Shotgun S1 Bi-Wire speaker cables
    Office: PC, EAR Acute CD Player, EAR 834L Pre, Northstar Designs Intenso DAC, Antique Sound Labs AV8 Monoblocks, Denon UDR-F10 Cassette, Acoustic Technologies Classic FR Speakers, SVS SB12 Plus sub, MIT AVt2 speaker cables, IFI Purifier2, AQ Cinnamon USB cable, Groneberg Quatro Reference IC's
    Spare Room: Dayens Ampino Integrated Amp, Tjoeb 99 tube CD player (modified Marantz CD-38), Analysis Plus Oval 9's, Zu Jumpers, AudioEngine B1 Streamer, Klipsch RB-61 v2, SVS PB1000 sub, Blue Jeans RCA IC's, Shunyata Hydra 8 Power Conditioner
    Living Room: Peachtree Nova Integrated, Cambridge CXN v2 Streamer, Rotel RCD-1072 CD player, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Polk RT265 In Wall Speakers, Polk DSW Pro 660wi sub
    Garage #1: Cambridge Audio 640A Integrated Amp, Project Box-E BT Streamer, Polk Tsi200 Bookies, Douglas Speaker Cables, Shunyata Power Conditioner
    Garage #2: Cambridge Audio EVO150 Integrated Amplifier, Polk L200's, Analysis Plus Silver Oval 2 Speaker Cables, IC's TBD.
  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,438
    Press IN & HOLD passive & the woofers will go out. If they stay out for 3-5 seconds before returning-your ok... if they go back to fast. You got a leak in cabinet... I'd suggest snuggling up screws on Passive Woofers Tweeters & Binding cup on rear & then check again. I would also recommend at some point remove the woofers & put glue/LokTite PowerGrab on each side of the magnet. This will help prevent magnet shifting (which SDA mw woofers are known to happen) you only need a small bead on each side of magnet. No need for gobs & mess. Easy job. 3-4.00 at hardware store. Pay attn to how the 2 wires are connected. Label or take pictures. Also. Note the model MW #'s you have. Make sure you have the correct ones in your speaker cabinets. You can look at the Vintage Speaker thread listed "here" to make sure they are correct. You may even see the "date of manufacture"
    The SDA2b speakers are great sounding speakers IMO..... if you enjoy them. You can upgrade the tweeters to RD0194 drop in replacements OR if you upgrade the crossovers you can upgrade them even better to the RD0198 which is far better. The crossovers are probably due as they are over 30 years old. Good luck & enjoy those 2b's. Dont hesitate to ask. There are folks here to help you

    ..
    ..
    ..
    Randy/Maine
  • hauxon
    hauxon Posts: 161
    boston1450 wrote: »
    Press IN & HOLD passive & the woofers will go out. If they stay out for 3-5 seconds before returning-your ok...

    Both of my SDA speaker woofers start retreating very shortly after I press and hold the radiator. They go back rather slowly but I haven't noticed up to 5 second delay before starting to move. Maybe my speakers could be better sealed but 5 seconds plus slow retreat seems very different from my speakers.
    SRS 1.2 TL | SDA 2B Studio TL | NAD M51 preamp/dac | DIY SET 300B tube amplifier | Cambridge Audio Azur 851W | Chromecast Audio | RoPieee Roon Raspberry Pi endpoint
  • The following has been my experience with 7 different pair of Polk speakers: When you push in the PR and hold it, the MW's will retreat ever so slightly at first, and when you release the PR after a few seconds, the drivers move back to their resting place.
    SDA SRS 1.2TL's
    SDA 1C's w/Clarity Cap ESA; PA, Mills, RD0194-1's
    SDA 2B TL's w/RD0198-1's
    Yaqin MC-30L integrated tube amp
    Yaqin MS-20L integrated tube amp
  • Didn't see Hauxon's explanation until after I posted my reply but that is very similar to how mine respond.
    SDA SRS 1.2TL's
    SDA 1C's w/Clarity Cap ESA; PA, Mills, RD0194-1's
    SDA 2B TL's w/RD0198-1's
    Yaqin MC-30L integrated tube amp
    Yaqin MS-20L integrated tube amp
  • vader540is wrote: »
    So finally hooked these bad boys up and listen to some Rush, Red barchetta & Eagles, when hell freezes over, and OMG I have never heard anything like this before! It's freaking magic! I have owned
    Paradigm mini monitor
    Paradigm mini monitor V2
    B&W DM602 S2
    B&W DM602 S3
    B&W 684
    Polk LSi7
    Polk RTi6
    Polk Rti800
    Polk Rti2000P
    Polk Rti8
    Martin Logan PreFace
    Jamo E825
    Klipsch RP160M
    Klipsch Heresy ( 1st Gen)
    Klipsch RF3
    Klipsch RP280F
    HTD Level 3
    SVS Prime Bookshelf
    Chane A1.5
    Chane A2.4
    And these SDA blow away everything, that I have owned! I can't believe how they sound... I can't describe it! I don't even wanna upgrade these things...but I know I'll have to...now where do it start? Tweeter 1st? Cross over? I still haven't pushed in the PR again to see if there are any bad leaks (I was just lost in the music for hours) I'll try it again later this weekend and probably open it up and check out the insides for any swollen capacitors and how the condition is of the internals etc...

    Any pics?
  • Nightfall
    Nightfall Posts: 10,042
    Heck yeah. 2B's are awesome.
    afterburnt wrote: »
    They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.

    Village Idiot of Club Polk
  • hauxon
    hauxon Posts: 161
    edited September 2019
    Wow that's a long list of speakers! 😀

    I would start with the tweeters. The tweeter is the weak point of the SDA 2B. It's cheap too.

    Then there is the blue pill or the red pill... Do you want use the TL tweeter (RD0-198) from the SRS speakers or buy the drop in replacement (RD0-194)? Both cost the same and sound good but the TL one requires you to modify the crossover by adding a 5.6mH cap. It's easy if you've ever used a soldering iron before. But you might want to do some reading on caps since you would want the 5.6mH you add to be of the same type as the rest of the caps when you do the full recap. You would at least want the 12mH cap to be the same since it is too in the upper midrage/highs part. Sonicap and ClarityCap are popular brands on this forum. I got ClarityCap ESA for my 2B TL mod.
    SRS 1.2 TL | SDA 2B Studio TL | NAD M51 preamp/dac | DIY SET 300B tube amplifier | Cambridge Audio Azur 851W | Chromecast Audio | RoPieee Roon Raspberry Pi endpoint
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,477
    hauxon wrote: »
    Wow that's a long list of speakers! 😀

    I would start with the tweeters. The tweeter is the weak point of the SDA 2B. It's cheap too.

    Then there is the blue pill or the red pill... Do you want use the TL tweeter (RD0-198) from the SRS speakers or buy the drop in replacement (RD0-194)? Both cost the same and sound good but the TL one requires you to modify the crossover by adding a 5.8uf cap. It's easy if you've ever used a soldering iron before. But you might want to do some reading on caps since you would want the 5.8uf you add to be of the same type as the rest of the caps when you do the full recap. You would at least want the 12uf cap to be the same since it is too in the upper midrage/highs part. Sonicap and ClarityCap are popular brands on this forum. I got ClarityCap ESA for my 2B TL mod.

    Fixed it

  • verb
    verb Posts: 10,176
    Very cool @vader540is ! Made me think back to the day as my first set of SDA's were 2B's! Welcome to the family! :)
    Basement: Polk SDA SRS 1.2tl's, Cary SLP-05 Pre with ultimate upgrade,McIntosh MCD301 CD/SACD player, Northstar Designs Excelsio DAC, Cambridge 851N streamer, McIntosh MC300 Amp, Silnote Morpheus Ref2, Series2 Digital Cables, Silnote Morpheus Ref2 Series2 XLR's, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Pangea Power Cables, MIT Shotgun S3 IC's, MIT Shotgun S1 Bi-Wire speaker cables
    Office: PC, EAR Acute CD Player, EAR 834L Pre, Northstar Designs Intenso DAC, Antique Sound Labs AV8 Monoblocks, Denon UDR-F10 Cassette, Acoustic Technologies Classic FR Speakers, SVS SB12 Plus sub, MIT AVt2 speaker cables, IFI Purifier2, AQ Cinnamon USB cable, Groneberg Quatro Reference IC's
    Spare Room: Dayens Ampino Integrated Amp, Tjoeb 99 tube CD player (modified Marantz CD-38), Analysis Plus Oval 9's, Zu Jumpers, AudioEngine B1 Streamer, Klipsch RB-61 v2, SVS PB1000 sub, Blue Jeans RCA IC's, Shunyata Hydra 8 Power Conditioner
    Living Room: Peachtree Nova Integrated, Cambridge CXN v2 Streamer, Rotel RCD-1072 CD player, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Polk RT265 In Wall Speakers, Polk DSW Pro 660wi sub
    Garage #1: Cambridge Audio 640A Integrated Amp, Project Box-E BT Streamer, Polk Tsi200 Bookies, Douglas Speaker Cables, Shunyata Power Conditioner
    Garage #2: Cambridge Audio EVO150 Integrated Amplifier, Polk L200's, Analysis Plus Silver Oval 2 Speaker Cables, IC's TBD.
  • krazypolk wrote: »
    Any pics?

    http://imgur.com/a/T7LHaPa

    Here is a quick pic of them in my garage after I unloaded them. I didn't take of pic of them in my living room. I'm sitting about 10 feet away from them and they are 10 feet apart from each other. I have zero toe in. I'll definitely experiment with making them wider and giving them more room to breath. I'll also move my seating further back and probably use some toe-in. I'm very excited to use my Umik-1 with REW and see what these things are doing for a frequency response.

    Thanks for all the awesome words and helpful comments everyone!


  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited September 2019
    I am in bad shape...
    the title to this thread put me to mind of this golden oldie (which I doubt would be good fodder for listening to on SDAs).

    https://youtu.be/nSJC-YDcS80

    :|

    oh.
    on topic.
    least I can do.
    :p
    vader540is wrote: »
    krazypolk wrote: »
    Any pics?

    http://imgur.com/a/T7LHaPa

    Here is a quick pic of them in my garage after I unloaded them. I didn't take of pic of them in my living room. I'm sitting about 10 feet away from them and they are 10 feet apart from each other. I have zero toe in. I'll definitely experiment with making them wider and giving them more room to breath. I'll also move my seating further back and probably use some toe-in. I'm very excited to use my Umik-1 with REW and see what these things are doing for a frequency response.

    Thanks for all the awesome words and helpful comments everyone!


    kngs6caapxit.png
  • JayCee
    JayCee Posts: 1,474
    edited September 2019
    vader540is wrote: »
    I'll also move my seating further back and probably use some toe-in.

    Absolutely not. SDA's are not like traditional speakers....they are designed for zero toe-in. Start 6" from any wall behind them, 6' from center to center of each speaker and the same distance to your listening position ("sweet spot"); work from there. Avoid a minimum of 3' from any corner of the room. Zealous Polkies also use a level on the top of each speaker (front to back, left to right) to ensure the speakers are perfect.

    Congrats on the new speakers and welcome to Club Polk!
    Speakers: Polk1.2tl's (Uber Mods) Pre/Amp/DAC: PS Audio BHK Signature & 250, DirectStream Cables/IC's: MIT S1Bi-Wire/S1 Balanced +Avel Lindberg 1000VA "Dreadnought" Power Conditioner: PS Audio P15 Power Plant Power Cords: Core Power Technologies Gold, DH Labs Power Plus DIY w/Neotech NC-P301 & P311ends Streaming: Roon ROCK on wifi'd NUC, TP-Link WAP, & Uptone EtherREGEN, AfterDark, Emperor Double Crown Clock, Black Modernize LPS, PS Audio AirLens⟿Ω☯☥☮⟿🔊♩♪♫♬♩♪♫♬♩♪♫♬
  • verb
    verb Posts: 10,176
    edited September 2019
    Lol! Welcome to your first spanking! :). I remember when I showcased my 2b’s neatly tucked in the corners of my room! :smile: Gosh I’m still feeling it! :smile:

    For sure no toe in. IIRC minimum 4-6 ft apart, depending on your listening position, as they want to form an equilateral triangle. And away from the corners of the room as much as possible.
    Basement: Polk SDA SRS 1.2tl's, Cary SLP-05 Pre with ultimate upgrade,McIntosh MCD301 CD/SACD player, Northstar Designs Excelsio DAC, Cambridge 851N streamer, McIntosh MC300 Amp, Silnote Morpheus Ref2, Series2 Digital Cables, Silnote Morpheus Ref2 Series2 XLR's, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Pangea Power Cables, MIT Shotgun S3 IC's, MIT Shotgun S1 Bi-Wire speaker cables
    Office: PC, EAR Acute CD Player, EAR 834L Pre, Northstar Designs Intenso DAC, Antique Sound Labs AV8 Monoblocks, Denon UDR-F10 Cassette, Acoustic Technologies Classic FR Speakers, SVS SB12 Plus sub, MIT AVt2 speaker cables, IFI Purifier2, AQ Cinnamon USB cable, Groneberg Quatro Reference IC's
    Spare Room: Dayens Ampino Integrated Amp, Tjoeb 99 tube CD player (modified Marantz CD-38), Analysis Plus Oval 9's, Zu Jumpers, AudioEngine B1 Streamer, Klipsch RB-61 v2, SVS PB1000 sub, Blue Jeans RCA IC's, Shunyata Hydra 8 Power Conditioner
    Living Room: Peachtree Nova Integrated, Cambridge CXN v2 Streamer, Rotel RCD-1072 CD player, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Polk RT265 In Wall Speakers, Polk DSW Pro 660wi sub
    Garage #1: Cambridge Audio 640A Integrated Amp, Project Box-E BT Streamer, Polk Tsi200 Bookies, Douglas Speaker Cables, Shunyata Power Conditioner
    Garage #2: Cambridge Audio EVO150 Integrated Amplifier, Polk L200's, Analysis Plus Silver Oval 2 Speaker Cables, IC's TBD.
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,708
    Ideally, 6 to 8 feet apart.
    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

  • Thanks everyone for the helpful comments! I can't wait to get these things set up correctly!
  • gmcman
    gmcman Posts: 1,739
    Congrats on the 2B's....wonderful speakers. My $.02...once you add up the price and time involved in using the stock boards and the RDO-194 tweeters, you will surely kick yourself if you end up with the RD0-198 and Gimpods boards. I would go all-in with the crossover upgrade..(boards and RDO-198).

    Here's a pic of the placement guide, facing forward on the same plane and distance from side walls is critical. Actually....the whole setup is critical...and again, absolutely zero toe-in....enjoy.

    5rxon44g0nnh.jpg
  • Awesome thanks! Yeah after reading a bunch...RD0-198 and Gimpods boards are definitely the way to go.
  • gmcman wrote: »
    Congrats on the 2B's....wonderful speakers. My $.02...once you add up the price and time involved in using the stock boards and the RDO-194 tweeters, you will surely kick yourself if you end up with the RD0-198 and Gimpods boards. I would go all-in with the crossover upgrade..(boards and RDO-198).

    Here's a pic of the placement guide, facing forward on the same plane and distance from side walls is critical. Actually....the whole setup is critical...and again, absolutely zero toe-in....enjoy.

    5rxon44g0nnh.jpg

    Would this place be ok to purchase from?

    https://reconingspeakers.com/product/polk-sl2500-tweeter/
  • gmcman
    gmcman Posts: 1,739
    vader540is wrote: »
    Would this place be ok to purchase from?

    https://reconingspeakers.com/product/polk-sl2500-tweeter/

    I've never purchased from them, most members purchase those tweeters directly from Polk. Let them know you're a forum member and get 10% off.