Pairing SDA 1a with a vintage receiver?
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ianmaahs
Posts: 5
Hi guys! I finally made the leap and got a pair of Polk SDA 1A signature series. The guy I got them from rebuilt the crossovers and installed the new tweeters. They sound fantastic! I was daunted all these years because of the things I had read about the quirks of powering them. I have them and a set of Polk 5jr on a Pioneer sx 1010 receiver, run through a Niles SVC 4 device which allows up to 2 amps and 4 pair of speakers to be installed with volume control for each, and adjusts the ohms to either 4 or 8. On the surface it seems there should be no issue with the impedance for my receiver given the Niles adjusts for that issue. That being said, when I push the volume very hard the Pioneer's protection circuitry trips. At first I thought it was my CD player skipping, but after isolating that out and trying my Iphone as a source I am certain it is the protection circuitry. The Pioneer gets loud fast, so when I say push the volume, I am talking about around 3-4 on the volume dial when using CD as a source. After over 15 years of tinkering with vintage gear, I finally have the sound I have been searching for. I was dealing with some room constraints, which in large part were solved by replacing my HPM 100 with the Polk SDA. I absolutely love the sound combination of the Polks with the sx 1010. I don't often get to turn it up to the level that I have described which causes the issue at hand, but I do like to sometimes, just to get the wow factor, and I just hate the idea that something is not right.
Here are some thoughts I have had so far:
1. Are my rear speakers cables too long? Normal 14 ga. speaker wire that is about 50-60 feet long. The fronts to the SDA are only about 10 feet each.
2. Given that the SDA can dip into 3 ohm territory is it possible the Niles is not able to correct for that?
3. Should I consider using the receiver as a preamp and getting an amp that has no issue dipping into the 3 ohm territory? If so any suggestions about what would serve the purpose and echo the sound of the Pioneer receiver?
Thanks so much for any input and help!
Best!
Ian
Here are some thoughts I have had so far:
1. Are my rear speakers cables too long? Normal 14 ga. speaker wire that is about 50-60 feet long. The fronts to the SDA are only about 10 feet each.
2. Given that the SDA can dip into 3 ohm territory is it possible the Niles is not able to correct for that?
3. Should I consider using the receiver as a preamp and getting an amp that has no issue dipping into the 3 ohm territory? If so any suggestions about what would serve the purpose and echo the sound of the Pioneer receiver?
Thanks so much for any input and help!
Best!
Ian
Comments
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Beautiful receiver! Which input are using for your CD player?
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You have speakers that start at 4 ohm and drop to 3ohm, not many receivers can hold up. You'll need a stout amp to drive them properly.
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Take the Niles thing out and see if the issue persists.
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@theebisonman, I am using the Tape input. And yes the sx 1010 is speacial!
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@Clipdat, I will try that and report back. I assume I should not attempt to run both sets of speakers without the Niles? Maybe just try the SDA and see if it does the same thing?
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I would certainly only run one pair of speakers off a receiver.
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@theebisonman, I am using the Tape input. And yes the sx 1010 is speacial!
Use the auxiliary.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 -
@F1nut, Will do! Thanks!
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Hi guys. Thanks the help with this. I did try the SDA speakers hooked directly to the receiver, bypassing the Niles SVC4 device. The protection circuitry tripped on the receiver at an even lower volume. I was lucky to find a local record store owner who had a used NAD 2200 amp in stock, so I decided to try my Pioneer sx1010's preamp section with that amp. Problem solved. The 100 watt per channel NAD amp sounds at least as good as the Pioneer amp section and no protection circuitry problems. I have to say the Pioneer has a very nice preamp! I am really happy! Oh and I did run CD through the Aux rather than the tape. Yay! Best to you all!
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Thank you for the follow up. Enjoy!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 -
That is a very nice amp. I looked it up and it has lots of dynamic headroom:
"We repeated these measurements with 4-ohm loads and with longer-duration tone bursts. The output of 700 watts did not change for bursts in the 20- to 50-ms range, but it decreased slightly to 570 watts with 100- and 200-ms bursts and to 285 watts with bursts of 300 ms and longer. (The output did not drop significantly with a 1-second burst, and, in fact, it remained at 240 watts in a "continuous" measurement lasting perhaps 30 seconds.)"
I don't think you should have any problems
George / NJ
Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
Crown D150 amp
Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
iFi nano iDSD DAC
iPurifier3
iDefender w/ iPower PS
Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform -
Yes thanks for the update. I was wondering if you got it fixed!
