Picked up a mint pair of SDA CRS +'s...I'd like to bring them back to their former glory, or better.
91rtstealth
Posts: 90
This will be my 5th pair of SDA's that i've owned over the years. I've had two sets of SDA1's and two sets of SDA2's. I sold them a few years ago to make space for new stuff. I've always wanted to try a pair of these smaller ones, and they are awesome. They even came with the stands, original boxes, SDA cable, owners manual, etc...everything...excellent shape too...
Anyways, I've already decided that the tweeter has to go. I did that in all of my previous SDA's. I replaced them with rdo194's in the past. After RE-reading all of the posts about upgrades, I wanted to seek out more information. I've learned a lot since my last set of SDA's 5-6 years ago and i've had a lot of other speakers since then.
That being said, I can't find any DETAILS on what each upgrade really accomplishes. I know that everyone says the rdo194 is a massive upgrade, and the rdo198 is even better..but in what way? detail? less sibilance? clearer imagine? etc..
I def want to upgrade the tweeter, and I'm considering doing the rdo198 with the necessary crossover upgrade, but I can't find any information on the real differences between the rdo194 and rdo198.
Lastly, I would like to restore the crossover...but i'm not sure which direction to go. There seems to be so many options...
In summary, I like the way they sound, with the exception of the stock tweeter. The sound stage is massive and the imaging is great, but next to my Mofi Sourcepoint 10's, I am craving better midrange and more resolution...the center image is great, but it's thin and lacks weight...and the imaging is great, but it doesn't have super clear resolution. And i've always disliked what the SDA effect does around 500 hz. It's ringy and honky on some tracks...I usually EQ that out....
So....will upgrading the caps and all of that make a huge improvement in these areas? Can someone steer me in the right direction so that I can do these speakers justice? I don't want to spend a fortune because realistically, these speakers are worth 200-300 dollars on the used market. But if I can really improve them for 300-500 dollars, I am down. Since they don't take up a huge amount of space, I will probably keep them forever, so I my as well try to make them even more awesome.
Thanks in advance.
Anyways, I've already decided that the tweeter has to go. I did that in all of my previous SDA's. I replaced them with rdo194's in the past. After RE-reading all of the posts about upgrades, I wanted to seek out more information. I've learned a lot since my last set of SDA's 5-6 years ago and i've had a lot of other speakers since then.
That being said, I can't find any DETAILS on what each upgrade really accomplishes. I know that everyone says the rdo194 is a massive upgrade, and the rdo198 is even better..but in what way? detail? less sibilance? clearer imagine? etc..
I def want to upgrade the tweeter, and I'm considering doing the rdo198 with the necessary crossover upgrade, but I can't find any information on the real differences between the rdo194 and rdo198.
Lastly, I would like to restore the crossover...but i'm not sure which direction to go. There seems to be so many options...
In summary, I like the way they sound, with the exception of the stock tweeter. The sound stage is massive and the imaging is great, but next to my Mofi Sourcepoint 10's, I am craving better midrange and more resolution...the center image is great, but it's thin and lacks weight...and the imaging is great, but it doesn't have super clear resolution. And i've always disliked what the SDA effect does around 500 hz. It's ringy and honky on some tracks...I usually EQ that out....
So....will upgrading the caps and all of that make a huge improvement in these areas? Can someone steer me in the right direction so that I can do these speakers justice? I don't want to spend a fortune because realistically, these speakers are worth 200-300 dollars on the used market. But if I can really improve them for 300-500 dollars, I am down. Since they don't take up a huge amount of space, I will probably keep them forever, so I my as well try to make them even more awesome.
Thanks in advance.
Comments
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Search SDA SRS 4.1TL
To get you started...
https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/40577/sda-srs-4-1tl-upgrade
BTW, you have the stands backwards.
Add spikes to the stands that will pierce the carpet. It makes a noticeable improvement.Post edited by F1nut onPolitical 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 -
excellent..thanks..That write up is super helpful. Also, good to know about the stands. haha. I thought it looked a little odd.
I do agree that the vocals (especially when compared to my Mofi Sourcepoint 10's) are WAY back. It would be nice to bring them forward and give them more clarity.
What can you say the big differences are in the rdo194 and 198? I'm currently debating between those two, and which caps to get.
lastly, do you know roughly how much all those parts would be (minus the tweeters, they are 60ish bucks each from what i've found). I just have no idea what the caps and resistors would cost.
I might simply just replace the caps (clarity or sonicaps depending on the cost and sonic differences), replace the bypass stuff, and the tweeters...oh and dynamat the baskets since I have a ton of that laying around anyways. Between that and messing around with the stands, I think i'll be pretty happy. I don't like the SL2000 and never have..they are too bright for me. They gotta go. I prefer neutrality. If I want sizzle, i'll EQ it.Search SDA SRS 4.1TL
To get you started...
https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/40577/sda-srs-4-1tl-upgrade
BTW, you have the stands backwards.
Add spikes to the stands that will pierce the carpet. It makes a noticeable improvement.
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I believe did in that link. Get the RD0198-1 and do the TL mod. You won't regret it.What can you say the big differences are in the rdo194 and 198?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 -
What gear are you running ?
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Your plan is to upgade up the crossovers anyway, order the RD098-1 you will be glad you did..
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Search SDA SRS 4.1TL
To get you started...
https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/40577/sda-srs-4-1tl-upgrade
BTW, you have the stands backwards.
Add spikes to the stands that will pierce the carpet. It makes a noticeable improvement.
WOW!!! 20yrs ago,
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Time fliesPolitical 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 -
hey someone just told me I need the pin blade CRS +'s to be able to do the TL upgrade...my interconnect is two blades.
Is this nonsense or true? -
Does one of the blade socket wires go to the negative speaker binding post?
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not sure...I haven't opened these things up yet. Right now i'm just trying to do research before I start buying parts. Would the serial number tell us whether a TL upgrade can be done or not?
Right now i'm planning on re-doing the crossovers with Clarity PX or CSA caps (depending on the cost) and if I'm going through the trouble of that, I my as well do the rdo198/TL upgrade. If I can't, i'll just get the rdo194's and re-do the crossover and call it a day. I already like the way they sound (except the tweeter), but if I can make them sound even better, why not? -
Pull a driver and take a picture of the crossover
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Pull a driver and take a picture of the crossover
will do...might take a day or two, but i'll get a pic soon.... -
You shouldn't buy anything until you absolutely know what you have. Polk did a lot of stuff on the fly. They used older parts, stickers etc on the newer models. Unless you actually look at what you have it is just speculation at this point.
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ok so here's what I got...is it me, or does it look like someone has been in here before? this is not what I was expecting to see at all...are those OEM caps? and what is that big **** coil of wire down there?
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Looks like all-original untouched caps.Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists.
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All original. What are the MW driver numbers? At this point I'm not sure you can TL them. Do they have a pin/blade socket or Blade/blade.
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All original. What are the MW driver numbers? At this point I'm not sure you can TL them. Do they have a pin/blade socket or Blade/blade.
Didn't westmassguy say that the TL mod could be done to these as well as the 2A? I did the TL mod to my 2A. -
I'm sure you can if you change out the inductors. I'm sure there's more to it than just adding a 5.8uf cap. There may be differences in the resistors and inductors to make it happen. -
it's blade blade..beyond that, I have no idea what i'm doing..that's why i'm here....at a minimum, id like to upgrade the caps and install rdo194....but if i'm already replacing caps and tweeters, and it's possible, I my as well do the TL mod....i don't plan on going any further than that..these speakers were 275 dollars and I have 15 pairs of speakers, 4 automobiles, 5 RC cars, an RC boat, 5 drum kits, a full PA system, a bunch of guitars and far too many hobbies, ..etc...haha...I have to limit the time and money I can put into these.
If recapping them and doing the TL mod is fairly straight forward, under 500 dollars, and makes such an improvement that they can potentially best all of my other speakers, then I'm down. Otherwise I'll probably just replace the SL2000 with rdo194 and move on with my life.
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Completely stock. Cannot TL those.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 -
I'm sure you can if you change out the inductors. I'm sure there's more to it than just adding a 5.8uf cap. There may be differences in the resistors and inductors to make it happen.
I wasn't sure about the crs, but the 2A only needs a 5.8uf cap, no other modifications are needed. -
ok well then that settles that...
that being said, is it worth me replacing those caps? i'm gonna do the rdo194 for sure, but i'm not sure what to do with the caps.....I looked into Sonicaps and holy crap those are way more expensive than they used to be....I was thinking Clarity PX or CSA, or am I wasting my time with that? -
You can do one of two things here, considering what you say your skill set is in working on these..
One, have VR3 build you a set of crossovers for the CRS TL Mod, you would have to find the two drivers MW6510’s to replace the MW6503’s, and order the RD0198-1’s.
Two, order new Caps and Resistors, and the RD0194-1’s, and just upgrade what you have and be happy..
IMO, you won’t go wrong with either option, it just comes down to your budget, how deep you want to take these..
My CRS’s were just like yours, and I fully hot rodded them to CRS+ 4.1TL’s, but I was lucky enough to have a set of gimpods boards, and the MW6510’s in my stash to make it easy on my end..
Have fun it what ever you decide to do, it will be worth it in the end.. -
You can do one of two things here, considering what you say your skill set is in working on these..
One, have VR3 build you a set of crossovers for the CRS TL Mod, you would have to find the two drivers MW6510’s to replace the MW6503’s, and order the RD0198-1’s.
Two, order new Caps and Resistors, and the RD0194-1’s, and just upgrade what you have and be happy..
IMO, you won’t go wrong with either option, it just comes down to your budget, how deep you want to take these..
My CRS’s were just like yours, and I fully hot rodded them to CRS+ 4.1TL’s, but I was lucky enough to have a set of gimpods boards, and the MW6510’s in my stash to make it easy on my end..
Have fun it what ever you decide to do, it will be worth it in the end..
I think for now i'll do option two. Two of my cars needs work right now, I'm pretty busy with gigs, money is tight, and I have to fix a broken subwoofer I have at the moment..plus, I'm curious to see what kind of differences I can notice with just new caps, resistors and rdo194's...if that blows me away and I end up falling in love with these speakers, I'll go bananas with them down the road. Right now i'm loving my Mofi's. They are my favorite speakers I own at the moment, so i'm curious to see what the upgraded Polks will be like in comparison.
I know option one is pretty damn expensive, and I just spent a ton of money on other stuff recently.
Any personal suggestions for caps and resistors? I've seen SOOOO many different opinions. So far this is what i've found:
Sonicaps are so ridiculously expensive at this point that most people have been recommending the Clarity PS or CSA, including vr3....
and i'm getting all kinds of different answers for resistors. Mills and Mundorf have come up a few times...
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6503's are interchangeable with 6510's. You may even find a WMG quote about it IIRC
Clarity Px are just fine too.Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists. -
Jantzen for budget in my opinion.
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It's always fun to learn about and improve something as a hobbyist but I suspect you'll just end up with an improved set of SDA CRS speakers rather than a pair of speakers that will have the primary characteristics you like about the Sourcepoint speakers. There's nothing wrong with that. The 1980s SDA speakers in their various versions all share a common general set of characteristics.
Getting rid of the SL2000 tweeters is a big step forward but you're already familiar with what that brings.
To give the SDA CRS a fair shake it would be best to remove the Sourcepoint speakers and put the SDAs closer together rather than having both sets of speakers next to each other.
Looks like a good space to spend some time with your music. -
Jantzen standard Z
Clarity CSA, PX
Vishay-Mills 10 or 12 watt for resistors
Mundorf are also good, whatever is in your budget.
Also the 750pf bypass cap goes bye-bye if you were not sure.
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My suggestion would be either Jantzen Superior Z or Clarity CSA with Mills-Vishay resistors.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 -
It's always fun to learn about and improve something as a hobbyist but I suspect you'll just end up with an improved set of SDA CRS speakers rather than a pair of speakers that will have the primary characteristics you like about the Sourcepoint speakers. There's nothing wrong with that. The 1980s SDA speakers in their various versions all share a common general set of characteristics.
Getting rid of the SL2000 tweeters is a big step forward but you're already familiar with what that brings.
To give the SDA CRS a fair shake it would be best to remove the Sourcepoint speakers and put the SDAs closer together rather than having both sets of speakers next to each other.
Looks like a good space to spend some time with your music.
I'm constantly moving my speakers...i've done just what you said the day I got them. In this room, speaker generally sound best in the position where the Sourcepoint's are in the photo. I've been listening to them the most lately so they are currently in that spot, but I had the SDA's there and they sounded awesome. All speakers in this room the best bass in that spot. The Sourcepoint's turn magical when I pull them from the wall 2-3 ft. I haven't tried that with the SDA's since they typically need the wall for bass response, and I think if I pull them out, i'll be sitting too close to them. According to the manual and everything I read online, you want to be sitting away from them approx the same distance they are apart from eachother. I'll probably ignore that at some point and try it anyways because why not? haha. But yeah this room rules. The walls are almost entirely treated and out of shot, there's a big rack full of awesome amps and receivers.
Anyways, I think I might drive over to Tampa next week and buy two rdo194's..listen to them for a while..and then replace the caps and see what difference I notice, if any.Jantzen standard Z
Clarity CSA, PX
Vishay-Mills 10 or 12 watt for resistors
Mundorf are also good, whatever is in your budget.
Also the 750pf bypass cap goes bye-bye if you were not sure.
I am aware that some bypass cap needs to go, but I legit have no idea which cap is the bypass cap, or what to do once it's removed. haha. I have no idea how to do anything other than solder and de-solder. I've never worked on these speakers before to this degree, but i've built a Dynaco ST70 and a Bottlehead tube amp, and i've repaired ECU's for my cars and whatnot...I just need to familiarize myself with what i'm looking at. Right now, I have no idea what's going on inside of these speakers..haha..that's why I"m here.
