q's about id sda-1's and best amp for them

I see you haven't gotten a response as yet so I'll offer my two cents worth -there are many here much more qualified than I

was wondering how the sda-1s sound with lower watt tube amps (30 or so) such as the newer integrated models from various mfrs - versus solid state 125 wpc amps ?

>I would be interested in hearing what amps other folks have >liked or not liked with their sda-1s. Russ has given me some ss >brands on another thread but I may go tubes in the lower price >spectrum.


I've used a variety of SS with my Polks, my best so far is the mid to late 70 Sansui amps. The "1's" have IMHO a well balanced midrange so I like just a touch of the "gold" harmonic sound of the amps mentioned (I'd think a lot of the mid-70's amps would be similar) along with the extremely good headroom they have. If you're set on a tube setup I'd mention that it'd be nice if you could "test run" before buying. The only tube setup's I personally liked were rather pricey.... Macs and the like. The Carver amps as well do well


>I have recently bought some sda-1 and thought they were 1c , >since they are black and have the tweeters vertical.
>But i have since read on other thread that the 1c has spade/pin >interconnect.


There is a thread online here that discusses the exact question. I did a search the oother night for the same thing. If you question what the speakers are might be a good idea to pull a few of the drivers just enought to get an idea of the numbers and dates. You can look them up on the parts by models listing here and double check everything matches up right!

Ron

They can't be 1C's since yours have the blade/blade cable, so that means they are 1B's. Using low powered tube amps will work, but you wouldn't get much volume.

I've been running my SDA-1c's with the Jolida integrated 70wpc integrated and it seems to do nearly as well power wise as my 200wpc soundcraftsmen mosfet amp and tube preamp. Goes as loud as you'd need for rock with the nice midrange and smooth highs tubes deliver. I will say though the sda-1c's are not the most transparent or detailed of the speakers I've owned, so if you're into lots of detail, tubes and sda-1's may be too smooth or warm in my opinion. I've also run the sda's with my 15wpc eico hf-81 tube amp and it sounded very nice also, but again almost too smooth.

Another thing I've noticed with the sda's, they seem to like a fast amplifier, in other words, they seem to soundstage larger/better with a solid state amplifier. In my opinion, the only way to go with these is at least 150wpc, and mosfet if possible. For 80% of the music I listen to on the sda's, mostly classic rock and blues, the combo of the tube pre and 200wpc soundcraftsmen just can't be beat. I think it's more of a synergy between the amp and speakers. Just for the record, I also ran my tube pre into my Mcintosh MC-2100 solid state amp, and lost detail and soundstage as apposed to the soundcraftsmen. Keep in mind with the old mac we are talking about 30+ year old caps etc. I think it's time for a rebuild, lol. Good luck on your decision and keep us posted on your findings.:)

Hmmmm.......that's one I don't have a schematic for.

I am now using a pair of Odyssey Audio Extreme Monoblocks to run my Polk SDA 1-Cs and the SDAs have never sounded better (each mono @ 300W into 8 ohms (probably at least 450wpc into 6 ohms) w/360,000 µF capacitance). With the Extreme Monos, the SDAs effortlessly evince great detail, power, finesse, imaging, soundstaging, etc.

With the above in mind, I note I tried my SDAs with my vintage Fisher 800-B receiver (circa 1962; 32wpc; 22 tubes!) and noted that the sound was quite inferior, esp. at louder listening levels. From my experience with the SDA 1-Cs and amps (Fisher 800-B, Odyssey Audio Stratos (150 wpc @8 ohms), NAD 220PE (a vastly underrated 100 wpc into 8 ohms), and the Odyssey Extreme Monos), I feel the SDAs thrive on powerful SS amps with honking power reserves. Just my $0.02.