SDA-II's...picking up soon...

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Toka78
Toka78 Posts: 192
edited March 2006 in Vintage Speakers
Found a matched pair of SDA-II's on craigslist today for $100...couldn't say no! ;) Will pick them up tonight. This particular model has 2 tweeters and 3 mids...can anyone give me the specs for this variation? Seems like there are quite a few out there. I'm new to the Polk world but very much looking forward to jumping in! :D
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,082
    edited March 2006
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    Toka78 wrote:
    Found a matched pair of SDA-II's on craigslist today for $100...couldn't say no! ;) Will pick them up tonight. This particular model has 2 tweeters and 3 mids...can anyone give me the specs for this variation? Seems like there are quite a few out there. I'm new to the Polk world but very much looking forward to jumping in! :D

    Welcome to CP!!! $100 is a steal if they function properly and have the umbilical cord for the SDA feature.

    You could try this website. It's run by a forum member. Right now I can't access it, but try later.

    www.polksda.com

    or use the search function on the forum. Lot's and lot's of good info, too much for me to spend the time providing links. The info is here if you take some time to look.
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • Toka78
    Toka78 Posts: 192
    edited March 2006
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    Thanks for the welcome! I did some searching but couldn't find exactly what I was looking for (or didn't know where to look). A search for "SDA II" returned 0 results? I found that webpage as well, no access here either. I'll keep looking!
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  • Toka78
    Toka78 Posts: 192
    edited March 2006
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    Bah, I was using the wrong search window...nevermind! :o
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  • Toka78
    Toka78 Posts: 192
    edited March 2006
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    Another concern I have is using a proper amp...right now I would be using a Pioneer SA-7500...and I read some threads about only using 'common ground' amps with these speakers. Pardon my ignorance...but...huh? :confused:
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,082
    edited March 2006
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    Toka78 wrote:
    Thanks for the welcome! I did some searching but couldn't find exactly what I was looking for (or didn't know where to look). A search for "SDA II" returned 0 results? I found that webpage as well, no access here either. I'll keep looking!

    Try searching "SDA 2", rather than "SDA II". Pics would help identify as well, of course you need to take delivery first.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • seo
    seo Posts: 305
    edited March 2006
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    Toka78 wrote:
    Another concern I have is using a proper amp...right now I would be using a Pioneer SA-7500...and I read some threads about only using 'common ground' amps with these speakers. Pardon my ignorance...but...huh? :confused:

    SDA's have an interconnect cable between the speakers for the "SDA" effect. Because of this, you need to have a common ground. There is also a special interconnect cable that can be used on some sda's to provide the required isolation. Do a search, this has been discussed extensively in the last few months.
    Signature goes here
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,082
    edited March 2006
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    Here's a starting point for info, not much but it gives the production dates and pecking order of the SDA line-up.

    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32429&highlight=sda+line

    Here's another thread for later generation SDA 2b's. I don't think these are what you purchased as the 2b's have 2 driver and 1 tweeter.

    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21638&highlight=sda+line

    I'm thinking you have either the original SDA 2 with the sl1000 tweeters (silver bezel) or the SDA 2A, which may have the sl2000 tweeters (black bezel).

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,082
    edited March 2006
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    Finally here are some pics

    the first is the SDA 2A. IF this were an original SDA 2 the tweeters would be silver (sl1000)

    the 2nd is the SDA 2B

    Hope this helps. e-mail customer service for a copy of an owners manual or continue to search the forums.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • Toka78
    Toka78 Posts: 192
    edited March 2006
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    Thanks heiney9! The speakers look exactly like the photo on the left, but with the silver bezels...first generation it is, then! Really can't wait to pick these suckers up and piss off my roommate/neighbors. :p
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  • Zen Dragon
    Zen Dragon Posts: 501
    edited March 2006
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    Toka:
    Congrats on the SDA's. I think you are gonna love em.
    I did a quick search on your amp. It looks like a run of the mill late 70's era or so amp. Almost definitely is common ground (that's good). The only time you normally see non common ground is on higher end equipment where they are packaging two distinctly separated amplifiers in the same case. If it makes you feel better a quick check can be done by taking a digital multimeter or ohm meter and checking the resistance between the negative speaker output for each channel from the receiver. It should be low (like below 1 ohm)
    As to your amp, Pioneer was building some fairly solid amps back then, but it looks like yours is only rated at 40 watts per channel. The SDA's will work fine using this, however they don't really start to sing until you feed them a more powerful signal. You are going to be wanting to upgrade your amplification to get the best sound out of them. Many threads on good amplifiers in this forum.
    Enjoy
    The Family
    Polk SDA-1C's
    Polk SDA-2
    Polk Monitor 10B's
    Polk LSI-9's
    Polk Monitor 5's
    Polk 5 jr's
    Polk PSW-450 Sub
    Polk CSI40 Center

    Do not one day come to die, and discover you have not lived.
    This is pretty f***ed up right here.
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,576
    edited March 2006
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    It's a unique speaker. The dual tweeter SDA effect is interesting.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • Toka78
    Toka78 Posts: 192
    edited March 2006
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    Sounds good! I was happy to find these for the price, but the more I read the happier I get! The Pioneer actually puts out quite a bit of juice...back then the ratings were much more accurate (by law)...not the peak-to-peak, 1000W+ BS you'll see today...I'll report with my results later on!
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,082
    edited March 2006
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    Zen Dragon wrote:
    Toka:
    Congrats on the SDA's. I think you are gonna love em.
    I did a quick search on your amp. It looks like a run of the mill late 70's era or so amp. Almost definitely is common ground (that's good). The only time you normally see non common ground is on higher end equipment where they are packaging two distinctly separated amplifiers in the same case. If it makes you feel better a quick check can be done by taking a digital multimeter or ohm meter and checking the resistance between the negative speaker output for each channel from the receiver. It should be low (like below 1 ohm)

    Zen is quite correct, but their are some more popular designs that use secondary windings on their power supply which are not common ground. Dual mono is what could be referred to as "packaging two distinctly separated amplifiers in the same case", but Adcom just one off the top of my head uses secondary windings in many of their designs and they ARE NOT common ground and are not considered dual mono. The only true dual mono Adcom is the little GFA-535 and I believe (someone correct me if I'm wrong) it is common ground. So that sort of goes against the rule.

    As Zen suggests a quick check with the ohm meter will tell for sure. :)

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • Zen Dragon
    Zen Dragon Posts: 501
    edited March 2006
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    heiney9 wrote:
    Zen is quite correct, but their are some more popular designs that use secondary windings on their power supply which are not common ground. Dual mono is what could be referred to as "packaging two distinctly separated amplifiers in the same case", but Adcom just one off the top of my head uses secondary windings in many of their designs and they ARE NOT common ground and are not considered dual mono. The only true dual mono Adcom is the little GFA-535 and I believe (someone correct me if I'm wrong) it is common ground. So that sort of goes against the rule.

    H9

    Good info. I was unaware of the Adcom design.
    These guys are good. ;)
    The Family
    Polk SDA-1C's
    Polk SDA-2
    Polk Monitor 10B's
    Polk LSI-9's
    Polk Monitor 5's
    Polk 5 jr's
    Polk PSW-450 Sub
    Polk CSI40 Center

    Do not one day come to die, and discover you have not lived.
    This is pretty f***ed up right here.
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  • schwarcw
    schwarcw Posts: 7,328
    edited March 2006
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    Welcome to Club Polk Toka! I hope that you enjoy your SDA-2's. I have them and really love them. It wasn't clear from your posts, did you get the interconnect cable with them? Your SDA-2's use a blade/blade interconnect. I understand Polk will now make one for you for about $35. A must have!!! Without it, only half of your speakers are working.

    Welcome!
    Carl

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  • dudeinaroom
    dudeinaroom Posts: 3,609
    edited March 2006
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    Do not hook them up. If you pm me, I'll tell you were you can send these, you will not like them!!!

    Just kidding, Good buy, awsome price if you don't like them let me know and I'll buy them, just dont tell my wife
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  • Toka78
    Toka78 Posts: 192
    edited March 2006
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    Picked them up last night without a hitch. And yes, the interconnect was included! The owner was a very nice guy, retired, didn't have the room anymore (think the wife had something to do with it ;) ). As far as I know he was the original owner, not a scratch on them, look almost brand new. They sound absolutely amazing! Only thing I'll need to change is the interconnect...he had cut them in the past to shorten the cable, so there are these little plastic caps at two points along the line holding it together. I'll probably pick up a heavier cable and transfer the blade connecters at some point, but they sound fine right now, so no rush! Would anyone recommend upgrading the tweeters? I like the sound but it can always be better. :D Thanks again for all the help as well as the warm welcome! Pics forthcoming...
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  • schwarcw
    schwarcw Posts: 7,328
    edited March 2006
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    Great! Glad you got the interconnect, and what a bargin! 9 out of 10 (estimate) SDA owners like the silk tweeters because they are not as harsh. Some others like the sound of the SL1000 (silver) or SL2000 (black). Polk will sell you the new replacement silk tweeters for $48 each. So if you replace all the tweeters you will have paid twice as much for the tweeters. It's still a bargin in IMO. Enjoy your SDA-2's and welcome to Club Polk!

    Carl
    Carl

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  • nadams
    nadams Posts: 5,877
    edited March 2006
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    What tweeters do you have? http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25377&highlight=identifying+vintage+tweeters

    I'm guessing you have the SL2000's. You have SDA2's, no "a" or "b" designation, just the straight 2's. They were the only version of the 2's to have three mids and two tweeters. I believe they only came with the sl2k's. It is recommended that you replace them with the RD0194-1 to eliminate any harshness or listener fatigue you experience. I'm going to do mine soon, just have to get the money first!
    Ludicrous gibs!
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  • Toka78
    Toka78 Posts: 192
    edited March 2006
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    Mine tweets are silver, so SL1000 they would be...I'm happy with the sound, but will play around a bit more...might do an upgrade after I upgrade all the other stuff I have on my list. :)
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