Need opinion - srs or 1.2

dcoil
dcoil Posts: 153
edited December 2006 in Vintage Speakers
Hi, I am an old forum reader, but this is the first time to post. I purchased a set of SDA 2's in 98. I arrived at the store to pick-up some ADS speakers that I had auditioned previously, which had a nice sound, very quick. But the salesman wanted me to listen to the Polks before I paid. I don't remember what he played, but 30 seconds was all it took, I was hooked on SDA. I am now looking to upgrade (empty nesters) and auditioned high end speakers to see what to shoot for. Listened to many speakers, including 15K Revels powered by some xxK$ Krell's, and though the speakers are incredibly clean, don't come close to the soundstage of my old 2B's. So here I am, wanting to get a bit more speaker than I currently have, and I need some seasoned SDA opinions. It seems that I may want to replace the tweeters and crossover no matter which way I go, but what are your opinions on the SRS vs the 1.2's. I have a friend of a friend that is selling a mint pair of SRS for a reasonble price. Should I jump on this or wait for some 1.2's? What about the SRS vs 2.3 or 3.2's? I know many of you have listened to all of these, and I value your thoughts. I picked up from a prior thread that someone did a 'review' along these lines, but I can't find it. Thanks for your assistance. Doug.
SDA SRS modded: X’ovrd, de-polyed, inductorized, interconnectorized, re-posted, dynamited, RDO’d, spiked, gasketed, ringed (Larry's), and grill cloth blinged! Done this on my own? Not a chance. Thanks to Raife and all who forged easy to follow upgrades. At least a 100% improvement in sound and my personal listening pleasure! :cheesygrin:Pass XP-10 preamp, Parasound A21 amp, Pioneer Elite DV-58AV (Ric Shultz modded), Audioquest Sky IC's, No longer need my Sunfire sub after mods...
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  • RichCanDo
    RichCanDo Posts: 177
    edited November 2006
    Hi. I obtained the original SDA-SRS's when introduced. Sold them and regretted it for 5-6 years. About a year ago I purchased 1.2 TL's. It may have been 6 years, but in my opinion the original SDA's sounded much better. The 1.2 TL's do not seem to have much SDA effect at all. But as these were purchased used (eBay) it is possible someone tried "upgrading" the crossovers, or something in the crossovers is defective. Nothing is noticeable upon visual inspection of crossovers. One thing that is noticeable is the 1.2TL's had an additional brace added at the bottom rear of the cabinet, about 10 inches above floor. On mine, one speaker has the brace, one does not! The existing brace looks as though it was removed from an old piece of furniture and added to the speaker! So it is also possible someone built these speakers from parts. If you should look at used 1.2TL's being sold, verify that is what they are. My understanding is, not all TL's were noted as such with the model number which appears on the rear of the speaker. I think some just noted 1.2. There are links in this forum in regard to identifying 1.2TL's. The additional brace is one identifier as is a tag on the crossovers. Buying used, I would take the time to remove all the drivers and verify they are the correct part number, remove the crossovers for inspection, and to look inside the cabinets for the additional braces. Another caution note, some speakers had the Positive and Negative terminals reversed when they came from the factory. Possibly due to the SDA cable, if the terminals are reversed, this can actually burn up some amplifiers, though I do not remember if it was the Model 1.2's that had reversed connections.
    Mains; SDA 1.2TL Silk Domes, upgraded xover, biamped w/DBX BX1 200wpc
    Pre-amp: DBX CX1
    Center: CS1000p Rear Surr.; f/x1000
    Parasound HCA-1205A amp; Center & rear
    Sub: SVS PB12-Ultra
    DVD: Denon 3910
    Tuner, FM: Onkyo Integra T-9090II
    Cassette: Onkyo Integra TA-2090
    VCRs: JVC HD4000U digital, HRS8000U SVHS
    Signal Processing: DBX; 10/20 EQ, SNR-1, 120X-DS, 3BX-DS, DAV-600G Router, Onkyo EQ-35
    Conditioning: Monster AVS2000, HTS5100MKII
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  • amulford
    amulford Posts: 5,020
    edited November 2006
    Both are great speakers. The 1.2TL's are the best of the line, however. The crossover was modified for the SL3000 tweeter and the cabinets were stiffened to reduce coloration. Given a choice, it'd 1.2TL's for me.

    If it were me posed with this dilemma, however, I would pick up your friends SDA-SRS's and bide my time until I could get into a pair of TL's. You can sell the SRS when you find them to offset the cost...
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 51,696
    edited November 2006
    Since your friend has a minty pair of SRS's, BUY THEM NOW! Other than that, the 2.3TL, 1.2 and 1.2TL are all fine speakers, take your pick and you'll be happy for a long time.

    BTW, there are no 3.2's.
    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

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  • dcoil
    dcoil Posts: 153
    edited November 2006
    F1nut, amulford, and RichCanDo, I appreciate the advice. I think you're correct to grab these while I can, and if I find a pair of 1.2TL's later, great. I'm working on shipping them now. I should have them in a couple of weeks. In time to warm-up the house with some nice Christmas music on the SRS's. After I get these in I'll start getting to the info on the crossover and tweeter upgrades.
    SDA SRS modded: X’ovrd, de-polyed, inductorized, interconnectorized, re-posted, dynamited, RDO’d, spiked, gasketed, ringed (Larry's), and grill cloth blinged! Done this on my own? Not a chance. Thanks to Raife and all who forged easy to follow upgrades. At least a 100% improvement in sound and my personal listening pleasure! :cheesygrin:Pass XP-10 preamp, Parasound A21 amp, Pioneer Elite DV-58AV (Ric Shultz modded), Audioquest Sky IC's, No longer need my Sunfire sub after mods...
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  • amulford
    amulford Posts: 5,020
    edited November 2006
    There you go. You won't be disappointed at all. When you do get them, Please be sure to tell us of your impressions. And if you have any questions, we're here...

    I've never heard of anyone upgrading a set os SRS's to 1.2 or 1.2TL's, but I would be pretty sure Polk's engineering dept. could help you out.

    Welcome to the Club, BTW...
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  • schwarcw
    schwarcw Posts: 7,358
    edited November 2006
    Great grab! Welcome to the Club Polk Forums!
    Carl

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  • read-alot
    read-alot Posts: 812
    edited November 2006
    dcoil, you may want to pick up the SDA Compendium. It's a great reference and helps when the time comes to upgrade your SRS's.
    Coming from a fellow empty nester.
    polkaudio SRS (rdo194 x 8)
    Dodd ELP (separate power supply)
    JC 1 blocks ( strapped )
    Rega Apollo
    MIT (speaker cables) Outlaw (ICs)

    polkaudio SDA2(rdo194x4) (front) polkaudio CRS (rdo194x4)(rear) polkaudio 400i (center)
    B&K 505
    Samsung LCD
    VIP 622
    HSU STF-2
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  • rocketman
    rocketman Posts: 16
    edited December 2006
    Nothing wrong with either one.I would try for both!
    rocketman
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  • solidclub
    solidclub Posts: 39
    edited December 2006
    For what it worth, I'll go with the original SRS.
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