Justice to my old SDA SRS's

[wdwatkins]

Hi-
I'm new to this list. I have owned a set of SDA/SRS since early 80's--powered with same vintage ADCOM amp and preamp. The electonics has irreversible problems. I love the intrinsic sound of these speakers, despite acquiring other nice systems for our home (these speakers are selfishly designated for my study/office). Two questions from the experts. (a) Is there any tweaking/upgrading I should consider at this juncture--given the passage of time/technology? and (b) what new receivers (or other combos if you recommend) have you found to be nice fits for these speakers--I'd prefer to err on the side of modest expenditure. Many thanks. Look forward to any constructive suggestions. Best, David (Pittsburgh)

[VR3]

Polk has released new tweeters that most (if not all) owners consider an upgrade...

But with replacing 8 tweeters, can be expensive.

[jdhdiggs]

Also, look for some posts by Raife / Darqueknight. He has done several mods to SDA's

[F1nut]

David,

Welcome to the forum.

There are many tweaks that will take your speakers to a higher level. As mentioned, some folks like the new replacement tweeters, some don't. Upgrade your stock binding posts to Cardas posts and replace the stock jumpers with short pieces of high grade speaker wire terminated with gold spades. Add Dynamat to the driver and PR baskets to cut down on ringing. Upgrade your crossover caps, resistors and replace the polyswitch with a new one. If your speakers are on carpet replace the screw in feet with carpet spikes.

What's your budget for new power gear?

[BlueMDPicker]

Hello David,

I've replaced the tweeters in my SDA SRSs, which I consider an upgrade over the SL2000 Silver Domes. The most dramatic improvement (to my ears) came when I bi-wired with a good set of speaker cables.

I've also found that, despite their excellent efficiency, my SRSs sound the most dynamic when driven by a high output power amplifier - even at modest volume levels. The extended head room of a high output amp opens the soundstaging tremendously.

I'm sure others on the forum will have specific recommendations regarding components. It will be of help if you provide them with a budget, as F1nut noted. For my part, I prefer the sound of a tube output source into a tubed preamp driving power of around 400 wpc into the 4 ohm load of the SRSs.

Happy tweaking and upgrading!

Mike

[dorokusai]

I'll second F1's recommendation on upgraded binders. I would recomend Vampire Wire as a much cheaper, and just as good alternative.

Vampire Wire (www.vampirewire.com)