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DoubleG
08-11-2005, 12:50 AM
Hi everyone, I am new to this forum but have been reading many posts for the past few weeks. I wanted to introduce myself and start off first by saying, I do not own a set of Polk Speakers. I am however looking for the right ones to purchase. I have always been a fan of "higher end" audio equipment but could never afford to buy it. As a kid I would read Stereo Review and think wow cool. Anyway, as the years have gone by and the kids have gotten older the money situation is a little less tight. About 7 years ago my wife let me spend some money on a HT system. Having been out of the electronics seen for many years I was sort of lost. I went to a local store in Columbus called Sun TV (out of business now) and bought an Onkyo (dont remember the number) but fairly top of the line, around $1500.00 It was around the time Dolby Digital receivers started to make their way mainstream. Additionally, I bought (here come the moans and groans) some Bose 701 series 1. As I played the Onkyo through them something didn't seem right, not enough bass mostly. I took the Onkyo back and found a smaller audio store and started talking to the owner. I ended up with a Sherwood NewCastle R-925. The sound seemed much better but I had also bought a sub-woofer and surround speakers from him. These are Klipsch. KV-1 Center, KSS-2 surround, KSW8 sub. I have been very happy with my Klipsch speakers, but that is beside the point.

I was never happy with the sound of my Bose Speakers but I couldn't imagine it was their fault right? I mean I paid a bunch of money for them, it had to be I didn't have enough power to make them talk. So, about 3 weeks ago, I bought an Adcom GFA 555. I am using the pre-outs on the NewCastle for the Amp. (keep in mind I am just getting back in to this stuff after about 7 years). I hooked everything up and cranked it up, the Bose seemed to handle the power OK but again I am still not satisfied with what I am hearing. The highs seem soft, the mids seem harsh and the low seem weak. So here I am. I have been watching ebay for the different polk speakers and I am ready to buy some used Polks. I have also been reading all the posts I can. I haven't heard Polk speakers for a long time (a friend of mine had some back in the early 80s I think they were SDA 1s. They had a tweeter that seemed to mount on top of the speaker. I loved those speakers. He had them hooked up to a Hafler 500.) While the money situation has improved I am not ready to dump 2 grand in a set of really good speakers, so I am interested in the vintage polks. The ones that have caught my eye are the monitor 10s. Some of the "smaller or earlier" SDAs are in my price range also. Like these http://cgi.ebay.com/POLK-AUDIO-FLOOR-SPEAKERS_W0QQitemZ5797095349QQcategoryZ71571QQrdZ1 QQcmdZViewItem. I don't want to buy something too small and would have no problem buying another Adcom GFA 555 if needed. I guess I am hoping someone could kind of steer me in the right direction as to which vintage Polks may work for my setup as it stands. This way I could watch ebay or the Flea market for the recommended speaker. Let's say I am willing to spend up to $500.00.

Anyway, thanks for reading this entirely too long post, I just thought I would give some background to my situation.

Thanks, and nice to meet you all.

Gregg

F1nut
08-11-2005, 01:47 AM
Gregg,

Welcome to the forum. If you are interested in speakers for a 2 channel rig I'm going to suggest you raise the limit by $100.00 or so and look for a nice pair of SDA 1C's. If you're looking for L/R fronts for HT purposes I'd suggest you look for another pair of Klipsch to match your others.

Enjoy your stay,
F1

danger boy
08-11-2005, 02:43 AM
good suggestion by F1nut.. and welcome to Club Polk, Greg. Those SDA's will really sound good.. as long as good quality components are used. It sounds like you're on the right track though.. adding an external amp to your receiver. The monitor 10's are a good speaker.. and are less $ then the SDA's. but the monitor lineage of speakers is not in the same league if you will as the SDA's.

Keep an eye out in here in the flea market section for someone selling a nice set of SDA's. They may not come up for sale right way.. but patience is needed. If you can't wait.. the monitor 10's will hold you over till a pair of SDA's show up close to you. Shipping SDA's is not really adviseable. they weigh to much.. and damage can easily happen.

good luck in your quest for vintage Polks. they are worth seeking out. i have several pair of vintage Polks myself. ;)

DoubleG
08-11-2005, 10:45 AM
F1nut and Danger Boy, thanks for your responses. I am looking to improve my 2 channel setup. IMO it's the only way to listen to music. As far as increasing my spending cap, no problem there, and I have no problem waiting. I'll check out the Flea Market regularly to see if any come up. I'm wondering if either of you are anyone else can send me to a link that describes the differences between the SDA models. Since I am a newbie to Polk speak I would like to research. This website has the SDA-SRS model listed in the "older products" section but I can't seem to find anything on the specific speaker you speaking of. I'm sure it is on these boards somewhere, but if you have it off the top of your head I would appreciate it.

Thanks again for the advice.

cfrizz
08-11-2005, 01:02 PM
Welcome Gregg.

This should keep you reading for a while.

http://www.polksda.com/index.shtml

danger boy
08-11-2005, 03:21 PM
Greg,

here is a little bit of the techie specs on the SDA's. well part of the SDA line anyways. sorry it's tough to read.

Al

Mike682
08-11-2005, 03:25 PM
cool sheet....

Why does Polk not report the max output levels anymore on speak specs??