My Polk SDA-1C's are finally home with ME!

[avguytx]

I picked them up this morning and got them lugged into the house (yes, just me) after moving the Monitor 10B's and EV Interface C's. They weigh as much as the Altecs I sold...just not as awkward to move. I have attached a couple of "pre-cleaning" pictures of them and will do more as time allows. I am at home "working" today, of course! lol. The cabinets are in great shape, grills have no tears, cabinets are all together, etc.

If you notice, for some reason these have 4) SL-3000's in them instead of the SL-2000's. I completely forgot to ask the original owner if they were ever changed. I'll email or call him later today. He and his wife were in Dallas today for their anniversary so I'm not going to call just yet. I pulled one from each cabinet out to see what was up and each tweeter has a 5ohm 5% 5W resistor on each one...soldered in. So maybe they were replaced and this helped to match them up to the crossover? Hmmm... I emailed Ken at Polk to get his thoughts. I'll eventually put the RD0 tweeters in them.

Initial first reaction to the (about) 10 CD's I've played? I like 'em! :D My Carver M-1.0t does a good job on them at 200wpc even though I know they can take more. It's good to go for now. It was nice to get the cable with them, etc. He's going to mail me the original owners manual and purchase receipt as he forgot to bring them. No biggie. I have a downloaded copy from the site.

Well, over time, the fun begins. It's great to have a pair again. Man, I forgot how good the bass response is on these! It almost seems to not balance with the highs but I think that's because of mis-matched tweeters. I know my Monitor 10B's with the SL-2000's in them seemed "brighter" especially in that 13kHz range. These seem more subdued....for lack of a better term.

Oh...what's recommended to clean the rubber surrounds with? I tried to serch for it and I know something has recently been said so I apologize for asking again! Was it Windex?

[heiney9]

Those are SDA-1C-TL's. Very rare model. :D :p Just Kidding. They look nice. Enjoy!!! Those might be the new RD0's, but the bronze(ish) color gives them away as being sl3000's. Who knows perhaps a 1 off mod. :cool:

H9

[davidk0512]

Congratulations on finally getting your speakers, it seems you've been on the mission for a long time. I too, remember someone recommending windex and I remember a caution NOT TO USE Armorall or anything else petroleum based. Crank 'em up!

[candyliquor35m]

Beautiful!

[george daniel]

congrats,, have fun and enjoy,,the 1C's were my favorite polk,,I should have my 4th and final pair next week.

[davidk0512]

Kip, try this thread

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47840&highlight=cleaning

[MillerLiteScott]

Those are nice. I hope to get a pair myself one day.

[BrettT1]

Awesome speakers. Congrats! :D

[avguytx]

Here's a couple of pictures of the SL3000 tweeters in one cabinet. You can see that each have a resistor on them. It looks like the resistor was just soldered onto the tweeters terminal plus the connection itself. They can't be factory I wouldn't think since the tweeters say "1989" and the mids say "1987". But, who knows. :confused:

I would assume that if the resistor is taken off, they will play louder since it's a 2.2ohm resistor. They definitely aren't as bright as an SL2000. I think I'll take them off for the time being and see what happens. I hope I still have some butane in my soldering iron! lol.

Oh...are the blue and green the positive side I suppose? I only ask because in other speakers, I read they use black as positive and white as negative. At least that's how they are in my 10B's.

[george daniel]

I don't think that I've seen that before, are you planning to replace them with the rdo xxx ?

[Ron Temple]

They look very nice...interesting about the tweets. I wouldn't call the SL2000s bright with my Carver, maybe with an Adcom :D . Enjoy.

[avguytx]

They look very nice...interesting about the tweets. I wouldn't call the SL2000s bright with my Carver, maybe with an Adcom :D . Enjoy.

Don't take that wrong...I actually like the brightness of the SL2000 in a way. Maybe it's because of 27 years of car audio...and home A/V...lol. Maybe that 5dB peak at 13kHz helps me! haha. And I do run mine on a Carver amp, too. Nice combo and that's the way I first heard them 20+ years ago.

I'll probably do the RD0's at some point soon. I'm going to get the passive crossovers, etc ordered so I have them here when the time comes. (between travelling, etc).

[Ricardo]

Congrats (at last!!!!).

Are they in their position in those pictures? They look toed in at the corners....SDA's should not be toed in...just a thought.

[avguytx]

They are only toed in in the pictures because from where I'm sitting, it helps. My desk is actually between the speakers so in my office, it's not optimum per se. When I sit on the couch in here to listen to them, I level them back to the wall and away from it some.

I'm gonna take those resistors off the SL3000's and see if the highs get a little brighter. We are supposed to be getting hit with a big storm here in a bit so we'll see what happens! lol

[F1nut]

Yes, Windex applied to a cloth, not directly on the drivers, wiped in a circular motion works very well.

Black or blue is positive, white or green is negative. I'd leave the resistors in place otherwise the tweeters are going to scream.

[madmax]

I don't know if I like the idea of using the different tweeter with a resistor in series. Doesn't seem right somehow.
madmax

[Auraka]

The bigger concern is changing the crossover point as the impedance changes. I'd swap them for the correct RD0's, remove the resisters and call it a day. At least you only have four to deal with.
I don't know if I like the idea of using the different tweeter with a resistor in series. Doesn't seem right somehow.
madmax
It's not, a portion of the signal gets burned up as heat.

[heiney9]

Getting ready to head out for the evening but I have another 2 hours on the RD0's on the 5b's and they are really settling in. They are far superior to the sl2000 especially at moderate to higher levels. No ramping up at all, of course I have a sinus infection so perhaps that's why they sound so good.

Get the RD0's and be done with it!!!

[Rivrrat]

Maybe that 5dB peak at 13kHz helps me!

After 7 yrs of driving trucks, and 15 yrs of listening to phone line problems popping in my ears, I'm somewhat convinced that the 5db peak might be a good thing for my high frequency deficient eardrums.

BTW, there was a guy selling a pair of those in a surround package deal in Phoenix that wasn't getting bites on CL recently. I kept waiting for him to bust them out, but he never did. I wanted those speaks.

I'll get a pair of SDA's eventually.

[avguytx]

I'm with you Rivrrat. I have a mild constant ringing in my ears that seems to have gotten worse this year. I'm having to turn the treble up on these speakers where before, I had it flat on my C-1. A little more up on the left channel than the right.

Jesse...I may have to remove the resistors just to see what the difference. If it's for the worse, then I'll get the tweeters ordered soon. Or still, I may do the crossovers first and see if that opens them up a bit.

[ben62670]

Yeah!!! you will love them:)

[avguytx]

Black or blue is positive, white or green is negative. I'd leave the resistors in place otherwise the tweeters are going to scream.

On the right speaker, the top tweeter had the black as (-) and the green as (+) with the resistor on it. The bottom tweeter was correct with the blue being (+) with the resistor on it and the white as (-). So, I switched the top to be in correct phase per your guidance. But that got me to thinking of the other side....

So I remember that I have my "SDA Compendium" and it has the wiring schematics for the SDA's. Sooo...in looking at the tweeter wiring on them, the right channel on mine is a little different than the book. Were there running changes along the way? It says my top tweeter should be Black (+), White (-). Mine was wrong on the top with it being Green (+) and Black (-)! The bottom tweeter in the book says it should be Blue (+) and White (-) which mine are. So it's half good.

Now, on the left speaker...book says same wiring code as Right channel. (Black/White..top) & (Blue/White...bottom). Ok. Mine are Black (+) and Green (-) for top tweeter and Blue (+) and Green (-) on bottom tweeter. So, basically it's the same as the book BUT they used "Green" for (-) instead of White wire (apparently a shortage that day). Wouldn't you think so?

So what do I do on the right channel? "Assume" that the Black is (+) on top and the Green is (+) on the bottom one? Maybe they just ran out of White wire. I do know which terminal is (+) on the SL3000's as the (+) is a larger terminal (.250) than the negative (.125 or so).

Kind of funny in a way. Hope I didn't make that out to more than it actually was.

[heiney9]

After 7 yrs of driving trucks, and 15 yrs of listening to phone line problems popping in my ears, I'm somewhat convinced that the 5db peak might be a good thing for my high frequency deficient eardrums.

BTW, there was a guy selling a pair of those in a surround package deal in Phoenix that wasn't getting bites on CL recently. I kept waiting for him to bust them out, but he never did. I wanted those speaks.

I'll get a pair of SDA's eventually.

Whatever works for you guys. The RD0's have all the detail they just aren't so forward and of course the spike is gone. Many others are happy with the sl2000's. My main rig speaks are LSi's and those are so laid back and detailed so the RD0's are more to my liking and what I'm used to.

H9

[engtaz]

Congrats on the speakers. I don't know how different going from the 3000 to RDO198 and how it will sound, anyone with info. The difference between 2000 to RDO194 was very noticeable; the RDO is definitely more smooth.

[george daniel]

he should be able to move the 3000's and offset the cost of the rdo's if he chooses--they are much more pleasing to my old ears.:)

[F1nut]

On the right speaker, the top tweeter had the black as (-) and the green as (+) with the resistor on it. The bottom tweeter was correct with the blue being (+) with the resistor on it and the white as (-). So, I switched the top to be in correct phase per your guidance. But that got me to thinking of the other side....

So I remember that I have my "SDA Compendium" and it has the wiring schematics for the SDA's. Sooo...in looking at the tweeter wiring on them, the right channel on mine is a little different than the book. Were there running changes along the way? It says my top tweeter should be Black (+), White (-). Mine was wrong on the top with it being Green (+) and Black (-)! The bottom tweeter in the book says it should be Blue (+) and White (-) which mine are. So it's half good.

Now, on the left speaker...book says same wiring code as Right channel. (Black/White..top) & (Blue/White...bottom). Ok. Mine are Black (+) and Green (-) for top tweeter and Blue (+) and Green (-) on bottom tweeter. So, basically it's the same as the book BUT they used "Green" for (-) instead of White wire (apparently a shortage that day). Wouldn't you think so?

So what do I do on the right channel? "Assume" that the Black is (+) on top and the Green is (+) on the bottom one? Maybe they just ran out of White wire. I do know which terminal is (+) on the SL3000's as the (+) is a larger terminal (.250) than the negative (.125 or so).

Kind of funny in a way. Hope I didn't make that out to more than it actually was.

Hmmmmm.....maybe Mary Jane was in the house that day. I would trace all of your wiring from the crossover board to the tweeters and mids to be 100% positive that they are wired correctly. The +/- will be clearly marked on the crossover boards.

[Lasareath]

Congrats on the speakers. I don't know how different going from the 3000 to RDO198 and how it will sound, anyone with info. The difference between 2000 to RDO194 was very noticeable; the RDO is definitely more smooth.

Congrats on the 1C's. I myself bought a pair of 1C's this year and I really like the way the perform. Please remember to allow at least 30 to 50 hours of break in time when you get the new RDO's before you come to a conclusion that they sound "weird" or "hollow" as some peeps on the forum have said that they sound before their break-in time.

[avguytx]

Hmmmmm.....maybe Mary Jane was in the house that day. I would trace all of your wiring from the crossover board to the tweeters and mids to be 100% positive that they are wired correctly. The +/- will be clearly marked on the crossover boards.


So I took the left speaker's passive out just to take a look inside. I had noticed a sort of "rattling" noise so I wanted to investigate. Man, there is a rats nest of wires in there just dangling around! So I tried to put them up some to keep them from hitting the passive. I notice the noise when I was bringing them in the house, too. I was hoping it wasn't a loose magnet or disconnected wires.

I'm looking at the Compendium versus what the crossover is on the inside. The pictures make it look like some sort of "crossover board" with terminals on it. If that's what they are supposed to be, mine aren't like that. The book shows the IC cable on the terminal cups and says it's a "pin/blade" connection. Mine looks more like a "blade/blade" connector and is a few inches below the terminal cup. There are 2 parts to my crossover. One is on the terminal cup itself and the other is right above it. I would post a picture but my 14 year old daughter decided to take it with her to the movies for some odd reason. And she had just seen ma taking pictures with it and said nothing and took it! (kind of irritates me).

Also, ,my left channel tweeters are both working but they are noticeably quieter than the right channel. MAybe 3bd less or so. Weird. Always something I have to check out. I know it's not the amp because I took another pair of speakers and sat them on top for comparison.

Oh well. Did that make sense?

[F1nut]

You have 1B's, not 1C's.

If I were you, I'd get the RD0194-1 tweeters, get rid of the resistors and double check that both speakers are wired per the 1B schematic before playing them anymore. Of note, because they are 1B's you can not use mono blocks, dual mono or non-common ground amps, nor will the AI-1 work with those speakers. However, some mono block amps can have their negative outputs strapped together, but check with the manufacturer first.

[george daniel]

Now thats interesting, I've got a pair of SDA 1C's arriving next week, or at least I think that they are 1C's,they look like the ones that I,ve owned before,and the ones pictured in this post, I guess the type of interconnect pin/blade vs blabe/blade will be the determining factor? By all accounts they appear to be in great condition. Paid 250.00 for the pair. Interesting,,, very interesting,,,sorry for the derail. :)

[avguytx]

You have 1B's, not 1C's.

If I were you, I'd get the RD0194-1 tweeters, get rid of the resistors and double check that both speakers are wired per the 1B schematic before playing them anymore. Of note, because they are 1B's you can not use mono blocks, dual mono or non-common ground amps, nor will the AI-1 work with those speakers. However, some mono block amps can have their negative outputs strapped together, but check with the manufacturer first.

Sooo....does that mean someone "added" the tops and bottoms to the speakers? Were there ever "in betweeners"? Like a hybrid of sorts between models? I know being a rep for various lines, I've seen that happen before during a transition.

Edit: On page 28 of the SDA Compendium is says..."Some of the first SDA 1C speakers used the same cabinet style as the 1B (using up old parts again?). Some of the first SDA 1C's also used a blade/blade interconnect cable than a pin/blade cable." Ok. That makes sense. WHat about the crossovers? Were 1C's a "board style" like some of the larger ones or were they more the terminal cup style?

The mid/woofers in mine are the MW6510's and MW6511's, too. (I pilled them all out to check) So that jives with the book. The SDA 1B's show to have 4) MW6509's in them with the SL-2000 tweeters. Interesting.

[F1nut]

Hmmmm.....in that case it would seem you have a transition pair. The split crossovers and blade/blade say 1B, while the cabinet and mids say 1C resulting in a pair of 1BC's. :D

[Auraka]

Edit: On page 28 of the SDA Compendium is says..."Some of the first SDA 1C speakers used the same cabinet style as the 1B (using up old parts again?). Some of the first SDA 1C's also used a blade/blade interconnect cable than a pin/blade cable." Ok. That makes sense. WHat about the crossovers? Were 1C's a "board style" like some of the larger ones or were they more the terminal cup style?
DarqueKnight's SDA1C thread (http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47379) shows what the more recent crossover version looks like, post rebuild with larger caps.

My post here (http://www.carveraudio.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=11452&highlight=#11452) shows by serial number what point the crossover change occurred.

The re-use of older cabinets came in the form of the studio version, which look like the 1B's (the black 1C set I have).

[DarqueKnight]

Sooo....does that mean someone "added" the tops and bottoms to the speakers? Were there ever "in betweeners"? Like a hybrid of sorts between models? I know being a rep for various lines, I've seen that happen before during a transition.

Some SDA 1B owners wanted the new cabinet style of the SDA 1C, but they did not want to sell their 1B's. They just wanted to move the parts from their 1B's into a 1C cabinet. Polk sold the 1C cabinets for $700. I considered buying new cabinets for my 1B's, but I decided to remodel my 1B cabinets instead (for considerably cheaper than $700). I discuss my 1B cabinet modification here:

SDA 1B Cabinet Modification (http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7668)

From your pictures and the description of your crossover, it appears that you have 1C cabinets and drivers with a 1B crossover and SL-3000 tweeters. Simply adding the stock oak end caps to the stock 1B cabinets would not work because the 1B cabinet is narrower and deeper than the 1C cabinet.

Edit: On page 28 of the SDA Compendium is says..."Some of the first SDA 1C speakers used the same cabinet style as the 1B (using up old parts again?). Some of the first SDA 1C's also used a blade/blade interconnect cable than a pin/blade cable." Ok. That makes sense. WHat about the crossovers? Were 1C's a "board style" like some of the larger ones or were they more the terminal cup style?

The 1C used a single "board style" crossover rather than the two board crossover of the 1B. See this thread for pictures of the 1C crossover:

Improvements to the SDA 1C (http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?p=555733)

I am not aware of it ever being done, but the 1B crossover boards could be adapted to use the 1C crossover parts. However, I would think that the extra work involved in doing this would negate any savings brought by using up old parts...but...maybe not. It is very easy to verify which crossover you actually have. The 1C and 1B crossovers used different parts. Just match up what you have to one of the schematics.

The mid/woofers in mine are the MW6510's and MW6511's, too. (I pilled them all out to check) So that jives with the book. The SDA 1B's show to have 4) MW6509's in them with the SL-2000 tweeters. Interesting.

Well, we know from the SL-3000 tweeters and tweeter resistors that one or more of the previous owners had a sense of adventure and some "surgery" was done. Hopefully you can track down the previous owner(s) to find out exactly what was done and why. Here's another quote from page 25 of that sage old Compendium:

"Frequently, a seller will offer a pair of SDA’s for sale without knowing for certain what version they have. Sometimes they think they know which version they have but they are unaware of the sometimes subtle changes from one version to the next. Compounding this difficulty is the fact that some owners have engaged in inappropriate “upgrades” by swapping out drivers and tweeters."

Buyer beware.

[avguytx]

Great....why can't anything be simple!?!?!? WHy can't I just get a normal everyday paid of speakers that are "factory"? lol Even my Monitor 10B's had awkward drivers in them...except for the tweeters.

I need to read a little more into it but what about which mids are "dimensional" versus "stereo"? Mine are correct in relation to the diagram for the 1C's. 6510's are on the outside and only work with the cable connected and 6511's are on the inside and work all the time. The tweeters also work at all time. Are the B's laid out the same way with the exception of using 6509 mids?

What to do...what to do.

Edit: (again)

I got an email back from the original owner about these and will be getting the paperwork for this. See below...

Good eye on the dome tweeters! I had completely forgotten about this, but the store where I bought the SDA's told me they were upgrades (and included a couple of brochures on the SRS TL's with the SDA Instruction Manual). I'll send you all this material as well as the purchase receipt. At the time I thought this was all very nice, but the only thing I really cared about was how good they sounded. Hope you enjoy them!

This is a new twist...lol

[DarqueKnight]

Great....why can't anything be simple!?!?!? Why can't I just get a normal everyday pair of speakers that are "factory"?

Sorry, most folks are hoarding those "normal" SDA's.

I need to read a little more into it but what about which mids are "dimensional" versus "stereo"? Mine are correct in relation to the diagram for the 1C's. 6510's are on the outside and only work with the cable connected and 6511's are on the inside and work all the time. The tweeters also work at all time. Are the B's laid out the same way with the exception of using 6509 mids?

Yes. All SDA's have the dimensional drivers next to the outside edges of the speakers.

I got an email back from the original owner about these and will be getting the paperwork for this. See below...

Good eye on the dome tweeters! I had completely forgotten about this, but the store where I bought the SDA's told me they were upgrades (and included a couple of brochures on the SRS TL's with the SDA Instruction Manual). I'll send you all this material as well as the purchase receipt. At the time I thought this was all very nice, but the only thing I really cared about was how good they sounded. Hope you enjoy them!

Wow. If I understand this correctly, you bought these from the original owner who bought them from an authorized Polk dealer? The question that now comes to mind is whether the dealer did this "modification" or were these some speakers that the dealer took on trade in?

I have some difficulty believing that an authorized Polk dealer would modify a brand new pair of SDA's in this way, even if a customer specifically asked for it. The pre-modified trade-in scenario seems more likely to me.

:) This is getting good.:)

[avguytx]

Stay tuned for further details! Don't you just love the excitement? It will be cool to see the receipt of where they were bought and what was done to them. I emailed him back to dig for a little more information.

I'll tell you, these DO sound good, though. I am listening to some "Journey - Captured" (Live) on vinyl and on the drum solo (side 3), it is AWESOME. Ok. Side 4 now..."Lovin, Touchin, Squeezin". I love it when my wife and kids are gone for a little while. lol The 3000's still seem a little more "tame" than the 2000's. But, for some things, that's a good thing. On vinyl, I have to turn the treble on the C-1 up a little.

Oh....LOVE the Compendium BTW. Thanks very much for a great book!

[madmax]

Yes. All SDA's have the dimensional drivers next to the outside edges of the speakers.

Except for one model of 2.3's. :)

This is kinda cool (the tweeter upgrade) if yours had a store upgrade that was recommended by polk. Never heard of that before.

madmax

[DarqueKnight]

Except for one model of 2.3's. :)


The 2.3's also have the two dimensional drivers along the outside edges in addition to one bass line source woofer above and below the dimensional drivers.

The 2.3TL moved the bass line source drivers to the inside edge leaving only the two dimensional drivers on the outside.

[avguytx]

Here was the latest email back about those tweeters....

I didn't have anything to do with the upgrade on the tweeters. They were supposedly a special order for a customer in Austin who ended up not buying them. I had gone through an arduous search for just the right sound and had just about given up when I came across the SDA's.

So, he IS the first owner but apparently whatever dealer in AUstin, TX at the time had some sort of thing going on. Pretty wild. So they were bought from a dealer like this. Interesting once more...

[madmax]

The 2.3's also have the two dimensional drivers along the outside edges in addition to one bass line source woofer above and below the dimensional drivers.

The 2.3TL moved the bass line source drivers to the inside edge leaving only the two dimensional drivers on the outside.


I guess I COULD be wrong. Let me check the compendium. :D

[avguytx]

Earlier in the thread I was talking about the interesting wiring on the left channel versus what the "book" says on them. I've attached a picture of the left channel inside wiring for all to see. Check out the top right mid. If black is positive, why do BOTH terminals get a positive cable! lol I figure they might have had a shortage of some white wire and put the little white tag on the (-) side to mark it. There is enough wire on some of those mids to get them out of the cabinet about 18" each! I had to tie them up some because they were (audibly) rattling on the passive.

Still sound very good with the resistors taken off the tweeters. I'm curious to see what the difference is (to my ears) in the SL-2000's versus the SL-3000's that are currently in there. I have a pair coming from a fellow Polkster (thanks!) soon. Then, I'll most likely go ahead and order the RD0194's as well. It never hurts to have some spare tweeters around. I'm going to dissect the crossover tonight and get a list together of the parts I need for rebuilding them and may or may not rewire the cabinets with different wire. I don't see where it would make a "huge" difference for that last little run of wire. I have good wire to the speakers from the Carver amp (free Esoteric).

[DarqueKnight]

I would not run the SL3000's without the resistors. The DC resistance of the SL2000/RD0194 is 7.5 ohms. The DC resistance of the SL3000/RD0198 is 5.6 ohms.

A forum member tried replacing the SL2000's in his SRS's with SL3000 and it caused his amp protection circuitry to trip.

[avguytx]

Too late! They've been off since Saturday night and so far, so good. I've played them "reasonably" loud with my Carver M-1.0t and nothing ever happened. Of course, it was never distorted. I may have made the LED's jump to the 4th level or so at peak listening levels. 90% of the time it's at average to low volume. I will have the SL-2000's in in a week or so to evaluate and may buy the RD0194's for the sake of having. I'll call Ken or Helen tomorrow.

Thanks!

[schwarcw]

avguytx, Congrats and good luck on your SDA-1's! Thanks for posting all that's going on with your SDA-1's. We all can learn from this. Polk did some funny things. I buy into Jesse's "Maryjane in the house" during assembly theory:D

Seriously, keep us advised of your expereince. In the end you'll be an expert on these babies! Enjoy your new SDA's and start reading up on the crossover and SDA interconnect upgrade. These are in your future:D

Good luck!