Think their SDA's but wich model?

[Braddles]

G'day from oz guys.

Have a chance to get my hands on these on ebay here in oz.

Look like a early SDA to me but thought i would turn to those who would know better than i. Any idea's?

Any idea what i should be looking to pay for them? What would they go for in the US?

Cheers
Brad

[george daniel]

It's early,, but they look like SDA2 A's

[Face]

I agree, they are probably 2A's.

What is he asking? Is the cable included?

[Lasareath]

I agree, they are probably 2A's.

What is he asking? Is the cable included?

Mike, they are like yours, but the best way to tell is a picture of the interconnect socket. Because they may be a later model and have a pin/blade connector. If they do then they are 2B's

Usually this case is a 2A but transition models had the same case but the innards were from a 2B, if they are 2B then there will be a sticker in the back of a letter "B"

[Face]

Sal, you're correct. I thought the only 2B that came in that style cabinet was the studio version like mine, hence why I thought it was a 2A.

As Sal mentioned, you'll have to check out the back of the speaker to positively identify the model.

[heiney9]

According to the compendium the the 2B either came with Oak or Walnut endcaps or a vinyl wrapped black studio cabinet w/o end caps.

My guess is most likely a 2A but 1 way to tell for sure (because like Sal mentioned there are transition models) is the drivers are both MW6510 the 2A will have no external fuse.

The 2B's (cabinet type withstanding) can have blade/blade inter-connect like the 2A's but the drivers are different in the 2B the drivers are MW6511 and MW6503. Only the earliest 1987- 2B's had the blade/blade interconnect. The later models had pin/blade. All 2B's used the same x-over which was different than the version in the 2A.

[heiney9]

if they are 2B then there will be a sticker in the back of a letter "B"

Not true in all cases.

[dcmeigs]

Polk SDA 2A Ad Photo (http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-Polk-SDA-2A-Speakers-Ad-from-1987-2-pages-AMAZING_W0QQitemZ200140883748QQihZ010QQcategoryZ14 993QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZ p1638Q2em118Q2el1247)

[strider]

Not true in all cases.

Agreed. Mine are blade/blade 2B from '87, no "B" after the 2 on the back. Aren't the SDA's fun to keep track of. :p

[heiney9]

To the best of my recollection 2B's only came with the studio cabinet in black. With the cabinet style shown in the photo it's very likely it's a 2A. But SDA's are fun to identify solely based on photo's so anything is possible.

Obviously 2b's command a little more coin so keep that in mind when purchasing.

[heiney9]

I might be a little jaded as to value but I'll give a shot

If they are 2A's

Excellent cond. w/cable $200
Very Good cond. w/cable $150-160
Good cond. w/cable $125-150
Poor cond. pass.

subtract $25-40 for missing cable. If it's blade/blade you can still get it from Polk I think they are $50.

If they are 2B's

Excellent cond w/cable $250-275
Very Good cond. w/cable $185-225
Good cond. w/cable $140-160
Poor cond. pass

Drivers are still avail from Polk for $48 each. The passive radiators are no longer avail.

This is all ball park and a IMO, a general guide.

H9

[danger boy]

2A's

[amulford]

2A's IIRC all of the 2b's have the tweeter mounted horizontally. The cabinet's are close, mine have the smae style.

[shadowofnight]

My 2b's have Oak end caps and vertically mounted tweeters

( This pic was when I first got them...the original owner put SL-3000's in them...I swapped those out for the original SL-2000's thanks to Ron T )

Oh and they are Pin/Blade

[Lasareath]

2A's IIRC all of the 2b's have the tweeter mounted horizontally. The cabinet's are close, mine have the smae style.

Sorry AntNy, but the 2B's I sold to Face have Vertically mounted SL2000's, they had 2A cabinets with the little base, were all black, they were pin/blade and they had a 1.5" bold letter "B" sticker stuck to the upper right hand corner of the SDA label in the back.


My 2b's have Oak end caps and vertically mounted tweeters

( This pic was when I first got them...the original owner put SL-3000's in them...I swapped those out for the original SL-2000's thanks to Ron T )

Oh and they are Pin/Blade


All the Oak end caps cabinets are 2B's.

[dcmeigs]

I think pulling the drivers is really the only way to know for sure. Polk used pin/pin ICs in this transitional model too. There are few hard and fast rules.

I have a pair of these with pin/pin connections (and black 1A cabinets). I thought they were 2As when I bought them last year. I was ready to buy RD0194s and took the PR out to have a look at the crossover, just to make sure.

Suprise! They are SDA-2Bs in the older 2A cabinet. They have the rectangular SDA CRS+ crossover, the 16 gauge wiring, the MW6503 and MW6509 drivers (dated July 1988) and a vertical SL2000.

Certainly good news. I've ordered the RD0198s and caps for the TL upgrade!

Braddles, I'd think either 2A or 2B is going to be a good speaker for you, but like Hiney9, I'd pay a good premium to have the 2Bs. BTW-I think Heiney9s pricing is about right.

[schwarcw]

If they work Braddles, go get them. These are some of the most musical SDA's. There are a few mods tha tyou can do to make them perform better for not much cost. You will spend a lot of money to buy speakers that sound as good and the SDA-2's.

Good luck!

[Braddles]

Thanks for the advice guys but as things go i have another question.

A pair of mint cond RTA11's are also available with the orig packing boxes.
The guy said they have white tweeters so i'd say they are the first series with the sl2000's. Haven't seen them yet.
I know from regular visits here that the RTA series have the reputation of the best sounding NON SDA speaker Polk made.

So what do you guys think?

Should i go for the SADA2's(yes the guy has the sda cable) or the RTA11's.
Asking Prices are $500.00 aus for the sda's & $750 aus for the rta's.

I know that sound alot for what they are going for in the states but you have to remember that back when these were new $1 australian was worth 50 US cents. So both these were over $3,000.00 new.

Cheers
Brad

[Braddles]

I think i will start a new thread with this one!

[Joe08867]

I would go with the SDA2's. My personal preference.

[dcmeigs]

I wouldn't pay more for the RTAs.