Steel Retaining Rings For SDA Drivers And Passive Radiators

[Conradicles]

Well I just completed this mod on my SDA-1C's. All went really well.

Thanks DK for the review and many thanks to Larry for the idea.

Going to listen for a while to see if I gained any sound quality improvements.

[BIZILL]

hey darqueknight and others who received these rings, may i offer one important suggestion? use blue locktite to secure the capscrews so the bass doesn't rattle them loose over time. not red or any other color, but BLUE locktite.

also, if possible, i'd either have the rings powder-coated or at least primer and/or paint them to keep them from rusting in humid areas of the world. hot roll sheet *can* rust easily, though in the case of these, not enough to cause any harm. just surface rust.

remember toolforlifefan, i mentioned to you i used to run our 4000 watt cincinnati laser and our bystronic 4020 laser. i miss making my own stuff when i wanted. now i gotta kiss my old boss's ass to get things cut. anyway, good job and keep up the good work. one more thing tool, do you guys purchase 16 ga aluminum sheets ever? this wouldn't add tooooo much to the cost and would alleviate any rusting worries. but then again, you'd have to tig your nuts to the rings, which would add alot of extra effort. nevermind.

[helipilotdoug]

Installed the rings on my SDA 2A's yesterday. Everything went great with one exception. In the left cabinet, the stereo MW ring had to be ground down a bit to get it to seat properly. I guess the support was just a little off center on that one. I took my time, and it took most of the day to finish up the dynamat, install the rings, and do the mortite. Hoping to get the system up and running sometime tomorrow. Can't wait to hear the difference with these mods and tweaks done. :)

[thejck]

so the wood that the main cabinets are made from is particle board correct?

[DarqueKnight]

My SDA SRS and SDA SRS 1.2TL cabinets are medium density fiberboard. My SDA CRS+ cabinets are particle board.

[thejck]

do you guys ever worry that the wood will deteriorate over time? or can they be maintained to last.
I like the idea of using the rings to relive the stress on the wood. awesome job..thanks for the write up.

[Moose68Bash]

Well I just completed this mod on my SDA-1C's. All went really well.

Conradicles, I just received two sets of Larry's rings to install in my SDA SRSs and SDA 1Cs. Darqueknight's detailed installation instructions and most comments are about installations in SRSs.

Did you encounter any unexpected conditions or problems with the installation in the 1Cs?

Any tricks or tips you discovered in the process that you might pass on?

[HollowState]

OK, trying to rack up enough posts so I can contact Larry and purchase a set of rings for my original SDA SRS speakers manufactured in May of 1986! Following DarqueKnight's wonderful upgrade recommendations!

[Moose68Bash]

OK, trying to rack up enough posts so I can contact Larry and purchase a set of rings for my original SDA SRS speakers manufactured in May of 1986! Following DarqueKnight's wonderful upgrade recommendations!

Perhaps, you should just PM Larry.

[Saftgeek]

Mr Moose, you haven't heard? You have to have 1111 posts to PM CP members on a Thursday. Get cracking and you may get there is 20 years!!!

-Saftgeek

[Saftgeek]

Mr. DK - I'm sorry to post a smart @@@ed comment in your thread. That is pretty disrespectful of me. I truly enjoy your posts and don't want to be labeled as someone who trashes threads. I can't speak for all of us, but the 100 post thing is kinda bitter to swallow. I'm getting closer, but none-the-less, I don't want to have the reputation as being a non-contributor. Again, sorry...

-Saftgeek

[Moose68Bash]

Mr Moose, you haven't heard? You have to have 1111 posts to PM CP members on a Thursday. Get cracking and you may get there is 20 years!!!

-Saftgeek

Sorry. I didn't now the 100-post standard applied to PMing as well as to viewing "For Sale" items.

My suggestion: Think about all the Polk Audio related questions you can, check to see whether any of the relevant threads already answer them, and post the remaining questions on threads where you are likely to get answers.

My experience is that these Polkies are happy to give you their thoughts about your questions, no matter how minor or elementary. In today's Q&A period at Polkfest 2012, one of the long-time participants said, "When we all began, our questions were inane."

Yes, there are hundreds of threads to explore, but I guarantee you that you will learn many things in the process, and you will find that getting to 100 posts will not take 20 years.

Give it a shot. It's well worth the effort.

[ldpstone]

Hi i am interested in a set of these as well as the tweeter brackets for my 1.2tl, and possibly for my 3.1 can i get a quote please?

Thanks
Phil

[Toolfan66]

Hi i am interested in a set of these as well as the tweeter brackets for my 1.2tl, and possibly for my 3.1 can i get a quote please?

Thanks
Phil

PM sent..

Larry.

[Moofy]

Hi, Larry. Do you have rings for a pair of SDA-2A's? How do I contact you (as you can see, I'm a newbie and posts-challenged). Thanks.

Seth

[tophatjohnny]

Another great upgrade idea. Doesn't look or sound easy. Congrats to anyone that takes the plunge. I would if I thought I could!

[tophatjohnny]

Another great upgrade idea. Doesn't look or sound easy. Congrats to anyone that takes the plunge. I would if I thought I could!

Okay, I was fortunate enough to order a set of the rings and tweeter brackets, so hoping I can get this done. The reciew does help and I'm sure I'll be having questions as I go. Doing the Dynamat application at the same time, so one at at time for me. If anyone has advice as to what other hardware I'll need to get this done, please fire away. Thanks Larry for being there to make this upgrade possible and DK for the cool write up.

[cincycat13]

I would say DK nailed his write up. I know there are others, but this thread is very good. I did some RTA15TL here in my thread.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/show...-RTA15TL-today

another good write up here

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/show...ht=larry+rings

[tophatjohnny]

I would say DK nailed his write up. I know there are others, but this thread is very good. I did some RTA15TL here in my thread.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/show...-RTA15TL-today

another good write up here

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/show...ht=larry+rings

Thanks, and I'll be looking over all of this when I start on mine here soon. I'm actually looking forward to it, and if I can getter done, I'll be shocked!!

[littlewoodboats]

and if I can getter done, I'll be shocked!!

Piece of cake. I did not have the alignment issues DK described in his review so mine went easy. Be careful to drill the straightest holes possible and mind any rough edges. As opposed to running the bit through a second time I used a small round rasp for cleaning the holes.

Take your time and you will be able to do this.

[tophatjohnny]

Would love to hear from more members that have done this, and or are planning to do it. I should have all the needed supplies by next week and am sure anxious to do it. My expectations are no more than making a more stable way to house the speakers and have a touch of love from one of our fellow members in my SDA experience. Prices Tag??? (Priceless!!)

[Moose68Bash]

Tophat,

I installed Larry's rings in my SDA SRS1.2s and my 1Cs. I encountered no unexpected difficulties and had no trouble drilling the holes to align with threaded inserts in Larry's rings. In both cases some of the rings and brackets had to be ground down to fit against cabinet braces. I did it with a Dremel tool, as DarqueKnight described.

I had little to no experience with this kind of work, but took my time and was careful throughout the process.

You can do it!

[motorstereo]

I also did my 1.2tl's with Larry's rings. Now if there is a way to screw something up I no doubt would've found it. I took my time drilled the holes straight and it all went together without a problem. It was actually a fun project. If I can do it without a hitch then anyone can.

[GospelTruth]

I did my 2B's with Larry's rings. I was a little hesitant to start the project because I didn't want to screw anything up. I made sure I took pictures and labeled everything so I could put it all back together once the rings were installed (that's just me though). Pretty easy job, but like others, I had issues with the internal bracing hitting the rings. There was nothing wrong with the rings themselves, just excess glue on the center brace that needed to get filed down.

Glad I did it, as there was better mid-range and bass after the install -YMMV. I also did the Armacell install at the same time, so I don't know how much that may have helped as well. I think one of the guru's here said that if you use the rings that Armacell for the gaskets isn't necessarily needed and you can use the original Polk ones. Regardless, I liked the results and it makes working on the speakers that much easier in the future.

[tophatjohnny]

Thanks GT. I should have mine here this week and looking forward to doing the install. I still am not sure about gluing the backs of the speakers and am a little lost on that one! This thread should get that "Sticky" thing. would make it easier for all wanting to do this get it done.

JMPO?

[GospelTruth]

Thanks GT. I should have mine here this week and looking forward to doing the install. I still am not sure about gluing the backs of the speakers and am a little lost on that one! This thread should get that "Sticky" thing. would make it easier for all wanting to do this get it done.

JMPO?

I hope I wasn't the one confusing you on gluing the back of the speakers. What I was meaning to say was that Polk used a lot of glue to seal the cabinets. That glue was also used on the internal bracing. Because the bracing on the 2Bs is right near the mid woofers, there was excess glue on the inside of the cabinet that got in the way of putting the rings flush with inside of the front panel. I just had to grind down the glue in a few places so that they sat flush on the inside of the cabinet. No gluing required. I don't know what the inside of your speakers are like, so it may not be an issue for you. I'm sure you'll enjoy the results.

[tophatjohnny]

Piece of cake. I did not have the alignment issues DK described in his review so mine went easy. Be careful to drill the straightest holes possible and mind any rough edges. As opposed to running the bit through a second time I used a small round rasp for cleaning the holes.

Take your time and you will be able to do this.

Thanks for all the support! Gotter done and loving it!

Tophat,

I installed Larry's rings in my SDA SRS1.2s and my 1Cs. I encountered no unexpected difficulties and had no trouble drilling the holes to align with threaded inserts in Larry's rings. In both cases some of the rings and brackets had to be ground down to fit against cabinet braces. I did it with a Dremel tool, as DarqueKnight described.

I had little to no experience with this kind of work, but took my time and was careful throughout the process.

You can do it!

Yes, I had to cut a couple of the rings to make them fit, but it was easy and fun to do! Thanks

[Toolfan66]

Pics!!

[Dabutcher]

I did mine and it went really easy. I would definitely use two c clamps to hold template over existing holes while you drill . I had a pair of electric Sears shears and cut my Dynamatt I bought off of Ebay for $25.00 w free shipping. I cut strips of one inch thick and then cut the strips to length as needed. Once all metal was covered I used a ball point pen with the point retracted to push the Dynamatt tight ágainst surfaces. Good luck. Darryl

[tophatjohnny]

Pics!!

Larry, I didn't take pics as I was working along here. I see so many pics here on the forum I thought redundant to take and post. I can add that your rings come packaged like a pro and you make it so easy do do this. I feel that if anyone is on on the fence in doing this, get off the the fence and order yours. The install is fun and if I can do it.. ANYONE CAN DO IT!! I did one at a time, standing up position and no need to remove anything except the tweeeetrs, drivers and PR. Easy and fun. I am happy I did it and if I ever get another SDA set, I will do it again!!