My 'New to me' SDA SRS 3.1TL

[Mystery]

Dude, if you've got a wife who in any way, shape, or form "prefers 2B's" then you've got yourself a fine woman right there. I'd pass those 3.1's right along and keep a smile on that lady's face!

Yes, she's been putting up with me.
I moved from a Philips HTIB in 2010 to house full of speakers and she's been okay so far.
But recently, we are running out of space so that's the problem.
It's only 575 sq. ft floor and that includes kitchen, dining area and living room.
Simply put, 3.1TL's may not work here. Even 2B's are getting some comments.
I may just have to settle down on CRS+ for now.

[Toolfan66]

So what do you want for the 3.1's? I will take them and work on the crossovers..

[headrott]

Trust me, if you get the 3.1TL's working correctly then your wife will approve (hopefully after hearing them). They are only a little taller than the 2B's (and a little narrower) but man do they sound so much better (IMO).

[PolkieMan]

Man your killing me, open those bod boys up an check everything.

[Mystery]

So what do you want for the 3.1's? I will take them and work on the crossovers..

Larry, I really want to like them.
I'll peek into it once to see if there is anything visually wrong.
Then, you can have it for what I paid.
Thanks

[tophatjohnny]

You know what you're hearing and I heard what I heard with the 3.1's. Good, but not as nice as my 1B's (even with the SL2000's) the 1B's sounded more musical to my ears. But what do I know about music..I am a drummer. Here's a good one.


Q: What do you call someone that hangs out with musicians??

A: A drummer!

[Mystery]

Question:
On the SDA Troubleshooting guide, http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/atta...9&d=1268334955, there is nothing on the 3.1TL's.
I see measurements for 2A, CRS, 1.2 etc...
Is there another document that has 3.1TL's measurements?
I'll go through and verify few things that I can.
Thanks

[Mystery]

1st, I tested phase with battery.
All drivers are in phase in both speakers.
Also checked all screws and they are tight in all drivers.

Opened them up but nothing wrong visually.
Looks like they have never been opened before.
The batting fill is only on the upper section, there is nothing behind the PR's.
I'll listen to them little longer to see if my ears grow to their sound before putting them up for sale.

I'm not going to work on their crossovers at this place.
Thanks for all the comments and suggestions.

Left Crossover:


Right Crossover:


Living room setup:

[tophatjohnny]

Glad I didn't sweat the 3.1TL's too much. I liked the 2B's the instant I heard them, but (I knew they were just not the right one). Bought the CRS+'s and liked them, (again, not the right speaker for the room). Then the 1B's arrived and I knew at once..these babies are PERFECT for the bedroom. I still (out of curiosity) had to buy the 3.1TL's, as I was on the hunt for a fried/neighbor, and thought I may be owning them. They just didn't sing the same song as what my ears liked so much about my 1B's, so selling the 3.1 TL's was no heartache for me. Someone will love them Mystery .

[brgman]

2B's over the 3.1tl's?
I'm living in bizarro world.
What's next?

[Mystery]

So what do you want for the 3.1's? I will take them and work on the crossovers..

Larry, you got PM.
You'll get the first dibs on these.
Thanks

[Drenis]

2B's over the 3.1tl's?
I'm living in bizarro world.
What's next?

You and me both.

My buddy who I sold my A9's too last year has listened to my 3.1TL's evolve through mods and now HE wants a pair of SDA's. The 3.1TL's do something right when its working properly and you add some mods. These literally are the best speakers I've ever heard thus far... I really don;t know how some of you hate them.

Also Mystery,

You stated all drivers are in phase with one another. Did you check to ensure the MW wiring is correct? There is BOTH parallel AND series wiring. Black is positive. Even on a white wire if it's got black tape at the connector! Also, I wouldn't expect barn speakers to sound as good as properly acclimatized ones. Crossover apply to that too...

[headrott]

2B's over the 3.1tl's?
I'm living in bizarro world.
What's next?

Yep, I own both; and both are modified with Sonicaps and Mills (and both were original crossover parts originally) and I would take the 3.1TL's ANY DAY over the 2B's.

What next? The 2B's laying waste to the 2.3TL's?

Oh, well....to each his own. I just don't want new polkies seeking SDA's immediately thinking the 2B's will toast the 3.1TL's or the 2.3TL's. (Because they don't).

[Mr. Bubbles]

I would love to hear the 3.1TL's , 2.3TL's, and SRS2's (I am actually in the process of building some SRS2's, but will take some time).
Everyone speaks very highly of these models and they are the only ones I haven't heard or owned besides the earlier 1's and 2's with multiple tweets. I currently own SDA2A's ,1C's, SRS, and SRS1.2TL's and must say that I prefer to listen to the 2A's over the others.
To my ears the 1's are the worst and I am currently using them for parts to build the SRS2's. The 2A's and the 2B's I've heard (and owned) just sound more balanced and natural than the others I've heard and own(ed). I have tried all of them on multiple sets of gear and in multiple rooms for true head to head comparisons. So far the 2A's/B's win out. I have not heard a set of 2B's with RDO's yet.

I would love to hear the previously mentioned models since most owners tend to like those better than any of the ones I have or have heard.

[Mystery]

...The 3.1TL's do something right when its working properly and you add some mods. ...
Also Mystery,
You stated all drivers are in phase with one another. Did you check to ensure the MW wiring is correct? There is BOTH parallel AND series wiring. Black is positive. Even on a white wire if it's got black tape at the connector! Also, I wouldn't expect barn speakers to sound as good as properly acclimatized ones. Crossover apply to that too...

Nope, I didn't check all the wiring.
They looked like never been opened.
I am confident that they'll sound better after crossover upgrades and would have done that if they were the only speakers I have.
I have less than 10 feet wall and with the TV/stand in the middle, I have less than 6 feet of space so big SDA's don't have room for proper setup. I am also thinking of selling 2B's afterwards and just keeping CRS+ that are small but still have SDA or CRS+ on top of 2B's as stands as well as rotation. CRS+ on top of 3.1TL's make them go to way to high.

...The 2A's and the 2B's I've heard (and owned) just sound more balanced and natural than the others I've heard and own(ed). I have tried all of them on multiple sets of gear and in multiple rooms for true head to head comparisons. So far the 2A's/B's win out. I have not heard a set of 2B's with RDO's yet...

2B's are not perfect but we prefer it over the 3.1TL's.
A little bit more mid on 2B's would make them perfect.

So I'll have to pass the 3.1TL's for now.
They may cost more but they'll always come by when I have bigger space.
If Larry passes on them, it'll be listed in CL as well as here.
Thanks everyone.

[Mystery]

Haven't heard back from Larry when he can pick up so these are listed in local CL.

These are sitting in the middle of my living room so they need to go quick.
Fellow Polkie will get better price than what's listed on the CL ad.
http://denver.craigslist.org/ele/3626053377.html
Thanks

[tophatjohnny]

You kept yours a heck of a lot longer then I kept mine. You are very fair in your price. Hope they go to a member here!

[PolkieMan]

I would put them on ebay at $400 to start
and just say..... local or I will help your selected shipping company pack them.
Do you know who painted them black?

[Mystery]

I would put them on ebay at $400 to start
and just say..... local or I will help your selected shipping company pack them.
Do you know who painted them black?

Now I'm not sure if they are painted afterwards or from Polk.
If it's painted afterwards, they did a very good job.
I found few black pairs in Google as well.

[headrott]

The 3.1TL's came stock in black directly from Polk.

[tophatjohnny]

You and me both.

Mthus far... I really don;t know how some of you hate them.

...

"HATE"is a very strong word. I sure didn't hate the pair I bought. They just didn't sound as good in my bedroom as my 1B's sounded. They are great speakers. The SDA line has many different flavors for different situations. When you get the right one in the right room, there's a sense of magic that is hard to explain, but once you hear it..you know. Again, good luck with the sale, and I'm sure these will be magical in someones house!

[ZLTFUL]

Seriously wish it wasn't a 9.5hr drive to Lakewood. I would pick them up in a heartbeat.

[Mystery]

Seriously wish it wasn't a 9.5hr drive to Lakewood. I would pick them up in a heartbeat.

You can come for a ski/snowboard vacation and take them.
Two birds with one stone.
One of my buddies drove from Albequerque, New Mexico to Denver around 6.5 hours for a pair of KEF 107's.

[ZLTFUL]

Hehe. Sold my skis and snowboards last year due to never having enough time to use them. Now all my CO trips happen in warm months for motorcycling and mountainbiking heh

[nooshinjohn]

Just go get the damn things already. You can make the trip in 16 hours....

[Mystery]

Hehe. Sold my skis and snowboards last year due to never having enough time to use them. Now all my CO trips happen in warm months for motorcycling and mountainbiking heh

I may have it till the summer.
No bites yet.

[Mystery]

These are SOLD locally.
One guy came early morning today and got them. He was super excited.
He said he was looking for this model for long time and saw the ad just few days ago.
We chatted a while and he'll be powering them with two Adcom 555's bridged mono, one for each side.

[Schurkey]

he'll be powering them with two Adcom 555's bridged mono, one for each side.

If he doesn't use an AI-1 or Dreadnought equivalent, there's gonna be some smoke and flames if he plugs in the SDA interconnect.

[Drenis]

If he doesn't use an AI-1 or Dreadnought equivalent, there's gonna be some smoke and flames if he plugs in the SDA interconnect.

This.

And he probably will and he'll just of fried his speakers. Wow... Didn't you warn him?

[audio_alan]

Dang, it sounds like that guy is going to be looking for them for a long time... again...