SRS 1.2 TL Feet

[hearingimpared]

Hey All,:D

I purchased the behemoths back in 1985 and was totally in love with them. I met Matt Polk at the Consumer Electronic Show in Vegas in the late 80s and raved to him as to how much I loved them. Alas, I lost them in the mid 90s after hitting hard times and then lost my high-end audio business. . . digital audio really killed my analog business.

I just purchased a set today and I am ecstatic :D . The seller guarantee's low hours on them and everything is in order except the seller doesn't have the spiked feet that couple the speakers to the floor he only has the round feet. I clearly remember those big bad boys sounding better when they were coupled firmly to the hard floor with the spiked feet. Any ideas as to where I can get a set. I still have the old aluminum "tip-toes". Has anyone tried the "tip toes" in lieu of the spiked feet?


Thanks,
Joe

[madmax]

I think they are a standard size thread but haven't really checked them out. I'm thinking you could buy generic ones?
madmax

[F1nut]

You can buy much better cones (spikes) these days, any of the online audio shops carry them. I prefer the brass billet ones from Mye Sound, http://www.myesound.com/products.html

You need ones with 1/4-20 thread.

Are the speakers you purchased the pair on eBay that ended today? Did they come with the "Bass Brace?" If so, the guys at Polk say they are prefered over spikes.

[hearingimpared]

Yes, I did win them on eBay today, thanks to this site I found the long lost behemoths. There was no mention of the "Bass Brace" in any post info on the eBay auction or any of the correspondance I had with the seller this past week. What is the "Bass Brace?" I'll be talking to the seller tomorrow on the telephone.

I wanted these so bad that I am driving from Philly to Medford, Mass to pick them up!

[Polkersince85]

Welcome back to the club. Hope you remember how heavy those big-uns are.

[schwarcw]

Welcome to the Club Polk Forums Hearingimpaired! Congrats on the purchase of the 1.2TL's. I'm assuming the eBay auction was for the ones in Medford, MA?

I agree with F1 if you got the bass brace yes it in lieu of the spikes. You can make your own bass brace with some all thread, wingnuts, washers and a mounting plate. If not, the spiked feet are available a lot of places.

[hearingimpared]

What is the "Bass Brace?" Yes I do remember how heavy they are I still have the hernia from the ones I purchased in 1987! I have to rent a uhaul truck when I get to Medford Mass and drive them back to Philadelphia.

[schwarcw]

The bass brace is simply a threaded rod that attaches the rear of the speaker cabinent to the wall. The one supplied by Polk was about 15" long, about 3/8" threaded the entire lenth, wingnuts and a wall mounting plate (threaded). You can adjust it by screwing into the speaker cabinent to the desired length, then securing to the wall mounting plate and rear of speaker with wingnuts. I'll try and get a picture of mine for you. Maybe some other members have one readily available.

You can also use the "Search" tool on this Forum. Toggle the "Search" button and type in "Bass Brace". You should get a lot of threads on this topic.

Carl

[schwarcw]

This thread has a picture of how it attaches to the wall.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/show...ght=Bass+Brace

[hearingimpared]

My wife is having a fit . . .she now is screaming now you're gonna start screwing them to the walls!!!!!!

[george daniel]

My wife is having a fit . . .she now is screaming now you're gonna start screwing them to the walls!!!!!!

there are worse things :) congratulations

[Polkersince85]

The ole WAF, ....dibs :D

[schwarcw]

LOL! Yeah, she may not like it at first. You may want to ease her into these. Actually, she may not notice them.

I've attached a couple of pics of mine. The plates should be attached to the wall and securely into a wall stud. Use long screws through the plate and the plaster into the wood stud. I would suggest 3" wood screws. The plate is small, about 5/8" X 2 1/2", about 1/8" thick.

The purpose of the bass brace is to anchor the speakers and according to Polk "reduce cabinent resonance". Many on this Forum including me have noticed a tightening of the bass response.

There is a lot of info on these threads about placement of these speakers. Typically, the further away from the rear wall, less bass. Closer to the rear wall, more bass. Usually, 6" to 10" is good depending upon your room acoustics.

Since you've owned a pair of these previously, you probably know about the speaker placement. If not, there is a "SDA White Paper" you can link to from the Polk home page.

[hearingimpared]

Are the SL3000s the latest in tweeter upgrades for the SRS 1.2 TL?

[schwarcw]

The SL3000's are stock in the TL's. I think some members have upgraded these to RD-0198 tweeters from Polk. I don't know much about the sonic impact. Maybe some others will chime in!:D

[hearingimpared]

Thanks so much you guys . . . I thought that loving these speakers was just an old obsession of mine but I see and I can prove to my wife that this was one of the best moves I've made and won't need to purchase new speakers for a long long time. Thanks again for the info. . .This is an awesome site!

[F1nut]

My wife is having a fit . . .she now is screaming now you're gonna start screwing them to the walls!!!!!!

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA


Maybe you should stick with the spikes. It may make your life easier down the road when you upgrade the tweeters and crossovers.

[univera]

Speaking of spikes. Do I need spikes or feet if my boys are flat on the carpet? Mine are the SDA-SRS.

[schwarcw]

Speaking of spikes. Do I need spikes or feet if my boys are flat on the carpet? Mine are the SDA-SRS.

Yes! You too need the spike or the bass brace. Spikes work great but it makes the speaker almost impossible to move. At least with the brace you can loosen it easy enough and slide the speaker around to get to a wire or a cable.

[dorokusai]

The Mye Sound spikes by Grant are awesome. Here's a pic of some Mye 1/4-20 vs stock Polk spikes out of my goody box...and no, my fingers aren't that short in reality.

Mye Sound

He usually has these in stock and if not, re-supplies every few weeks. If you have a custom request, just ask him.

The 1/4-20 spike is essentially the one in the middle of the second picture.

[hearingimpared]

1. To attach the brace to the back of the speaker do I have to drill a hole?
2. Does the brace connect to the top, middle or bottom of the speaker?
3. Do spikes and brace improve the sound?

Maybe you should stick with the spikes. It may make your life easier down the road when you upgrade the tweeters and crossovers.

4. Why would the Bass Brace make the tweeter/crossover upgrade more difficult?

5. I read DarqueKnight's improvement thread is that the upgrade you are speaking of?

[schwarcw]

Hi Hearingimpaired!

1 and 2. Attaches to the back of the speaker. The hole is predrilled about 3/4 of the way up the speaker.

3. Yes. Deeper, tighter bass
4. No.
5. Yes.

I would recommend that you purchase Darqueknight's SDA Compendium. If you go to the Audigon website, search on "Polk", the SDA compendium is listed. He recently released this 2nd edition about a month ago. The Audigon listing has the table of contents with everything that's in it. He details the upgrades and a lot more information. All the questions you asked here are addressed in this Compendium.

Please, keep posting if you have more questions.

Carl

[univera]

I don't see myself bracing the SRS's, so it would likely be spikes. Will the spikes poke thru the carpet and will I notice an improvement in base? Will the speakers be more likely to tip? I guess if I'm going to die, getting crushed under sonic marvels wouldn't be the worst way to go. Beats fire, water, or missle attack...:) :) :)

[dorokusai]

Yes, they will go thru the carpet and to avoid them being unstable, level them with the provided nut.

[F1nut]

Hearingimpared, what I meant is that your wife may object less later (upgrades) if you don't drill holes in the wall now.

[hearingimpared]

Has anyone tried both spikes and bass brace.

[dorokusai]

I'm sure someone in the world has, but it's not recommended.

[hearingimpared]

The bass brace seems a little flimsy. Does it literally drain the vibrations and resonance to the wall?

[madmax]

It is supposed to keep the speaker from vibrating front to rear (because of its unusual height and number of woofers it will move with the bass). The braces are meant to clean up midrange muddyness according to polk.
madmax

[F1nut]

^^^
What he said.