I'm Upgrading my Caps & Resistors for my 1.2TL's

[george daniel]

I've never had sda's sound bad following an upgrade,,only better as far as getting some playing time on the new caps/resistors,for me 50-60 hours burn in time is usually sufficent,,however, that may vary depending on your ears. Have fun and good luck,,,and if you are going to spend the $,,I would suggest sonicaps.

[tom t]

is this all being done because the old caps are worn out or just that the new caps are better quality.

[F1nut]

Better quality, MUCH BETTER!!!

[WilliamM2]

They are Done!!!!

Nice placement, but I hope they never need repair. Looks like you went a little crazy with the hot glue! :D

[hearingimpared]

Yeah, a LITTLE. lol, I made a schedule in excel so that i can keep track of my burn in period.

You are a sick obsessive/compulsive dude. . . the pot calling the kettle black!!!:D

[hearingimpared]

Is that Joe's sock sucking up hot glue and cleaning the soldering iron point? I hope it was clean, I can't imagine the smell of a burning, dirty sock!

Sharp provolone cheese.

[hearingimpared]

i will buy the parts. now if i could only find someone with some electronics no-how to assist in this matter ( hint,hint) why, i would even bring the parts to you. along with the beer and cigars.

How far is Bushkill from Newark, DE?

[hearingimpared]

I've never had sda's sound bad following an upgrade,,only better as far as getting some playing time on the new caps/resistors,for me 50-60 hours burn in time is usually sufficent,,however, that may vary depending on your ears. Have fun and good luck,,,and if you are going to spend the $,,I would suggest sonicaps.

George mine sounded awful until about 350 hours. Jesse and Elliot from Sonicraft told me they would take 200 hours to break in. . . After 200 hours, I actually had the sinking feeling of "my goodness what have I done." Phyllisann actually said to me around that time, "you screwed up your speakers." After about 400 hours these big boys sounded wonderful and the more I play them the better they sound.

Ben told me that one of the caps (the one that powers the full range speaker) because of the way it is set in the circuit takes even longer to breakin because it is only used during high current draws, the rest of the time it is bypassed by I believe a coil.

Anyhoo, some of the guys that were here two weeks ago and thought they sounded awesome were here again Saturday and Sunday and thought they sounded even better.

[hearingimpared]

Nice placement, but I hope they never need repair. Looks like you went a little crazy with the hot glue! :D

Yep I warned him but he didn't listen. One good thing about all that glue though is that nothing on that board will vibrate.

[Lasareath]

bushkill,pa next to nj border

Tom,

It's mine turn to help, I'm like 2 hour drive from you, maybe 1.5 hours,

Maybe Joe might want to come up too and we can tackle your crossovers.

Also, I bought a One Pound spool of Cardas Silver Solder and I used like 1/80 of it, so you don't need to buy solder.

I have a hot glue gun as well.

Sal

[Lasareath]

A little screeeeeechy ay???

Ok, Now I know what Joe was talking about, all night long I have been playing something at like 20 to 30% volume and it really didn't sound too bad, maybe a little shrill

But I just turned up the volume with some Bob marley playing and the highs pop & screech, it's pretty scary, but after a month or so if they sound like Joe's then it will be well worth it.

In 20 years I will redo the crossovers again with Mundorf's

Sal

[hearingimpared]

Tom,

It's mine turn to help, I'm like 2 hour drive from you, maybe 1.5 hours,

Maybe Joe might want to come up too and we can tackle your crossovers.

Also, I bought a One Pound spool of Cardas Silver Solder and I used like 1/80 of it, so you don't need to buy solder.

I have a hot glue gun as well.

Sal

Hey you're stealing my business!!!:D ;)

[hearingimpared]

Ok, Now I know what Joe was talking about, all night long I have been playing something at like 20 to 30% volume and it really didn't sound too bad, maybe a little shrill

But I just turned up the volume with some Bob marley playing and the highs pop & screech, it's pretty scary, but after a month or so if they sound like Joe's then it will be well worth it.

In 20 years I will redo the crossovers again with Mundorf's

Sal

Sal, I don't remember any popping??? Are you sure it is popping you are hearing;popping is not good. . .that is a sure fire sign of clipping and overload.

[george daniel]

Sal, I don't remember any popping??? Are you sure it is popping you are hearing;popping is not good. . .that is a sure fire sign of clipping and overload.

I don't believe that "popping" is something that you would expect after a cap upgrade,,at least in my limited experience. Could be that there is a bad connection/solder joint. Have you checked the inductor connection/joint? Good luck--keep us posted.

[Lasareath]

Ok, maybe popping is the wrong word. It's that the highs are so crisp that it sounds like a crack, like a crack of a whip.

[hearingimpared]

Ok, maybe popping is the wrong word. It's that the highs are so crisp that it sounds like a crack, like a crack of a whip.

Yep that is that shrill, glass breaking sound I heard until they were well broken in.

[herbhead]

They are Done!!!!

It was Much fun!, I had a very good time with Joe and his family again. They are very nice hosts!

Nice pictures and a truly great resource. Has anyone reverse engineered the schematic for the crossover? It would be interesting to see exactly what Polk was doing at each stage of the crossover. Based on Lasareath’s post I have ordered the parts to 'upgrade' my crossovers. Maybe do it this weekend or next week; probably the day I receive the parts though :) I went with the Mondorf Silver/Gold .22uF cap (why not). My big question is, what is the consensus, not individually, but the consensus on swapping out the older SL3000 tweeters for the available SL2500 fabric dome tweeters?
Many thanks to Lasareath’s original post and I look forward to your reply.

[hearingimpared]

Nice pictures and a truly great resource. Has anyone reverse engineered the schematic for the crossover? It would be interesting to see exactly what Polk was doing at each stage of the crossover. Based on Lasareath’s post I have ordered the parts to 'upgrade' my crossovers. Maybe do it this weekend or next week; probably the day I receive the parts though :) I went with the Mondorf Silver/Gold .22uF cap (why not). My big question is, what is the consensus, not individually, but the consensus on swapping out the older SL3000 tweeters for the available SL2500 fabric dome tweeters?
Many thanks to Lasareath’s original post and I look forward to your reply.

I replaced my SL3000s with the RD0198s . . . another great improvement in sound quaility. You can get them new from Polk with a Club Polk discount and depending on your location, free 2nd day shipping.

[tom t]

thanks guys for being willing to help me out with this. i wouldent even be thinking of it is i had to just leave it up to a local repair shop. map quest says 150 miles to newark,de about 2 and a half hours. lasareath, thank for being willing to help out in this matter. ive only had the speakers for about 3 months now and just put in the silk tweeters and they sound good now. but with all the fuss about upgrading the caps i figure why not. i have the sda-srs,not the 1.2's. i think the crossovers are alittle different,is that correct??> also, its summer time now and i know everybody wants to do things with their familys. if you guys would like to help me with this ,i of course would get all the parts and take out the crossovers and would be more then happy to bring them to where ever you would want to do the job. i have no soldering skills, so i would not be helping in the rebuilding other then keeping you guys laughing. i would be happy to wait until the fall after the summer is over and everything slows down for you. you guys let me know what you want to do and when and we can go from there. and just one question, are they really going to sound that bad for a while after the rebuild. like put them on and leave the house for a week??.

[tom t]

sal, for anybody like you thst is willing to do this for me, i would insist on bringing everything to you. you should not have to drive to me. hearingimpared, was it the beer or cigars that got your attention???

[F1nut]

The SDA SRS crossover is very different and requires two 130uF caps per crossover, four total and one 92uF per, two total along with the smaller values. You will want to buy Solen caps because the the largest Sonicap makes is 30uF. It also requires more time and a bit more skill than the TL series to do.

the consensus on swapping out the older SL3000 tweeters for the available SL2500 fabric dome tweeters?

There is no SL2500 anymore. You want the RD0198-1, which puts the SL3000 to shame.

[hearingimpared]

hearingimpared, was it the beer or cigars that got your attention???

Ha ha ha, I don't drink, smoke, nor chew!!!:D

I've never upgraded SRSs so this would be a first but what the hey it ain't that hard. It just takes a little patience and a good eye for component layouts plus it's pretty well detailed in Darqueknight's compendium.

[tom t]

i was just looking at that, seems like a big job to me anyway. the first problem i see is the speakers wires are soldered to the board. not the plugs like the 1.2 board. the way this is going i will be bringing the whole speaker!!. the beer and cigars were on the house for those that drank and smoked. i hope you dident take it like i though you guys were drunks. can you see yourself getting involved with this. if so, great. if not i can live with them the way they are. theres an old saying, until you have heard something better,what you have sounds great.

[hearingimpared]

i was just looking at that, seems like a big job to me anyway. the first problem i see is the speakers wires are soldered to the board. not the plugs like the 1.2 board. the way this is going i will be bringing the whole speaker!!. the beer and cigars were on the house for those that drank and smoked. i hope you dident take it like i though you guys were drunks. can you see yourself getting involved with this. if so, great. if not i can live with them the way they are. theres an old saying, until you have heard something better,what you have sounds great.

I'm still in. We are talking a whole lot longer time frame and a heck of a lot more work. It would definitely have to be spread over two days. You guys can drink and smoke all you want just clean up your messes.

[tom t]

thanks joe, i dont drink but i do enjoy a good cigar once in a while. also, i would expect to pay you for your work, im not a cheapie. like i said,summer is here, did you have a time frame in mind. i can get a list of the parts i need in the meantime. if and when do you think you would be avalable for this. also, if this ment dropping of the whole speaker and picking them up when the job is done that can be done also. then you can work at your pace.

[Lasareath]

Mine are still playing, I just got home from work :( and they are still on :), they been on 33 hours so far!

Only 12 to 14 days to go.

[tom t]

and how are they sounding these days???

[Lasareath]

It's been almost 42 hours and already I can hear a very big difference,

They are already surpassing the original caps and resistors.

I've been playing Millage Gilbert "3 Faces" album, Pavarotti Greatest Hits, Bob Marley Uprising & the Best of Bob Marley and the wailers.

[joeparaski]

Ok I'm jealous now. I want to get IN on the action because I also have a pair of SRS's and I would like to upgrade the crossovers as well. I suppose I can send them to Joe's place (assuming he wants) via UPS and you can do them at the same time as tom t. Or I can drop them off at your place JOE, on my way down to Miami (I leave this Thursday morning). Of course I'll pay you for the work done because I certainly don't have the skills to do them myself. What do you think??

Joe

[tom t]

sounds like joe can find full time work rebuilding crossovers