Polk audio sda srs 1.2

I know partsexpress sells a couple different kinds of speaker fabric. I used what was labeled "speaker fabric" from my local Michaels store and it is very lightweight. I'm no fabric expert but i would expect most people to recommend not using a heavy fabric as it could block some high frequencies.
 
I know partsexpress sells a couple different kinds of speaker fabric. I used what was labeled "speaker fabric" from my local Michaels store and it is very lightweight. I'm no fabric expert but i would expect most people to recommend not using a heavy fabric as it could block some high frequencies.

I don't really know what light fabric is. The stuff I have feels heavy for the 4 yards I purchased but I don't know what 4 yards of light fabric feels like or weights. I really like the fabric I purchased but just have nothing to really compare it to. I definetly don't want to muffle anything.
 
You could always put it on there and see how it sounds to you. If you don't like it, its an easy enough job to do again.
 
You could always put it on there and see how it sounds to you. If you don't like it, its an easy enough job to do again.

That's what I think I'm gonna do. Il just make sure I stretch it goodles on the covers. If I don't like it I just hope the replacement fabric will match the sides good. I like the smooth stuff with no lines or patterns.
 
You'll never match fabrics. They all have different weave patterns and color tone. Black is not black. There's so many shades of it, it would make your head spin.

If the new fabric isn't as easy to breath through as the old you bought the wrong stuff.
 
You'll never match fabrics. They all have different weave patterns and color tone. Black is not black. There's so many shades of it, it would make your head spin.

If the new fabric isn't as easy to breath through as the old you bought the wrong stuff.

It is as easy to blow through when it's stretched..I compared it to the original stuff that is stretched. They had a couple different kinds of the ponte knit. I got the only one that was silky and didn't have some noticable pattern on it. Maybe I'll stretch some in a little frame and put it over the highs on another set of cabinets I have and see if it sounds right. Is there any other non obvious way to tell it's transparency than the ones mentioned??
 
Other than the suggestion of buying fabric specifically for speakers such as what's available at PE I don't know what else to say.
 
Agree that for speakers of this caliber, I would spring for actual grill cloth that's designed and known to be acoustically transparent. Saving a few pennies (or bucks) here isn't worth it.
 
Agree that for speakers of this caliber, I would spring for actual grill cloth that's designed and known to be acoustically transparent. Saving a few pennies (or bucks) here isn't worth it.

I don't think I saved any money. This stuff was not cheap at all. Just most speaker fabric I see has visible lines on it. I'm guessing Il have to order it and I've looked at pics before while ordering somthing and definitely didn't get what I thought I was ordering.
 
I don't think I saved any money. This stuff was not cheap at all. Just most speaker fabric I see has visible lines on it. I'm guessing Il have to order it and I've looked at pics before while ordering somthing and definitely didn't get what I thought I was ordering.

Ok, I misunderstood. If you're seeing the lines when looking at online pics, it could be an artifact of your display and/or the photos themselves. I would call Parts Express and ask them about it.
 
So I had some time to get somthing done. After days of figuring what color and wood I'm going to use I chose red oak and black for color. I really wanted to go with curly maple with a Rose nut color/finish. But after much debate and realizing I have nothing that really goes with the Rose nut anyhow I decided black is just to Universal. So I went to my local wood shop and baught a peice of red oak long enough and wide enough to build them. I was kind of worried about using oak so wide but all my carpenter buddies told me not to worry about it warping as this wood shop Kilm dries the wood so well. I don't know to much about wood warpage and so on so I took ther word for it. The finale result I am soo happy with. I used all water based products. The lighting I'm my garage is a little much so it throws the look of a little. But they look so awsome in person. In these pics they look like they don't exactly match because of the lighting but they match perfectly.20170518_182700.jpg 20170519_113359.jpg
 
Certainly looks great to me - what products / process did you use?

I sanded every peice with 150 and then finished with 220. I used general finishes black water based stain. I used 3 coats of stain and sanded between coats with 1000 grit paper just to nock any dust or other stuff off that might of landed on it while wet. Then I used general finishes satin water based topcoat and did the same (but 4 coats). I just used the cheap foam applicators from home depot to apply. These product dry super fats and give a nice hard solid finish. I am very impressed to say the least20170521_141110.jpg
 
I was kind of worried about using oak so wide but all my carpenter buddies told me not to worry about it warping as this wood shop Kilm dries the wood so well. I don't know to much about wood warpage and so on so I took ther word for it.

Just about all lumber sold by wood suppliers is kiln dried to between 6 to 8% moisture content. That's not the issue, the issue is that wood absorbs moisture. One reason wood is coated with a film finish is to help prevent it from doing so. However, only finishing one side creates a situation where the unfinished side absorbs moisture freely while the finished side absorbs much less, which can lead to warping.

Carpenters and cabinetmakers deal with very different aspects of working with wood. Don't ask a cabinetmaker how to build a house and vice versa.

Anyway, looking good.
 
Just about all lumber sold by wood suppliers is kiln dried to between 6 to 8% moisture content. That's not the issue, the issue is that wood absorbs moisture. One reason wood is coated with a film finish is to help prevent it from doing so. However, only finishing one side creates a situation where the unfinished side absorbs moisture freely while the finished side absorbs much less, which can lead to warping.

Carpenters and cabinetmakers deal with very different aspects of working with wood. Don't ask a cabinetmaker how to build a house and vice versa.

Anyway, looking good.

I do understand a raw piece of wood will absorb moisture. So I coated every side of all of this wood. And I made sure I soaked the ends very well since I know that's the most porous. I can't wait to get them back together. Going to find some glue for the fabric today and on to the next step. And thank you very much for any and all advice..
 
Just about all lumber sold by wood suppliers is kiln dried to between 6 to 8% moisture content. That's not the issue, the issue is that wood absorbs moisture. One reason wood is coated with a film finish is to help prevent it from doing so. However, only finishing one side creates a situation where the unfinished side absorbs moisture freely while the finished side absorbs much less, which can lead to warping.

Carpenters and cabinetmakers deal with very different aspects of working with wood. Don't ask a cabinetmaker how to build a house and vice versa.

Anyway, looking good.

Actually on another note F1nut I do have a question about moisture. I'm getting ready to predrill the holes in the back of the side strips for mounting and where I pulled all the nails out of the side covers thers little bumps from where the nails blew through to go in the mdf. Knowing that the bumps wouldn't allow the new oak strips to sit flush like they should I used a big drill bit to knock them down just a little. All most a countersunk to say. But anyway while doing so I realised whate ever they painted or coated the partical board side panels with seemed to penetrate fairly deep. Some spots I can see the original woodles color and some not. I was wondering if the black paint or whatever they used was also used to keep moisture out as I know partical board soaks moisture up like a sponge. Any thought on this?
 
After purchasing and returning three or four different ponte knits I ended up with the first one I picked. It stretches both ways and looks great. I did the side panels allready and it sure does look way better than the original. Overall the speakers look awsome. I plan on replacing the polyswitches with jumpers next and will be moving on to the xovers. Il also be replacing the front grill material sooner than later also. I find a bunch of posts on updating the 1.2tl xovers and am wondering if there are any on the originals? I don't know much about replacements for the caps and resistors in these. If anybody could throw me a bone that would be awsome. Thanx20170529_163837.jpg
You can clearly see the difference between the new material and the old stuff on the actual grill.kind of difficult to get decent pics ofrom these in there current position
 
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