Polk SDA SRS....tweeters or crossover's first?

[herbd2]

I was lucky to purchase a nice pair of polk sda srs. I love the SDA effect, but....the the highs seem muffled and veiled....So, I'm not rich, but I want to take the first step to make these speakers shine.....should I replace the tweeters with the newer version, or change out the XO caps first....Any advice??

 

[RxDx]

caps

 

[FB night]

I restored 2 pair of the Polk SDA 2 speakers a couple years ago. Both had crossover problems. I upgraded the capacitors and resistors, and replaced the junk input connectors. Not sure if your speakers have the Safetyguard device in the crossover, these can activate and not reset correctly, causing a muffling of sound. Get some good resistors and decent capacitors in there, your sound will improve. Tons of information on the Polk forum, also good info here on AK

 

[RTally]

A symptom of caps ready for replacement is a muffled high end. If it sounds like the speakers have a blanket over them, recapping is the first thing to do. If you are on a budget, you can always recap with lower cost metalized poly caps now with the intention of using the higher quality (more expensive) caps and resistors later.

Replacing the tweeters is primarily for making a good speaker sound better.

 

[WaynerN]

I bought a pair of signature SDA-SRS2.3s back in the late 80s or very early 90s. Those caps are really old.

 

[Dswankey]

I was lucky to purchase a nice pair of polk sda srs. ......should I replace the tweeters with the newer version, or change out the XO caps first....Any advice??

From a cost perspective switching out the tweeters would be costly.

As to the XO caps a lot of folks who know they are going to keep the speakers for a long time usually go the XO caps replacement anyway so I would suggest start there.

As previously mentioned TONS of info, pictorials/tutorials on how to proceed.

One last thing if AK member @F1nut chimes in on this thread disregard whatever he mentions as he knows nothing about repairing/restoring/modifying SDA's or anything Polk Audio related not to mention wood working.

^ Obviously I jest

 

[Lavane]

I agree, caps first. If they do have the poly switches, replace with .5 ohm precision wire wound resistors. When I rebuilt the crossovers in my Monitor 10's, those poly switches were way out of spec. 3.7 ohm on one and close to the same for the other. I went ahead and replaced those cement brick resistors with precision wire wounds also since I already had the crossovers out. The resistors were a cheap upgrade. P.E. stocks them. You may have to extend the leads on the Film caps and resistors. I just used clipped leads from other parts. I tend to same some just for this sort of thing.

 

[Navy_Goat]

Agree with the folks here about everything except the order of things. If you are looking keep costs down you could replace the polyswitches first. Use a good 0.5 ohm resistor. You could do just this and see how you like them. Most will end up at least replacing the SL2000 tweeters with new RD0194. They really do sound better, but for your speakers you will need 8 and that is not going to be cheap. A decent crossover refresh will also be recommended, and it will improve the sound, but I am not sure how much you will really gain. If you re-use the original Polk boards you will have serious space problems. Point-to-point wiring is an option but it is not easy. VR3 and DHS offer this work as a service and both are amazing, but they will not come cheap.

Post 20 in the thread linked below has a bunch of info that may help. This thread reminds me how similar my start was to what you are asking about now. Beware I now have SDAs all over the house and in closets.....
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/my-polk-sda-2b-journey.893361/

My other two mod threads.
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/polk-sda-1c-refresh.901218/

https://audiokarma.org/forums/index...ka-my-last-set-of-vintage-polks-maybe.931865/

 

[Dswankey]

... I now have SDAs all over the house and in closets.....

I had Monitor 7's under a guest bed, a couple of pairs of 5's stacked in a closet a pair of 4's next door at my neighbors, 5jr's as a house warming gift for a buddy of mine.

Polks are addicting, if I see them in the wild I usually can't pass them up

 

[bigaltx24]

I had a pair of SDA 1Bs back a few years ago. From my experience recapping and Mills resistors will be he biggest bang for your buck. New tweets are expensive and any improvement in sound is minimal.

 

[Lavane]

Agree with the folks here about everything except the order of things. If you are looking keep costs down you could replace the polyswitches first. Use a good 0.5 ohm resistor. You could do just this and see how you like them. Most will end up at least replacing the SL2000 tweeters with new RD0194. They really do sound better, but for your speakers you will need 8 and that is not going to be cheap. A decent crossover refresh will also be recommended, and it will improve the sound, but I am not sure how much you will really gain. If you re-use the original Polk boards you will have serious space problems. Point-to-point wiring is an option but it is not easy. VR3 and DHS offer this work as a service and both are amazing, but they will not come cheap.

Post 20 in the thread linked below has a bunch of info that may help. This thread reminds me how similar my start was to what you are asking about now. Beware I now have SDAs all over the house and in closets.....
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/my-polk-sda-2b-journey.893361/

My other two mod threads.
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/polk-sda-1c-refresh.901218/

https://audiokarma.org/forums/index...ka-my-last-set-of-vintage-polks-maybe.931865/

To save money and having to play Tetras with installing film caps, you can just use known good audio grade radial electrolytic capacitors like the originals. Even the cheap caps used originally seemed to be good enough back in the day.