I have a pair of Polk SDA CRS SPEAKERS. 1 Tweeter does not seem to work. Hooked up ohm meter and reads 7.8. I'm no electronics wizard. Offered for $225.00 Pick up in central N.J. Or you pay for shipping. They are heavy. Real oak veneer cabinets. minor scuffs an stain but nice for 30 yrs old. All drivers appear to be in excellent shape. Jim . six zero nine three one zero eight three two seven.

What can I say that others are not saying. I feel the same way. I have upgraded the tweeter and fixed the 6.5 woofers that my computer blew out. ( Thank you pulseaudio ! ) I will simply never get rid of them. Pair them with a quality amp , I have a Sherbourn 7/channel 200 watt that makes them sound like they were meant too.

I have built many DIY speakers that sound great , These are my go to comparison. I consider myself an audiophile but love the most those things that deliver far outside their price. I always have to be in the $8000 a pair an up to beat these speakers. ( Unless I make them myself )

Find them for $400 on the internet and fix'em if they need it. You do the math.

These are the original Polk Audio Stereo Dimensional Array (SDA) Compact Reference Series (CRS) speakers released in 1984. They utilize a phased array technology which substantially enhances the spatial separation between channels. The smooth high frequencies produced by the high dome tweeters are just just stunning. I have owned mine since 1986 and they still amaze me. They are particular good at reproducing the subtle tones of acoustic instruments. You can stills find these speakers if you are patient. They are truly a tremendous value.

i HAVE A PAIR OF POLK AUDIO SDA-SRS-2 SIGNATURE REFERENCE SYSTEM 2'S I AM TRYING TO SELL FOR 1,000 AM I OUT OF MY MIND I JUST NOUGHT THEM FOR 1,500 WITHIN A FEW MONTHS PLEASE HELP TJ I DONT NOW THE YEAR

Compact size.
Build quality.
Excellent bass from such a small cabinet (but not great).
Passive radiator instead of port, which gave the older Polks there signature sound.
The silver voice coil tweeter, which was/is unrivaled. (Most companies cater to the HT crowd today and do not build dome tweeters that radiate with such a wide dispersion as the silver voice coil did. Supposedly, domes cause too much room interaction and that is why most manufacturors now recess domes in a bevelled mounting baffles to make their dispersion pattern narrower to provide more of a point source for the treble. Pity)

You can still buy OEM parts and drivers from Polk Audio.

Could be a tad bass shy in the extreme lower frequencies; The 6.5" drivers tended to break up at very loud volumes with really dynamic bass oriented music.

They weren't as efficient as one might think (only 90db), so they weren't a hit with valve heads (tubes).

SDA (stereo dimentional array) is not as effective with only two 6.5" drivers per cabinet. Polk's larger speakers in the SDA line used anywhere from 4 to 8 drivers per cabinet, lending more driver surface area to the SDA effect (which is essentualy, cross-talk cancellation). The larger SDAs could virtually disappeare, where the smaller CRSs were still a tad directional, having a smaller sweetspot. At any rate, SDA technology would be wasted in today's HT arena, where soundstage is more a function of electronics and surround sound, than two-channel design concepts.

I bought these things back in 1988. Polk Audio had really come into their own as a hi-fi speaker company in the mid '80s, and I had wanted to buy a pair of PAs for a long time leading up to my purchase. I was in the military and needed something that could be easily moved around (and/or stored) rather easily and the CRSs (compact reference sysytem) fit the bill, but still provided me with a big sounding speaker. Not nearly as big as many of the behemoth speakers of their day, they put out amazing sound. Sure, there were better speakers, but you were going to spend more money and own a much larger speaker to achieve better sound than the CRSs. Even after almost 20 years, these speakers still sound great, the butyl rubber surrounds are still intact, the woofer cones show no signs of distress, and the cabinets are still rock-solid.

Polk Audio stuck with the SDA line for only a few years, then Polk started to pander to the burgeoning HT market and started building tower designs. They went to ported cabinets instead of using passive radiators, which I think gave Polk their signature sound and helped them carve out their own niche in the '80s. They were a unique speaker, and no speaker today in the same price range sounds any better than my 20 year old SDA CRS+. I'll never get rid of them.

Customer Service

Haven't needed them.

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Cerwin Vega, Boston Acoustic, Energy, Klipsch, JBL

Quality sound, unmatched performance for size

None whatsoever

I spent over a month auditioning speakers before I purchased these (1995), and not only do I not regret it, 12 years later I'm looking to buy another pair! I used my CRS's as my front stereo speakers until I recently aquired some Polk SDA-SRS monsters (each one is like 4 CRS's in a huge cabinet!!!), and now have moved the CRS's for rear-surround duty. I'm going to get once more pair of CRS's for center-position. Everything is driven with Hafler DH-500 (2X bi-amped for the SRS's). I still have know of no other speaker its size that can play ANY type of source material at extremely powerful levels effortlessly...given you have 250+ WRMS behind them. Their sound and capacities are unrivaled for anything even close to their price new, and especially now in the aftermarket. It is a moving experience to listen to my system with these speakers, rivaling large concert venue levels and exceeding any club or small venue. It's noteworthy that I also have a Paradigm Servo-15 subwoofer handling frequencies below 80Hz.

Customer Service

Outstanding! Polk is really great. One speaker fell during the 1994 Northridge quake and punctured a woofer and smashed a tweeter. Although they fell over 12 feet to the floor, the cabinet was virtually undamaged and Polk was very helpful with replacement drivers.

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Funny...there isn't anything I'd consider similar.

Huge dynamics and soundstage, and if need be - will play at very loud levels for hours without even breathing hard.

They were so expensive to manufacture that Polk hasn''t made anything remotely similiar in performance for many years.

These are the real deal. I came into a little extra money had always wanted to give a pair of these a try, so I started watching Ebay and it took about 4 months to locate a pair to buy - and boy were they worth the wait, and the money! I almost went ahead and bought the SDA 2A''s, because I was getting impatient looking for the CRS''s, and I''m really glad that I waited. They both have "exactly" the same components, but the bass of the 2A''s (which a frind of mine has)is very boomy, not hard hitting like these because of the rediculously large enclosures (a marketing gimmick for sure), and I can move these just about anywhere without worrying about where they''ll fit. I have owned probably 20-25 different pairs of speakers over the years, and these are one of the very best I''ve hard, including the one''s way out of my league ($2000 a piece and up) that I''ve listened to at a couple of the local high-end shops. Of course, every speaker has it''s particular strengths and weaknesses, but in terms of performance for the buck, these are simply incredible on the whole. I have three systems in my house, these are driven by the lessor of my equipment - a older NAD 2200PE amp and Yamaha C-80 preamp, and they produce a soundstage for their size that defies all logic. Honestly, one system of mine does overwelm them in terms of being able to engulf a large room with sound when you really want to, but there''s no comparison in the money I had to spend to acheive it. The detail and imaging of the Polks is extraordinary, once you get these SDA series in a room where you can seperate them close to he full length of the ambilical cord that allows them to share imaging information, they create a wall of sound that allows you to actually see with your ears, pieces of the music come from distinctly different points in the room. I hear more things going on than were ever apparent before - it''s like listening to old CD''s again for the first time. The coolest thing is that many of our neighbors and friends have walked into our house when I''ve had them really rocking and they''ve looked at me and said, "are those the only speakers playing in here? That makes them worth owning in itself! I will never sell these for any amount, they''re keepers!

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Nothing engineered like these.

The largest sound and dynamic performance you''ll ever get from a speaker this size. Built very heavy!

Genuinely "NONE", with some decent amplification behind them!

WOW!!! A friend of mine has owned a pair of these for acouple of years, so I had casually listened to these for some time before I finally purchased my own - I had always been quietly jealous of the soundstage and detail that these created compared to my Klipsch Heresey''s, but once I hooked mine up to some solid "high current" power (he runs an upper level Yamaha amp w/ Harmon Kardon preamp, I have a Luxman LV-117 Integrated with a "real" 160 wpc) they flat out dominated the Heresey''s in creating a room full of musician''s playing in "specific" places in front of me! Blazing highs and vocals, and yes the low end notes hit like they''re being shot out of a tank - very sharp and hard. I have read a few reviews that indicated a little disappointment with the bass performance a louder levels - and as one reviewer suspected, their issue is really a matter of trying to "over-run" newer so called high power receivers and amps, which until you get into some ligitimate high-end equipment, generally won''t produce comparable sound to older vintage equipment. Anyway, buying these has created "by far" the single largest improvement in sound of any audio equipment changes I have made over the years - I can''t imagine ever having a reason to spend what would have to be $1500 - $2000 to replace these with something "new" that would have comparable sound. If you ever get a chance to pick-up a pair of these used (there aren''t many around!), do what ever you have to to make it happen - you''ll spend the rest of your listening career thanking yourself repeatedly!

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Truely, none. The closest in sound would be a pair of Dahlquist DQ-10''s I used to have - but they were very "bulky" to own.

The best treble and imaging I have heard at that point in time. Today,9 years later, it still beats anything I have heard under 5k. The emotion that comes through the speaker particularly when listening to a female voice (Bjork, Joni,Jewel) is quite breathtaking. Ben Harper's live album is a real treat when heard on these speakers. The Duetsch Grammaphon version of Mattheus with the double choir and the orchestra, reveal the true abilities of the SDA phase cancellation electronics to produce an incredibly accurate soundstage where any instrument or voice can be easily "tuned into" and appreciated. Can be used for late night sessions, just move your chair closer to the speakers and turn down the amp and you can still haev a mystical experience whilst the rest of the house sleeps.

The lack of bass makes it a little bit lacking when playing rock. Ideally should be coupled up to the M&K dual speaker subwoofer in order to get bass that is as 'quick' as the rest of the system. The more powerful the amp used the better the speakers work.

I love them, every time I make a conscious decision to replace them I end up (after months of tests) to having to fork out a heap of money. Better off upgrading the amplifier, I went from a honey-like old Luxman to the Forseti by Alchemist, and was floored.

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Phase cancellation speaker systems. What can be classed as similar?

Beautiful Oak Finish, Clear Highs, Smooth Mids and a Good
Presences of Bass

Bass could have a little more Punch!

I own a pair of SDA-SRS 3.1 and SDA-CRS Compacts I use in my Den with my NEC-710AV Home Theater Dolby System. Although
this system uses only 4 speakers, The SRS's and CRS's pushed by 2-Soundcraftsmen A5002 Power Amps make an unbelievable
"True-to-Life" Theater Sound. Using the "Umbilical Cords", Soundcraftsmen DC4415 "21 Band/ Channel" Graphic Equalizer and Carver "Holography" Generator, the system produces a warm and full Theater sound almost as good as my 2pr of Definitive Tech. BP3000's. Although the Bass lacks, the Clarity of voices and Dramatics of Action are more then enough to keep you at the edge of your seat!
So if you really want Elegant Wood, Designed Styling and a Warm and Full sound, the Polk Audio SDA Series Speakers are perfect for you. So search the Internet, Shoppers Guides and Classifieds for yours.

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Polk Audio SDA-SRS 3.1 Speakers