Imaging, Clean Powerful Bass Response, High Power Handling

Hard to find. These were discontinued in 1991.

I've wanted a pair of these since they first came out in 1985. I didn't have the required space back then, so I purchased the SDA 1B. In 1992, when I finally got a house big enough to give them room to breathe, they had been discontinued! They showed up infrequently on Ebay and on Audiogon, but the seller was always in some far away location that would have made shipping these 185 pound, over five feet tall speakers very expensive.

Recently, a pair went on Ebay that were in Dallas, TX (7 hour drive) and I snapped them up. Even though the speakers are 12 years old, they were actually used only five years. I drove to Dallas the Saturday after the auction closed and picked them up.

The original owner bought them in Dec. 1989 and stored them at his sister's house in Dallas until he retired from the military in 1994. He established a post-retirement home in Florida and the speakers were shipped to him at that time. They were used for five years until the owner died in a car accident two years ago. The speakers were then shipped back to his sister in Dallas and put in storage where they remained for two years. While in the process of remodeling her house, the sister decided to put the speakers up for auction on Ebay. She never had any intention of keeping them as they were simply too big for her house. She never even hooked them up. The original receipt, manual, and connection cable were still available.

They looked new and sounded great. The musical detail, lifesize imaging, and strong, clear, bass response are awesome. I am using these with the following equipment:

Adcom GFA-5802 300 wpc amp
Adcom GFA-750 preamp
Monster Z100i Interconnects
Monster Z2 Reference Speaker Cables
Yamaha TX-1000 Tuner
Denon DCD-1600AR CD Player
Yamaha PF-800 Turntable with Yamaha MC-705 Cartridge
Yamaha C-85 Preamp used as a phono preamp for the PF-800
---(the Adcom preamp does not have a phono section)

As great as they sound, a tweak like me can't leave well enough alone. I own three other pairs of SDA speakers-one pair of SDA-1Bs and two pairs of SDA-1Cs. The 1Cs are the front and rear speakers in my home theater rig. The 1Bs are in my bedroom system. I noticed an improvement in the difinition and image solidity of my SDA 1s when the stock capacitors were replaced with high quality MultiCap metallized polyprophylene capacitors. I also replaced the stock binding posts with Vampire heavy duty gold plated posts. I didn't really notice a significant sonic benefit by switching out the stock binding posts. However, they are two orders of magnitude prettier than the original binding posts, and for me, looks mean a lot. I also replaced the grille cloths with a lighter weight black knit fabric. Switching the grille cloth did make a very noticeable improvement in the sound. With the lighter grille cloth, I can tell no difference between grille-off and grille-on sound. Of course, all the above mentioned tweaks will be incorporated into the SDA SRS 1.2TLs.

If you've got the patience to track down a pair of these, and you have the space and a good, high power, high current amp, you won't be disappointed.

Similar Products Used:

Polk SDA 1B, Polk SDA 1C

excelent mids crystal clear high

bass is ok

summer of 1987 had extra cash to burn, so I decided the audio dept. needs some upgrading.After so many comparisons, shows, auditions and promises to diff. sales people;I ended up with SDA SRS. It's spacious sound mellow notes easy on my ears ..SOLD.I originally wanted B&W matrix 801 or Mcintosh XL26 but after careful listening I found out this beauties are not for me.For the first 10 years I bi-amp the polk with 2 luxman M-05 amp with C-05 pre amp that was the store set up; now I used one amp per side,it does make a difference especially on lows and if I need more the velodyne ULD-15 adds more color to the sound.I used monster cables all around.To bad I seldom listen to my stereo due to lack of time,noisy kids, wife's order do this do that, plus rental basement but when I do about once a month what a treat.... very peacefull or house shaking experience.

Similar Products Used:

bose altec

Lots of clean room filling sound

Fewer than most

This speaker has been in daily use since 9/4/91 with nothing but an XL-600 driving it and it still sounds as good as the day I bought it. Have used it solely on music as I use other speakers for home theater. It has a spacious sound and extremely clean with Sonys SCD-777ES putting it through its paces. I believe its the best Polk as ever offered including any thing today. Its built for a lifetime. Which says alot back in 91 since manufacturers are so quick to want you to trade up every few years. Have not had any problems.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity Monitors, Altec 19, others

Vibrant clarity, seemless imaging

none

These speakers were ahead of their time. They have the uncanny ability to excel both in stereo and home theater applications. They are airy, yet clear; spacious, yet detailed; full sounding even at low volume levels. They sound equally impressive playing a piano concerto, and opera, or loud rock. They never sound strained, i.e., it is analogous to trying to push a Lexus LS-400 to the limit, nearly impossible. To listen to them is to remove the layers that usually separate the listener from the instruments and voices.

I have owned my pair for eighteen months. They are hard to find but well worth the price (I paid $2,500 used, but they were a bargain at that price in today's market!)

Similar Products Used:

Definitve Technology 2002s

vast soundstage, realistic imaging

none

These speakers represent perhaps the finest system ever produced by Polk. This speaker system is as up to date today as it was when it was introduced by Polk. Unfortunately, the system came to the market at the same time as recession at the beginning of the 90s. It is a shame that Polk discontinued the system as these wonderful speakers possess sonic qualities of speakers costing several times as much. Unfortunately, they are now very difficult to find, and I will never part with mine.

Similar Products Used:

Dalquist DQ-10

In my limited experince with moderately high-end equipment, I find that the 1.2TL is the most enjoyable listening experience that I have ever encountered from a traditional "stereo" scheme. Sounds seem to come from almost any location within the room. (including from behind the listener and outside the confines of the speakers' positions) And, the full range of sound from a system that has no true woofer is amazing (at least it is to me!) In my 33 years, I have never listened to a BETTER "stereo" speaker system!

I bought my pair in 1990. Wish I had bought another pair. Quality of these speakers lasted beyond my expectations. Still look and sound great. Can handle 1000W per channel. I have a 125W receiver and can fill the vibration of music and videos. If you have a chance to pick up a pair you will be glad you did.

They are the best speakers of all time for dolby digital im using 3 pair with a sony ta-e9000 and 6 carver silver sevens amps (6000 watts rms).

It seems to amaze me that people actually buy these things. They do fine for movies but they are horrible for music. (In this price range) For this price, try ti find a good pair of B&W 801's. And for those people that who think that I don't know what I am talking about, hear this. I am a dealer of high-end stuff. (levinson, proceed, b&w, revel, krell, sonic frontier, rotel, marantz, parasound) and I know about speakers. For god sakes.. If you are consider buying these, go listen to the 801's or better yet, revel studios(10,000), salons(15,000), or even the cheaper gem.(my personal favorite of the three for the $5,000 price)

There are two errors in the product description of the SRS 1.2tl, one of which is conspicuous. The list price was NOT $5000 a pair, but $3400. That's a big difference, especially when comparing them with speakers costing four times as much. Second, the 1.2tl used the SL3000 trilaminate tweeter, not the SL2000 silver coil dome. The model that used the SL2000 was the SRS 1.2, and it had a different crossover unit as well, thus making it a totally different speaker. In future reviews, it would probably be best to differentiate between the two models (and a third if you count the original SRS from late 1985!)
I own a pair of the 1.2tl's and a modified version of the 2.3tl's. I must say that I love them both. The bass is full, not boomy, and can go quite low. The 1.2tl was the first full-range speaker that I actually felt 20Hz come out of! The SDA qualities are beautiful. Try Pink Floyd's "Time" from "Dark Side of the Moon" and you will swear that the grandfather clock is sitting along the left wall of your room. The soundstage is large, and it really pulls me into the music; the treble is crystal clear. There is one little thing that bothers me, though, which is a slight peak around 200Hz. However, for a $3400 speaker, I think it handles just fine in comparison with the more expensive speakers that are out there today. And the 1.2tl is certainly not limited in maximum output level like some other companies' top-of-the-line products.

For those of you who are looking to buy a pair of these speakers, don't give up (even though it may take a while for you to find them), for once you do find them and listen for a while, your ears will thank you!