NCD SWR Triad I

[mindwell]

It will sit in the band room. Unless I decide to take it out. For $160 cash out the door I couldn't say no. Sounded decent with a GK 800RB and EBMM USA Sterling 5, I think the 15" was replaced, and maybe I'll swap out the crossover at some point. Looks PURTY. And interesting that it's tagged from Sylmar but has the square grill. Or maybe not that interesting.

 

[57pbass]

Congratulations. That's a great deal.

 

[onda'bass]

I had one of these years ago, great deal!

 

[mindwell]

Cranked up, the mid driver that was in there sounded really shaky. Found a thread here that recommended swapping in an Eminence 2510 II mid, pictured below, that I just installed and WOW. All the difference in the world. Also, when I opened up the cab I discovered that the 15" is an 8 ohm Carvin PS-15. As it stands, with the new mid in there the cabinet breathes fire and puts out serious whump. Highs are a bit lively/out of control, but I'll happily gig this for a while and then see if I want to upgrade the woofer to a 3015 LF.

 

[agedhorse]

If you had the original 15" driver and not a back substitution, it would have sounded a lot bigger too.

The voicing of the original drivers worked together. Now you have a crapshoot in a box, nothing like the original cabinet.

 

[mindwell]

If you had the original 15" driver and not a back substitution, it would have sounded a lot bigger too.

The voicing of the original drivers worked together. Now you have a crapshoot in a box, nothing like the original cabinet.

That is almost certainly the case. But the cabinet as originally configured proved to be an imperfect solution to an engineering challenge that wasn't realizable with the drivers available at the time, as the record of blown mid drivers attests. PAS and SWR both are out of business, and this box is an orphan. At whatever point I have the necessary cash to upgrade the 15" to an Eminence 3015LF, I can do so. This is my tertiary, practice room rig, after all.

I am interested to get your take on the post that inspired me to consider upgrading to contemporary, neo Eminence drivers.

C

Post in thread 'SWR Triad Drivers'

Oct 2, 2013

Hello all. So you think your triad sounds good ? MEH? Do what I did. I did a lot of research into 3 way cabinet design. Was told by some that running the 15 full range was a no no (JBL thought it was all right for a lot of their cabaret line though and others) and that the 10 inch was/should really be a midrange and that there was a hole that could not be filled, etc., etc. So,,, I investigated 1st order, 2nd order 3rd order and 6 inch mids, and coaxials,. I still may replace the 10 with an eminence 10 cx and put the horn on back of it and then use the horn hole for a six inch...

• CurtWash2

• 

 

[agedhorse]

There's a lot of bad and incorrect comments in that post.

The main problem was with players abusing the cabinet with amps larger than it was intended to be used with.

The PAS drivers were excellent, especially the 10", provided they weren't abused. Their mid extension and tone was really nice and musical.

 

[mindwell]

There's a lot of bad and incorrect comments in that post.

The main problem was with players abusing the cabinet with amps larger than it was intended to be used with.

The PAS drivers were excellent, especially the 10", provided they weren't abused. Their mid extension and tone was really nice and musical.

OK, so if one were to "bring back" this cabinet to perform anything like the designer's expectations, what would that entail?

 

[agedhorse]

OK, so if one were to "bring back" this cabinet to perform anything like the designer's expectations, what would that entail?

Finding drivers more similar to the original parts. That's going to be quite a challenge IMO.

 

[mindwell]

Finding drivers more similar to the original parts. That's going to be quite a challenge IMO.

Right, which is my point. This is an orphan cabinet and here we are.

 

[agedhorse]

Right, which is my point. This is an orphan cabinet and here we are.

It's why a cabinet like this in the condition you received it generally isn't worth the price you paid... it's just a SWR looking (not performing) box at this point... and it's pretty heavy too.

 

[mindwell]

It's why a cabinet like this in the condition you received it generally isn't worth the price you paid... it's just a SWR looking (not performing) box at this point... and it's pretty heavy too.

The "SWR-performing"--by which I mean *underperforming*--part of the Triad was the part I didn't like when I played one back in the 1990s. Its execution couldn't stand up to real-world use, but the conception was in some sense ahead of its time. I'm quite happy to have a 4 ohm box of this size with a more robust driver compliment that will mean I don't have to move two separate 8 ohm cabinets.

 

[agedhorse]

Perhaps your memory is misremembering?

Enjoy your project. Sorry I tried to help.

 

[bassfreakah]

If it sounds good my brother rock the poop out of it. It is fun to try different stuff and see if it works. Rock out with your bad self!!!! And thanks for posting the cab porn.

And i had a son of a bertha 1 15 swr cabinet with the pas 15 driver in it. Unfortunately the cab had been abused and the 15 was creased from being overdriven. The seller got me a replacement eminence driver and it sounded GREAT for many years of heavy use. Very wonderful seller.